.github templates

[tuxcanfly]

Initial draft.

Feedback, ideas for potential new sections, reviews appreciated.

[codecov-io]

Codecov Report

Merging #505 into master will not change coverage.
The diff coverage is n/a.

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  Hits        14772    14772           
  Misses      12915    12915

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[pinheadmz]

The unconfirmed balance confusion is probably never going to end :-)
Maybe the issue template should have a link to a common FAQ or something where these kinds of recurring issues are already addressed?

[bucko13]

+1 to an FAQ. I think this would be great. We could also link to where the issues have been raised so people can look up the thread.

[tuxcanfly]

https://github.com/bcoin-org/bcoin/pull/505/files#diff-8cc7b2b0d78dd2501610391c086a8516R286

Added a section for FAQs.

[pinheadmz]

Another element that would be nice to have in the FAQ or issue template:

If getting responses in bcoin different from bitcoind and are expecting otherwise, please copy and paste both results

h/t @bucko13

[pinheadmz]

BUMP!
Still getting new GH issues without any basic info (node version, bcoin version, bcoin launch method, etc) Would love to get this in n

[pinheadmz]

Can PR template go in .github/ also?

https://github.blog/2016-02-17-issue-and-pull-request-templates/

[pinheadmz]

@tuxcanfly are there two PR templates in this PR now? one at / and one at /.github?

[tuxcanfly]

@pinheadmz OK, fixed.

[pinheadmz]

At the bottom of CONTRIBUTING.md:

TODO: Responsible Disclosure

To address this, I think we should consider including PGP keys (or keybase links) for the core team.
JJ's key is already committed to in the beginner's guide, but I think we should consider including a complete document with everyone's keys and email addresses.

In addition, @zebambam and @DarrenRM have completed a draft of a responsible disclosure document at https://github.com/RD-Crypto-Spec/Responsible-Disclosure/blob/d47a5a3dafa5942c8849a93441745fdd186731e6/README.md
and have also drafted a template which repositories like ours can pre-commit to the parties we will disclose to (which in our case is basically just bcash and hsd, both internal teams anyway).

bcoin dev keys are in a PR to the disclosure repo: bcoin-org/Responsible-Disclosure#1

[zebambam]

Here's a template for a page on responsible disclosure: https://gist.github.com/zebambam/bfe9f265187eeb0651cd74f263ea7409 the neighbor mentions could be links to their rd page if they have one.

[boymanjor]

First off, this document is fantastic! Thank you so much for taking the initiative to get this into the repository. It is sorely needed here and in the hsd codebase.

Secondly, please do not be alarmed by the size of this review. Most of the comments are copy edit changes involving minor grammatical errors and favoring the "active voice" over the "passive voice." Any comment filled with a block quote is just meant to be an editor's replacement. The significant changes I've suggested involve shortening the bullet points in lists. I should note that these are just suggestions and I'm open to giving clarification where it is necessary.

P.S. I've neglected to include this in the comments, but I think we should use backticks when referring to bcoin in this document. It is the "nit" of all "nits" but I think it helps ease the eyes into seeing a lowercase letter starting a sentence. It also helps signify the word is referring to software.

[boymanjor]

Developing cryptocurrencies is an exciting endeavor that touches a wide variety of areas such as wire protocols, peer-to-peer networking, databases, cryptography, language interpretation (transaction scripts), RPC interfaces, and WebSockets. They also represent a radical shift to the current financial system and as a result, provide an opportunity to help reshape the financial system as a whole. Few projects offer this level of diversity and impact in a single codebase.

However, as exciting as it is, one must keep in mind that cryptocurrencies represent real money and introducing bugs and security vulnerabilities can have far more dire consequences than in typical projects where having a small bug is minimal by comparison. In the world of cryptocurrencies, even the most trivial bug in the wrong area can cost people a significant amount of money. For this reason, bcoin has a formalized and rigorous development process which this page outlines.

We highly encourage code contributions. However, it is imperative that you adhere to the guidelines established on this page.

[boymanjor]

The following list is a set of core competencies that we recommend you possess before you start attempting to contribute code to the project. These are not hard requirements, and we will gladly accept code contributions as long as they follow the guidelines set forth on this page. That said, if you don't have the following qualifications, you may find it quite difficult to contribute.

[tynes]

I like how that sounds inclusive

[boymanjor]

nit: should this be Bitcoin with a capital B? I seem to remember a suggestion of making a distinction between "Bitcoin" the protocol, and "bitcoin" the currency, e.g., "I sent 0.5 bitcoin to Alice." vs. "I learned about Bitcoin last night." I can't remember where I came across this, but it seems to be used this way in a lot of places.

[boymanjor]

nit: a good practice with lists is to start each bullet point with a similar type of word, e.g., all nouns, or all verbs. I think following this rule here would help the flow of the bullet points, e.g.:

• Understanding of Bitcoin at a high level (see required reading)
• Understanding of the bcoin codebase
• Understanding of data structures, algorithms, and run-time costs
• Experience in Node.js and ES6+ syntax (e.g., classes, async/await, etc.)
• Experience with unit testing
• Experience with debugging

[tynes]

nit: should this be Bitcoin with a capital B? I seem to remember a suggestion of making a distinction between "Bitcoin" the protocol, and "bitcoin" the currency

Pretty they make that distinction in Mastering Bitcoin

[boymanjor]

This bullet point is a bit hard to digest. Perhaps we could say something like, "Familiarity with the codebase." and use the next paragraph to explain understanding how your specific change may affect other areas of the codebase. I imagine this new bullet point going before "Familiarity with unit testing."

[boymanjor]

nit: s/to the docs and/to the docs or/

[boymanjor]

Once your code is accepted, a maintainer will merge it with the master branch. Typically it will be rebased and fast-forward merged to master as we prefer to keep a clean commit history over a tangled weave of merge commits. However, regardless of the specific merge method used, the code will be integrated with the master branch and the pull request will be closed.

Rejoice! You are now a bcoin contributor!

[boymanjor]

Is there a current list of FAQs that we can add in this section? If not, maybe we should start a google document to fill this up? I'm also not opposed to merge as-is and continue to submit PRs to beef up the list.

[tynes]

I think @pinheadmz would be a good person to ask about this

[boymanjor]

The bcoin wallet marks transactions confirmed after inclusion in one block. If your application needs to wait for more confirmations, you can wait for the corresponding number of blocks to be mined.

[boymanjor]

• All changes are node >= 8.0.0 compliant
• [  ] All code is documented according to the
  Code Documentation and Commenting section
• [  ] New code includes thorough tests
• [  ] Bug fixes include regression tests
• [  ] Log statements include correct module and levels
• [  ] npm run lint passes
• [  ] npm run test passes

[boymanjor]

I think we should make the RD document a separate file. What do you think?

[pinheadmz]

Agree with this, take it out for now so we can merge :-)

[pinheadmz]

github actually shows this warning on the PR page:

"you are using an old version of github templates..."

See:

https://help.github.com/en/articles/about-issue-and-pull-request-templates

[pinheadmz]

One more note: I think CONTRIBUTING should be linked in the main README, in big letters near the top!