From 11222561dac333d67812e523200f1f6d0217862e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "Flemming N. Larsen" <flemming.n.larsen@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2026 22:22:10 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] Guide first-time contributors through client registration and
 notify moderators

---
 .github/CODEOWNERS               | 4 ++++
 .github/pull_request_template.md | 2 ++
 CONTRIBUTING.md                  | 4 ++--
 3 files changed, 8 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 .github/CODEOWNERS

diff --git a/.github/CODEOWNERS b/.github/CODEOWNERS
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3c111b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/CODEOWNERS
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Requests review (and therefore sends a notification) from the moderators when a pull request changes these files.
+/clients/ @robocode-dev/rumble-moderators
+/bans.json @robocode-dev/rumble-moderators
+/exclusions.json @robocode-dev/rumble-moderators
diff --git a/.github/pull_request_template.md b/.github/pull_request_template.md
index 547fd70..1a9afff 100644
--- a/.github/pull_request_template.md
+++ b/.github/pull_request_template.md
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+<!-- Registering a battle client? Do not fill in this maintainer template. Open https://github.com/robocode-dev/rumble-data/compare?expand=1&template=client-registration.md instead, or replace this whole description with the checklist from .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/client-registration.md. -->
+
 ## Acceptance brief
 
 <!-- Delete this entire section and every Cliewen-specific section below for simple work. Simple means the accepted contract remains unchanged. -->
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index e3c8040..67a5f92 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Battle contributors should register once, then let the Rumble Client create and
 
 ## Register a client
 
-Open a pull request that adds `clients/<your-github-account>.json`:
+Fork this repository and open a pull request that adds `clients/<your-github-account>.json`. When you open the pull request, use the [client registration description](https://github.com/robocode-dev/rumble-data/compare?expand=1&template=client-registration.md) (the same address with `?template=client-registration.md` added). GitHub offers no menu for choosing a template and otherwise fills in a long maintainer checklist that does not apply to a registration.
 
 ```json
 {
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ Open a pull request that adds `clients/<your-github-account>.json`:
 }
 ```
 
-The filename and `account` must match the submitting GitHub account. `clientIds` must be a non-empty list of stable identifiers you control. A moderator reviews the registration before results from that account and client ID can be accepted.
+The filename and `account` must match the submitting GitHub account. `clientIds` must be a non-empty list of stable identifiers you control. A moderator reviews the registration before results from that account and client ID can be accepted. As a first-time contributor, the automated checks on your pull request do not start by themselves: GitHub holds them until a moderator approves the run, so a pull request that shows no finished checks is waiting for a moderator, not broken.
 
 ## Result submission contract