chore(governance): add CONTRIBUTING.md for standards#505 gates

Author: hyperpolymath

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+<!-- SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0 -->
+<!-- SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026 Jonathan D.A. Jewell -->
+
+# Contributing to technical-notes
+
+Thanks for your interest. This repository follows the Hyperpolymath estate
+standards defined in [hyperpolymath/standards](https://github.com/hyperpolymath/standards).
+
+## Licence
+
+This project is licensed under **MPL-2.0**. By contributing you agree that
+your contributions are licensed under the same terms. Every source file
+carries an `SPDX-License-Identifier` header; keep it when editing, and add
+one to any new file.
+
+## Development environment
+
+A pinned dev shell is provided:
+
+```sh
+nix develop        # toolchain: git
+```
+
+Estate policy is Guix primary / Nix fallback; this repo currently ships the
+Nix fallback. A `guix.scm` is welcome if you prefer the primary tier.
+
+## Language policy
+
+The estate restricts which languages may be used. In particular Python, Go,
+TypeScript, ReScript, V-lang, Java/Kotlin, Swift and Makefiles are **not**
+accepted in new code; AffineScript, Rust/SPARK, Zig, Deno, Gleam, Elixir,
+Haskell, Idris2, Agda, Julia and OCaml are. CI enforces this, so check the
+policy in `hyperpolymath/standards` before introducing a new language.
+
+## Documentation format
+
+Docs are AsciiDoc (`.adoc`) by default, including `README.adoc`. The
+GitHub-required community-health files stay Markdown: `SECURITY.md`,
+`CONTRIBUTING.md`, `CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md`, `CHANGELOG.md`. Do not add a `.md`
+duplicate of a doc that already exists as `.adoc`.
+
+## Pull requests
+
+1. Branch from `main` — do not push to `main` directly; branch protection
+   requires review and passing checks.
+2. Keep the change focused, and explain *why* in the PR body.
+3. Make sure governance CI is green. It checks documentation presence,
+   packaging policy, secrets, licence consistency and workflow security.
+4. Security issues: follow `SECURITY.md` — report privately, never in a
+   public issue.