diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 951f84cf..f3da308a 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -5,44 +5,33 @@ your contributions.
 
 ### I have a question
 
-Find us on #thelounge channel on Freenode. You might not get an answer right
-away, but this channel is filled with nice people who will be happy to help you.
+- Find us on the Freenode channel `#thelounge`. You might not get an answer
+  right away, but this channel is full of nice people who will be happy to
+  help you.
 
 ### I want to report a bug
 
-First of all, look at the
-[open and closed issues](https://github.com/thelounge/lounge/issues?q=is%3Aissue)
-to see if this was not already discussed before.
+- Look at the [open and closed
+  issues](https://github.com/thelounge/lounge/issues?q=is%3Aissue) to see if
+  this was not already discussed before. If you can't see any, feel free to
+  [open a new issue](https://github.com/thelounge/lounge/issues/new).
 
 ### I want to contribute to the code
 
-A good starting point if you want to help us but do not have a clear idea of
-what you can do specifically is to
-look at the open issues labeled as [*quick and
-easy*](https://github.com/thelounge/lounge/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3Abug+label%3A%22quick+and+easy%22)
-or [*help
-wanted*](https://github.com/thelounge/lounge/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3Abug+label%3A%22help+wanted%22).
-
-Also, make sure that your PRs do not contain unnecessary commits. If you think
-some of your commits should be merged into a single one, feel free to [squash
-them](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Tools-Rewriting-History).
-
-Please [rebase](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Branching-Rebasing) outdated
-PRs on master to help with the reviews (rebasing is preferred over merging to
-keep a clean history in a branch/PR).
-
-Additionally, give extra care to your commit messages, as they will help us
-review your PRs as well as help other contributors in the future, when exploring
-the history. The general rules are to [use the imperative present
-tense](https://git-scm.com/book/ch5-2.html#Commit-Guidelines), to start with a
-single concise line, followed by a blank line and a more detailed explanation
-when necessary. Tim Pope wrote an [excellent
-article](http://tbaggery.com/2008/04/19/a-note-about-git-commit-messages.html)
-on how one should format their commit messages.
-
-When you send a PR, expect two different reviews from the project
-maintainers. You can read more about this in the [maintainers'
+- Make sure to discuss your ideas with the community in an
+  [issue](https://github.com/thelounge/lounge/issues) or on the IRC channel.
+- Take a look at the open issues labeled as [`help wanted`](https://github.com/thelounge/lounge/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3Abug+label%3A%22help+wanted%22)
+  if you want to help without having a specific idea in mind.
+- Make sure that your PRs do not contain unnecessary commits or merge commits.
+  [Squash commits](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Tools-Rewriting-History)
+  whenever possible.
+- [Rebase](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Branching-Rebasing) (instead of
+  merge) outdated PRs on the `master` branch.
+- Give extra care to your commit messages. Use the [imperative present
+  tense](https://git-scm.com/book/ch5-2.html#Commit-Guidelines) and [follow Tim
+  Pope's guidelines](http://tbaggery.com/2008/04/19/a-note-about-git-commit-messages.html).
+- Each PR will be reviewed by at least two different project maintainers. You
+  can read more about this in the [maintainers'
 corner](https://github.com/thelounge/lounge/wiki/Maintainers'-corner).
-
-Please document any relevant changes in the documentation that can be found
-[in its own repository](https://github.com/thelounge/thelounge.github.io).
+- Please document any relevant changes in the documentation that can be found
+  [in its own repository](https://github.com/thelounge/thelounge.github.io).