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+# How to contribute to the GA4GH reference implementation
+
+Thank you for taking the time to contribute. We appreciate it!
+
+There are two ways to contribute to this effort. The first way is to use this 
+project's [Issues Page](https://github.com/ga4gh/server/issues), which we 
+use as a forum to discuss both major and minor issues related to developing 
+the GA4GH reference implementation. See the [Issue Resolution](#issue_resolution) 
+section below for specifics on how issues are resolved by the community.
+
+A second way to contribute to the project is to directly contribute 
+development effort. Please refer to the next section, 
+[Contributions and Pull Request](#pull_request), for more details.
+
+<a name="pull_request"></a>
+## Contributions and Pull Requests
+
+GitHub pull requests should be used to contribute development effort 
+and code to the project. GitHub provides a nice 
+[overview on how to create a pull request](https://help.github.com/articles/creating-a-pull-request).
+
+Some general rules to follow:
+
+* [Fork](https://help.github.com/articles/fork-a-repo) the main project 
+  into your personal GitHub space to work on.
+* Create a branch for each update that you're working on. These branches 
+  are often called "feature" or "topic" branches. Any changes that you 
+  push to your feature branch will automatically be shown in the pull request.
+* Keep your pull requests as small as possible. Large pull requests are 
+  hard to review. Try to break up your changes into self-contained and 
+  incremental pull requests.
+* The first line of commit messages should be a short (<80 character) summary, 
+  followed by an empty line and then any details that you want to share about 
+  the commit.
+* Please try to follow the existing syntax style
+
+When you submit or change your pull request, the Travis build system will 
+automatically run tests to ensure valid schema syntax. If your pull request 
+fails to pass tests, review the test log, make changes and then push them 
+to your feature branch to be tested again.
+
+
+<a name="issue_resolution"></a>
+## Issue Resolution
+
+Once a pull request or issue have been submitted, anyone can comment or vote 
+on an issue to express their opinion following the Apache voting system. 
+Quick summary:
+
+- **+1** something you agree with
+- **-1** if you have a strong objection to an issue, which will be taken very 
+  seriously. A -1 vote should provide an alternative solution.
+- **+0** or **-0** for neutral comments or weak opinions.
+- It's okay to have input without voting
+- Silence gives assent
+
+A pull request with no **-1** votes is ready to be merged. The merge should be 
+done by someone from a different organization than the submitter.
+
+If an issue gets any **-1** votes, the comments on the issue need to reach 
+consensus before the issue can be resolved one way or the other. There isn't 
+any strict time limit on a contentious issue.
+
+In case a merge happens too quickly, closed pull requests can also get 
+**-1** votes, which will always need to be resolved. 
+
+The project will strive for full consensus on everything until it runs into 
+a problem with that model.