Update contribution guide

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -1,37 +1,47 @@
 # Contributing to Vault
 
-**Please note:** We take Vault's security and our users' trust very seriously. 
-If you believe you have found a security issue in Vault, please responsibly 
+**Please note:** We take Vault's security and our users' trust very seriously.
+If you believe you have found a security issue in Vault, please responsibly
 disclose by contacting us at [email protected].
 
-**First:** if you're unsure or afraid of _anything_, just ask
-or submit the issue or pull request anyways. You won't be yelled at for
-giving your best effort. The worst that can happen is that you'll be
-politely asked to change something. We appreciate any sort of contributions,
-and don't want a wall of rules to get in the way of that. 
+**First:** if you're unsure or afraid of _anything_, just ask or submit the
+issue or pull request anyways. You won't be yelled at for giving it your best
+effort. The worst that can happen is that you'll be politely asked to change
+something. We appreciate any sort of contributions, and don't want a wall of
+rules to get in the way of that. 
 
-You can also inquire on the [Vault Google Group][2], or in `#vault-tool` on Freenode.
+That said, if you want to ensure that a pull request is likely to be merged,
+talk to us! You can find out our thoughts and ensure that your contribution
+won't clash or be obviated by Vault's normal direction. A great way to do this
+is via the [Vault Google Group][2]. Sometimes Vault devs are in `#vault-tool`
+on Freenode, too.
 
-This document will cover what we're looking for in terms of reporting issues. 
-By addressing all the points we're looking for, it raises the chances we can 
+This document will cover what we're looking for in terms of reporting issues.
+By addressing all the points we're looking for, it raises the chances we can
 quickly merge or address your contributions.
 
 ## Issues
 
 ### Reporting an Issue
 
 * Make sure you test against the latest released version. It is possible
-  we already fixed the bug you're experiencing.
+  we already fixed the bug you're experiencing. Even better is if you can test
+  against `master`, as bugs are fixed regularly but new versions are only
+  released every few months.
 
 * Provide steps to reproduce the issue, and if possible include the expected 
-  results as well as the actual results
+  results as well as the actual results. Please provide text, not screen shots!
+
+* If you are seeing an internal Vault error (a status code of 5xx), please be
+  sure to post relevant parts of (or the entire) Vault log, as often these
+  errors are logged on the server but not reported to the user
 
 * If you experienced a panic, please create a [gist](https://gist.github.com)
   of the *entire* generated crash log for us to look at. Double check
   no sensitive items were in the log.
 
 * Respond as promptly as possible to any questions made by the Vault
-  team to your issue. Stale issues will be closed.
+  team to your issue. Stale issues will be closed periodically.
 
 ### Issue Lifecycle
 
@@ -40,8 +50,9 @@ quickly merge or address your contributions.
 2. The issue is verified and categorized by a Vault collaborator.
    Categorization is done via tags. For example, bugs are marked as "bugs".
 
-3. Unless it is critical, the issue is left for a period of time (sometimes
-   many weeks), giving outside contributors a chance to address the issue.
+3. Unless it is critical, the issue may be left for a period of time (sometimes
+   many weeks), giving outside contributors -- maybe you!? -- a chance to
+   address the issue.
 
 4. The issue is addressed in a pull request or commit. The issue will be
    referenced in the commit message so that the code that fixes it is clearly
@@ -58,4 +69,4 @@ following steps listed in the README, under the section [Developing Vault][1].
 
 
 [1]: https://github.com/hashicorp/vault#developing-vault
-[2]: https://groups.google.com/group/vault-tool
+[2]: https://groups.google.com/group/vault-tool