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@@ -125,6 +125,14 @@ Once mongo is running and bundler has finished, run `bundle exec thin start` fro
 Diaspora's test suite uses [rspec](http://rspec.info/), a behavior driven testing framework.  In order to run the tests, run `bundle exec rspec spec`.
 
 
+## Commit Guidlines
+You are welcome to contribute, add and extend Diaspora however you see fit.  We will do our best to incorporate everything that meets our guidelines.
+
+All commits must be tested, and after each commit, all tests should be green before a pull request is sent.  Please write your tests in Rspec or Test-Unit, (depending on the functionality) so we can minimize diaspora’s requirements.
+
+GEMS:  if you are adding to diaspora, and want to maximize the speed of getting pulled back in, please use the libraries we are already using in the application  ie: Nokogiri for XML parsing, MongoMapper for database querying, EM:HttpRequest for http requests etc etc.  We currently have a few duplicate libraries which we used for the sake of “making it green”, but this duplication is high on our “wanted refactors” list.
+
+
 ## Resources
 
 We are maintaining a [public tracker project](http://www.pivotaltracker.com/projects/61641) and a [wishlist](#).