Launch external contributor outreach and first-contributor conversions

[4444J99]

Objective

Convert improved contributor runway into real first-time external contributions.

Why this needs humans

Requires community outreach, direct communication, and contributor support.

Window

March 20, 2026 to April 10, 2026

Acceptance Criteria

• At least 10 outreach touches to relevant contributors/communities
• At least 3 first-time external contributors submit PRs
• Median first-review response time under 3 business days
• Median first-contributor cycle time under 14 days

Notes

Use the new good first issue and first-contribution templates as intake backbone.

[github-actions]

Marked stale due to inactivity. Will close in 14 days.

[4444J99]

Engagement disposition: evolving. The intake backbone exists on main (CONTRIBUTING.md, QUICK_START.md, and .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/first_contribution.md), and PR #34 attempts an outreach doc, but I found no merged evidence for the external human outcomes: 10 outreach touches, 3 first-time contributor PRs, or median response/cycle-time metrics. This remains an external-conversion lane, not merely a docs lane.