I like this list, but I would also add "Don't worry so much about these rules.". At least for me, I've often wanted to contribute to an open source project or participate in a discussion, but I was scared to because I was worried that I would say something wrong or not follow some implicit norm. Probably, the whole "RTFM culture" (or at least my perception/worry of it) had a net negative effect in my case because I ended up not contributing in cases where I probably could have positively contributed.<p>It really depends on your personality, though. If you're the type of person who naturally just speaks your mind without hesitation, then it's nice to slow down a bit and be more thoughtful, especially if you're dealing with a complex topic or your comment will be read by many people. But if you're more shy, you shouldn't feel the need to go through this checklist 5 times before submitting any comment or PR.<p>Similarly, if you're maintaining an open source project and someone breaks one of these "rules", be polite and be thankful that they're trying to help out. Allowing people to make little mistakes and learn from those mistakes is much more welcoming and human than "you must read this giant list of docs before you're allowed to speak". There's a balance to everything, of course, but you'll get a stronger community and help people grow if you're more welcoming.