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CONTRIBUTING.md

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+# Contributing to MLHP
+
+Thanks for your interest in contributing to the *Machine Learning from Human Preferences* textbook.
+
+## Before You Start
+
+This project is actively maintained and coordinated by the authors. **Before opening a pull request, please reach out to clarify scope and avoid duplicate work:**
+
+- **Sharon Truong** — [sttruong@stanford.edu](mailto:sttruong@stanford.edu)
+- **Andreas Haupt** — [h4upt@stanford.edu](mailto:h4upt@stanford.edu)
+
+A short email describing what you'd like to change or add is sufficient. We'll confirm whether the contribution fits the current roadmap and, if so, point you to any relevant style guidelines or chapter drafts.
+
+## What Counts as a Contribution
+
+We welcome:
+
+- Bug fixes (typos, broken references, rendering issues)
+- Improvements to exposition or worked examples
+- New exercises or solutions
+- Figure and notation corrections
+
+For larger contributions (new sections, chapter-level rewrites, new topic coverage), coordination is especially important — please get in touch before investing significant effort.
+
+## Workflow
+
+1. **Email** one of the contacts above with a brief description of the proposed change.
+2. Once you get a green light, **fork** the repository and create a feature branch.
+3. Submit a **pull request** with a clear description of the changes.
+
+## License
+
+By contributing, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the same terms as the rest of the repository.