CONTRIBUTING.rst: Clarify WIP MR closure policy

Adds section to readme detailing the WIP MR closure policy.

2 files changed, 20 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/.gitlab/merge_request_templates/stale_MR_message.md b/.gitlab/merge_request_templates/stale_MR_message.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1a6d2897a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitlab/merge_request_templates/stale_MR_message.md
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+ The below is simply some boilerplate to text for use when commenting on
+ MRs that have not seen enough recent activity.
+ 
+ Hi, thanks for your contribution! Unfortunately this MR is now over 
+ a month without an update from the author, as per our policy I'm WIP'ing 
+ this to keep our queue tidy. Please do clear the WIP status if you come 
+ back to work on it. Cheers!
+
+ Hi! Since another month has gone by on this MR without an update from the 
+ author, as per our policy I'm going to close this to keep our queue tidy.
+ Please do re-open the MR if you come back to work on it. Cheers!
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.rst b/CONTRIBUTING.rst
index c7ab1b8ab..8a1b7996a 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.rst
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.rst
@@ -105,6 +105,15 @@ Consider marking a merge request as WIP again if you are taking a while to
 address a review point. This signals that the next action is on you, and it
 won't appear in a reviewer's search for non-WIP merge requests to review.
 
+As a general rule of thumb, after a month of no activity from the submitter of 
+a non-WIP MR, we'll put it back into WIP with a polite note. Then after another 
+month with no activity we'll close the MR off entirely with another note. 
+In this way we are trying to ensure all of the MRs in our backlog are relevant
+and up to date. We have some `boilerplate text
+<https://gitlab.com/BuildStream/buildstream/blob/master/.gitlab/merge_request_templates/stale_MR_message.md>`_,
+to help us when writing these notes.
+
+
 
 Organized commits
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~