Update contact instructions: announce chat, preference for issues

README.md

@@ -27,11 +27,18 @@ user guide.
 
 If you need help with MkDocs, do not hesitate to get in contact with us!
 
-You can either open a [Discussion] to ask questions or create an [Issue] to
-report a bug or make a feature request. Please note that we may only provide
+- For questions and high-level discussions, use **[Discussions]** on GitHub.
+    - For small questions, a good alternative is the **[Chat room]** on
+      Gitter/Matrix (**new!**)
+- To report a bug or make a feature request, open an **[Issue]** on GitHub.
+
+Please note that we may only provide
 support for problems/questions regarding core features of MkDocs. Any
 questions or bug reports about features of third-party themes, plugins,
-extensions or similar should be made to their respective projects.
+extensions or similar should be made to their respective projects.  
+But, such questions are *not* banned from the [chat room].
+
+Make sure stick around to answer some questions as well!
 
 ## Links
 
@@ -60,7 +67,8 @@ discussion forums is expected to follow the [PyPA Code of Conduct].
 <!-- Links -->
 [mkdocs]: https://www.mkdocs.org
 [Issue]: https://github.com/mkdocs/mkdocs/issues
-[Discussion]: https://github.com/mkdocs/mkdocs/discussions
+[Discussions]: https://github.com/mkdocs/mkdocs/discussions
+[Chat room]: https://gitter.im/mkdocs/community
 [release-notes]: https://www.mkdocs.org/about/release-notes/
 [wiki]: https://github.com/mkdocs/mkdocs/wiki
 [Contributing Guide]: https://www.mkdocs.org/about/contributing/

docs/about/contributing.md

@@ -70,7 +70,10 @@ Themes]. We welcome translation Pull Requests!
 
 ## Submitting Pull Requests
 
-Once you are happy with your changes or you are ready for some feedback, push
+If you're considering a large code contribution to MkDocs, please prefer to
+open an issue first to get early feedback on the idea.
+
+Once you think the code is ready to be reviewed, push
 it to your fork and send a pull request. For a change to be accepted it will
 most likely need to have tests and documentation if it is a new feature.