From a723f0819aa6a24cd7c9380dd163d58fbe0d22c2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: SwingTheVine <swingthevine@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2025 07:19:17 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] Create CONTRIBUTING.md

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+<table>
+  <tr>
+    <td><a href="#contributing">Contributing</a></td>
+    <td valign="top" rowspan="99"><a href="https://discord.gg/tpeBPy46hf"><img alt="Discord Banner" src="https://discord.com/api/guilds/796124137042608188/widget.png?style=banner4"></a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&emsp;<a href="#resources">Resources</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&emsp;<a href="#why-follow-guidelines">Why Follow Guidelines?</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&emsp;<a href="#what-can-i-contribute">What Can I Contribute?</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&emsp;&emsp;<a href="#programming">Programming</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&emsp;&emsp;<a href="#everything-else">Everything Else</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&emsp;<a href="#what-can-i-not-do">What Can I Not Do?</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&emsp;<a href="#guidelines">Guidelines</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&emsp;<a href="#our-mission">Our Mission</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&emsp;<a href="#development-environment">Development Environment</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<h1>Contributing</h1>
+<a href="https://github.com/SwingTheVine/QSAND-Minecraft/blob/1.8.9/docs/LICENSE.txt"><img alt="Software License: GPL-3.0" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Software_License-GPL--3.0-brightgreen?style=flat"></a>
+<a href="https://github.com/SwingTheVine/QSAND-Minecraft/blob/1.8.9/docs/LICENSE-MEDIA.txt"><img alt="Media License: CC-BY-SA-4.0" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Media_License-CC--BY--SA--4.0-orange?style=flat"></a>
+<p>
+  Thank you for wanting to contribute to the Minecraft mod "QuickSand And Numerous Dungeons"! It means a lot to me that someone likes my project enough to want to help it grow. If you haven't already done so, consider joining our Discord. You can ask questions about the mod there and receive feedback.
+</p>
+
+<h2>Resources</h2>
+<p>
+  Need help getting started? Check out the list of resources in <a href="https://github.com/SwingTheVine/QSAND-Minecraft/blob/1.8.9/docs/README.md#resources" target="_blank">README.md</a> for guides on how the Minecraft code works. This list contains guides for creating (usually from scratch) significant aspects related to this mod. Unfortunately, most archived guides only give you clues on how to get the feature operational and don't produce a functioning feature by themselves. The best complete guide is the code in this mod. The code is commented (<img alt="Lines of comments" src="https://tokei.rs/b1/github/SwingTheVine/QSAND-Minecraft?category=comments">) and verified to function correctly.
+</p>
+
+<h2>Why Follow Guidelines?</h2>
+<p>
+  Following the guidelines on this page helps everyone. Writing code that follows the guidelines:
+  <ul>
+    <li>Helps me implement (and continue support for) your feature.</li>
+    <li>You get your feature implemented.</li>
+    <li>Everyone else gets a new supported feature.</li>
+  </ul>
+  It's a win-win-win scenario!
+</p>
+
+<h2>What Can I Contribute?</h2>
+<h3>Programming</h3>
+  <p>
+    Most of the work to be done in this Minecraft mod is related to programming. It is helpful to have a background in programming, but not required. If you are looking to learn Java and its syntax, check out this <a href="https://roadmap.sh/java" target="_blank">roadmap for learning Java</a>. We strongly recommend that you understand functions, methods, classes, and Object-Oriented-Programming if you plan to implement a brand new feature. More technical knowledge (like a lambda expression) is useful but not required.
+  </p>
+<h3>Everything Else</h3>
+  <p>
+    Although Minecraft mods are oriented around coding, there are many ways to contribute! From improving the Wiki to making tutorials, you can contribute in many ways that don't require programming skills. For example, if you have an idea for a feature, submit it! Someone might see it, think it is cool, and implement it.
+  </p>
+
+<h2>What Can I Not Do?</h2>
+<p>
+  Please do not use <a href="https://github.com/SwingTheVine/QSAND-Minecraft/issues target="_blank"">GitHub Issues</a> for asking support questions. We use the GitHub issue tracker for bug reports and feature requests. If you are having trouble and need help, ask on our <a href="https://discord.gg/tpeBPy46hf" target="_blank">Discord</a>. <b>However, you <i>should</i> make a feature request on our issue tracker before starting work on your contribution.</b> Nothing sucks more than working hard on a high-quality contribution just for it to be rejected because it does not align with the mission of the mod. Ask first!
+</p>
+<p>
+  Please contribute in good faith. We will reject pull requests with bad code, comments, or pull requests that damage the mod. 
+</p>
+
+<h2>Guidelines</h2>
+<ul>
+  <li><b>We will not accept pull requests that update to a later version of Minecraft</b>. We know the mod is outdated and are working as fast as possible to update it. If you would like to contribute to updating the mod to a later version of Minecraft, providing us with any "before and after" code for what changed between Minecraft versions helps a ton.</li>
+  <li>Always submit a <a href="https://github.com/SwingTheVine/QSAND-Minecraft/issues/new/choose" target="_blank">feature request</a> and receive authorization to work on your contribution <i>before</i> you start working on your contribution. This will save you time if we end up rejecting the contribution. Small contributions (like fixing spelling errors) don't need a feature request.</li>
+  <li>Follow the <a href="https://github.com/SwingTheVine/QSAND-Minecraft/blob/1.8.9/docs/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md" target="_blank">Code of Conduct</a>. This includes both your contributions and the way you interact with this community.</li>
+  <li>Always write a clear message that explains the changes. "Added some things" does <i>not</i> explain what was changed.</li>
+  <li>Different feature, different pull request. If you submit a pull request for blocks and localization together, and we want to reject the localization, your blocks are rejected along with the localization since they are the same pull request. They should be separate pull requests since they are separate features.</li>
+  <li>The file structure must be maintained (unless you were authorized to change it). It is based on the file structure Minecraft uses with some minor modifications. For example, blocks go in the blocks folder, and fluid blocks go in the fluid folder.</li>
+  <li>The naming structure must be maintained (unless you were authorized to change it). For example, a candy slime should be called "EntitySlimeCandy." Most things are named to be grouped based on what they share in common first. In the previous example, the slime class is first an "entity," then a "slime" of the type "candy."</li>
+  <li>Your code must be commented, explaining what everything does. We may reject the pull request if we can't understand what the code does.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<h2>Our Mission</h2>
+<p>
+  Our "mission" makes up the essence of this mod. Without it, this project would not exist. 
+</p>
+<p>
+  The mission of this mod is to provide a well-documented, high-quality quicksand mod.
+</p>
+<p>
+  <ul>
+    <li>We recognize that most Minecraft mods do not have high-quality quicksand. Most "quicksand" blocks out there have the same properties as cobwebs, just a different texture. This mod strives to fix that.</li>
+    <li>We recognize that most quicksand mods do not allow their community to easily create their own types of quicksand. This mod strives to support additional blocks added by the community.</li>
+    <li>We recognize that most Minecraft mods do not have enough documentation to allow their community to modify (or understand) the inner workings of the mod. This mod strives to be as beginner-friendly as possible.</li>
+  </ul>
+</p>
+
+<h2>How To Contribute</h2>
+<p>
+  <ol>
+    <li>Read all of the <a href="https://github.com/SwingTheVine/QSAND-Minecraft/blob/1.8.9/docs/CONTRIBUTING.md" target="_blank">contributing guidelines</a>.</li>
+    <li>If you are contributing, submit a request <a href="https://github.com/SwingTheVine/QSAND-Minecraft/issues/new/choose" target="_blank">here</a>.</li>
+    <li>If you have received authorization to start working on your contribution, set up the development environment on your device.</li>
+    <li>Fork the project.</li>
+    <li>Download your fork to the development environment.</li>
+    <li>If applicable, it might be useful to learn how a (already in the mod) feature similar to your contribution works.</li>
+    <li>Make your contribution.</li>
+    <li>Commit to your fork.</li>
+    <li>Submit a pull request between your fork and this project.</li>
+  </ol>
+</p>
+
+<h2>Development Environment</h2>
+<p>
+  Eclipse IDE: <br>
+  <code>Version: Mars.1 Release (4.5.1)</code><br>
+  <code>Build id: 20150924-1200</code><br>
+  Java: <br>
+  <code>Version: 8 Update 202</code><br>
+  <code>Build id: 1.8.0_202-b08</code><br>
+  Minecraft: <br>
+  <code>Version: 1.8.9</code>
+  <code>Gradle Mapping Version: 1.8.9-11.15.1.2318-1.8.9</code>
+</p>