When managing an open source project (using a service like GitHub) how would one

Question

When managing an open source project (using a service like GitHub) how would one respond to the following:

Somebody has kindly submitted a patch to add a new feature or address a problem. Any one of the following situations occur:

The source code doesn't meet one or more naming conventions, etc.
I feel that the source code could be improved in a certain way. Perhaps the same effect can be achieved with far simpler source, or perhaps another useful feature would be needed.
Q1. Is it acceptable for me to alter the submitted source? (is this possible on GitHub?)

Q2. Should all such submissions be rejected in accordance with submission guidelines?

Q3. If yes to Q2, what about a really neat idea that was poorly implemented? Is it acceptable for me to just go ahead and create my own?

I want to encourage contribution but at the same time it is important to maintain a certain standard.

Explanation / Answer

Set up, if you haven't already, a document that describes the project's standards. Be sure to outlineeverything you feel is important when contributing code to your project.

Then, respond to the person who supplied the code detailing that you very much appreciate the contribution, and that you would like to include the patch, but there are some issues. Provide a link to the document and cite the particular issues you see. Then, ask that person to fix the issues and resubmit the code.

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