diff --git a/docs/CONTRIBUTE.md b/docs/CONTRIBUTE.md
index bc7b525c5d..364bafb47a 100644
--- a/docs/CONTRIBUTE.md
+++ b/docs/CONTRIBUTE.md
@@ -188,34 +188,62 @@ to the list or better yet: change it to a pull request.
 
 ### Commit messages
 
-A short guide to how to write commit messages in the curl project.
+A short guide to how to write git commit messages in the curl project.
 
     ---- start ----
     [area]: [short line describing the main effect]
            -- empty line --
-    [full description, no wider than 72 columns that describe as much as
+    [full description, no wider than 72 columns that describes as much as
     possible as to why this change is made, and possibly what things
-    it fixes and everything else that is related]
+    it fixes and everything else that is related, with unwieldy URLs replaced
+    with references like [0], [1], etc.]
            -- empty line --
-    [Closes/Fixes #1234 - if this closes or fixes a github issue]
-    [Bug: URL to source of the report or more related discussion]
-    [Reported-by: John Doe - credit the reporter]
-    [whatever-else-by: credit all helpers, finders, doers]
+    [[0] URL - Reference to a URL in the description, almost like Markdown;
+        the last numbered reference is followed by an -- empty line -- ]
+    [Follow-up to {shorthash} - if this fixes or continues a previous commit;
+        add a Ref: that commit's PR or issue if it's not a small, obvious fix;
+        followed by an -- empty line -- ]
+    [Bug: URL to the source of the report or more related discussion; use Fixes
+        for GitHub issues instead when that is appropriate]
+    [Approved-by: John Doe - credit someone who approved the PR; if you're
+        committing this for someone else using --author=... you don't need this
+        as you're implicitly approving it by committing]
+    [Authored-by: John Doe - credit the original author of the code; only use
+        this if you can't use "git commit --author=..."]
+    {Signed-off-by: John Doe - we don't use this, but don't bother removing it]
+    [whatever-else-by: credit all helpers, finders, doers; try to use one of
+        the following keywords if at all possible, for consistency:
+        Acked-by:, Assisted-by:, Co-authored-by:, Found-by:, Reported-by:,
+        Reviewed-by:, Suggested-by:, Tested-by:]
+    [Ref: #1234 - if this is related to a GitHub issue or PR, possibly one that
+                  has already been closed]
+    [Ref: URL to more information about the commit; use Bug: instead for
+        a reference to a bug on another bug tracker]
+    [Fixes #1234 - if this closes a GitHub issue; GitHub will actually
+        close the issue once this commit is merged]
+    [Closes #1234 - if this closes a GitHub PR; GitHub will actually
+        close the PR once this commit is merged]
     ---- stop ----
 
 The first line is a succinct description of the change:
 
  - use the imperative, present tense: "change" not "changed" nor "changes"
- - do not capitalize first letter
- - no dot (.) at the end
+ - do not capitalize the first letter
+ - no period (.) at the end
 
 The `[area]` in the first line can be `http2`, `cookies`, `openssl` or
 similar. There's no fixed list to select from but using the same "area" as
 other related changes could make sense.
 
-Do not forget to use commit --author="" if you commit someone else's work, and
+Do not forget to use commit --author=... if you commit someone else's work, and
 make sure that you have your own user and email setup correctly in git before
-you commit
+you commit.
+
+Add whichever header lines as appropriate, with one line per person if more
+than one person was involved. There's no need to credit yourself unless you are
+using --author=... which hides your identity. Don't include people's e-mail
+addresses in headers to avoid spam, unless they're already public from a
+previous commit; saying `{userid} on github` is OK.
 
 ### Write Access to git Repository