diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index d7d13794..982507a0 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -1,8 +1,19 @@
-Thank-you for taking the time to contribute to _s. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind when submitting issues and pull requests:
+Thanks for contributing to `_s` (Underscores) — you rock!
 
-- _s only supports Internet Exporter versions 9 and greater. Please don't open issues that deal with lesser versions of Internet Exporter.
-- Having multiple `<h1>` tags in a page is valid by the HTML5 spec, and this is something that we will not be changing.
-- The preferred method of generating a new theme based on _s is the [Underscores.me](http://underscores.me) website. If you have an alternative method, such as a shell script, feel free to write a blog post about it or host it in a separate repo.
-- If your issue is specific to the [Underscores.me](http://underscores.me) website, please open a pull request on the [Underscores.me GitHub repository](https://github.com/Automattic/underscores.me) instead of here.
+## _s
+Before getting started, make sure your issue has not been discussed earlier. You can search for existing tickets [here](https://github.com/Automattic/_s/search).
 
-You can see all contributors to _s [listed on the Underscores.me](http://underscores.me/#contribute) website along with their GitHub avatars, ordered by amount of contributions. Please ensure that you have an email address added to both GitHub and your local Git installation to be recognized for your contributions.
+Here are some tips to consider and to help you write a great report:
+
+* `_s` supports Internet Explorer 9 and greater, as well as the latest two versions of all other major browsers.
+* `_s` is backwards compatible with the two versions prior to the current stable version of WordPress.
+* `_s` uses HTML5 markup. In HTML5, it is common to use multiple `<h1>` elements.
+
+By contributing code to `_s`, you grant its use under the [GNU General Public License v2 (or later)](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html).
+
+## Underscores.me
+If your issue is specific to the [Underscores.me](http://underscores.me) website, the [Underscores.me GitHub repo](https://github.com/Automattic/underscores.me) is the right place for you.
+
+The preferred method of generating a new theme based on `_s` is the [Underscores.me](http://underscores.me) website. If you have an alternative method, such as a shell script, write a blog post about it or host it in a separate repo -- and make sure to mention [@underscoresme](https://twitter.com/underscoresme) in your tweets!
+
+Want to have your avatar listed as one of the `_s` contributors [here](http://underscores.me/#contribute)? Just make sure you have an email address added to both GitHub and your local Git installation.