[DOC] Contributor docs update

.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md

@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ not applicable. To check a box, replace the space inside the square brackets wit
 -->
 
 ##### For all contributions
-- [ ] I've added myself to the [list of contributors](https://github.com/aeon-toolkit/aeon/blob/main/.all-contributorsrc). Alternatively, you can use the [@all-contributors](https://allcontributors.org/docs/en/bot/usage) bot to do this for you after the PR has been merged.
+- [ ] I've added myself to the [list of contributors](https://github.com/aeon-toolkit/aeon/blob/main/.all-contributorsrc). Alternatively, you can use the [@all-contributors](https://allcontributors.org/docs/en/bot/usage) bot to do this for you **after** the PR has been merged.
 - [ ] The PR title starts with either [ENH], [MNT], [DOC], [BUG], [REF], [DEP] or [GOV] indicating whether the PR topic is related to enhancement, maintenance, documentation, bugs, refactoring, deprecation or governance.
 
 ##### For new estimators and functions

docs/contributing.md

@@ -17,6 +17,14 @@ Pull requests from unknown contributors which do not attempt to resolve the issu
 addressed, completely disregard the pull request template, or consist of low quality AI
 generated output may be closed without review.
 
+When implementing new algorithms, developers may require some benchmarking
+against alternative implementations or published results. This is likely to
+be the case for complex published algorithms which are not contributed by trusted
+developers or the original authors. A developer may eventually do this themselves if the
+contributor is unable to, but this is a time-consuming process and may delay the
+merging of the pull request significantly. Please be aware of this when assigning
+yourself to an issue for such algorithms.
+
 In the following we will give a brief overview of how to contribute to `aeon`. Making
 contributions to open-source projects takes a bit of proactivity and can be daunting at
 first, but members of the community are here to help and answer questions. If you get
@@ -36,7 +44,8 @@ list may be a good place to start.
 it. **First ensure that the issue is not already being worked on. Look if there are any
 linked PRs and search the issue number in the pull requests list.**
 To assign yourself an **Issue/Pull Request**, please post a comment in the issue
-including '@aeon-actions-bot', the username of people to assign and the word `assign`:
+including '@aeon-actions-bot', the username of people to assign and the word `assign`
+(Please note that anyone @'ed in the comment will be assigned to the issue):
 
     For example:
     ```python
@@ -83,6 +92,17 @@ Alternatively, you can use the [@all-contributors](https://allcontributors.org/d
 bot to do this for you. If the contribution is contained in a PR, please only @ the bot
 when the PR has been merged. A list of relevant tags can be found [here](https://allcontributors.org/docs/en/emoji-key).
 
+## Joining `aeon` as a Core Developer
+
+`aeon` Core Developers have write access to the repository and the ability to vote on
+community decisions. For more details on this role, please refer to the
+[about](about.md) and [governance](governance.md) pages.
+
+If you would like to become a Core Developer, the best way is to reach out and express
+your interest. We are particularly open to dedicated contributors who have made
+high-quality contributions to the project, as well as time series researchers and
+industry professionals.
+
 ## Further Reading
 
 For further information on contributing to `aeon`, please see the following pages.