diff --git a/Doc/whatsnew/whatsnew26.tex b/Doc/whatsnew/whatsnew26.tex
index d427c6b7158..fa7dd40394c 100644
--- a/Doc/whatsnew/whatsnew26.tex
+++ b/Doc/whatsnew/whatsnew26.tex
@@ -2,6 +2,46 @@
 \usepackage{distutils}
 % $Id$
 
+% Rules for maintenance:
+% 
+%  * Anyone can add text to this document.  Do not spend very much time
+%    on the wording of your changes, because your text will probably
+%    get rewritten to some degree.
+%
+%  * The maintainer will go through Misc/NEWS periodically and add
+%    changes; it's therefore more important to add your changes to 
+%    Misc/NEWS than to this file.
+%
+%  * This is not a complete list of every single change; completeness
+%    is the purpose of Misc/NEWS.  Some changes I consider too small
+%    or esoteric to include.  If such a change is added to the text,
+%    I'll just remove it.  (This is another reason you shouldn't spend
+%    too much time on writing your addition.)
+%
+%  * If you want to draw your new text to the attention of the
+%    maintainer, add 'XXX' to the beginning of the paragraph or
+%    section.
+%
+%  * It's OK to just add a fragmentary note about a change.  For
+%    example: "XXX Describe the transmogrify() function added to the
+%    socket module."  The maintainer will research the change and
+%    write the necessary text.
+%
+%  * You can comment out your additions if you like, but it's not
+%    necessary (especially when a final release is some months away).
+%
+%  * Credit the author of a patch or bugfix.   Just the name is
+%    sufficient; the e-mail address isn't necessary.
+%
+%  * It's helpful to add the bug/patch number as a comment:
+%
+%       % Patch 12345
+%       XXX Describe the transmogrify() function added to the socket
+%       module.
+%       (Contributed by P.Y. Developer.)
+%
+%    This saves the maintainer the effort of going through the SVN log
+%    when researching a change.
 
 \title{What's New in Python 2.6}
 \release{0.0}