Add issue template

.github/issue_template.md

@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+## Darklang Release X
+
+- [ ] create and fill in a new set of release notes
+  - [ ] create a new `release-n.md` page in `docs/changelog`
+  - [ ] use [the `dark-changelog` canvas](https://darklang.com/a/dark-changelog)
+        to fill in a draft of the changelog this gather PRs merged throughout
+        the month
+  - [ ] add reference to new page in sidebar
+  - [ ] create headers; move bullets to appropriate headers
+  - [ ] merge similar bullets where relevant
+  - [ ] revise wording
+  - [ ] review each item and fill in changelog with images, diagrams, screen
+        recordings, etc.
+  - [ ] were there any emergencies (i.e. service interruptions) throughout the
+        month? are they worth documenting within the changelog or during our
+        normal release cycle? Check `#status` and `#operations` in Discord, for
+        reference.
+- [ ] update docs with anything we've done in the past month (if there's not
+      much, just edit it in the main PR; otherwise updating docs in separate PRs
+      might make sense)
+- [ ] merge changelog and docs updates
+- [ ] record (video/audio) a release review, and thoughts for the upcoming
+      month(s)
+  - [ ] publish to youtube (after minor editing?)
+- [ ] prepare drafts
+  - [ ] draft blog post
+    - [ ] review each changelog item to see if it should be highlighted
+    - [ ] consider
+      - [ ] what were the major themes of the month?
+      - [ ] what's immediately useful to our users?
+      - [ ] what interesting technical challenges did we face?
+    - [ ] can we link to any new docs/features?
+    - [ ] can we include any images or gifs?
+    - [ ] what header image should we use? with link
+    - [ ] include commented out links to Lobstrs, HN, Twitter, Mastodon, reddit,
+          youtube, twitch, discord
+  - [ ] draft email
+    - [ ] create mailchimp campaign
+    - [ ] write draft
+  - [ ] draft
+        [tweet](https://twitter.com/darklang)/[toot](https://devtools.social/@darklang)
+  - [ ] draft [HN](https://news.ycombinator.com/submit)
+  - [ ] draft [r/darklang](https://reddit.com/r/darklang)
+  - [ ] draft [Lobstrs](https://lobste.rs/stories/new)
+  - [ ] draft
+        [discord #announcements](https://discord.com/channels/1015413734153388094/1015432022489043025)
+  - [ ] draft
+        [Slack #announcements](https://darkcommunity.slack.com/archives/CP22G0GSJ)
+- [ ] publish blog post
+- [ ] post to socials
+  - [ ] send tweet
+  - [ ] send toot
+  - [ ] post HN
+  - [ ] post r/darklang
+  - [ ] post Lobstrs
+  - [ ] post discord
+  - [ ] post slack \#announcements
+- [ ] update blog post with links
+  - [ ] twitter
+  - [ ] mastodon
+  - [ ] reddit
+  - [ ] HN
+  - [ ] Lobstrs
+  - [ ] discord
+- [ ] send mailchimp campaign email

docs/contributing/new-release-checklist.md

@@ -12,54 +12,8 @@ Every month, we aim to:
 - update our users, via email and social media, of these changes
 - reflect on the progress made within the past month, and discuss upcoming work
 
-## Reporting on a Dark Release
-
-Towards those results, this is an outline that covers most of the relevant
-steps:
-
-- [ ] create a new Issue in `darklang/docs` with these bullets
-
-  "Publish Release {x}"
-
-- [ ] create and fill in a new set of release notes
-  - [ ] create a new `release-n.md` page in `docs/changelog`
-  - [ ] use [the `dark-changelog` canvas](https://darklang.com/a/dark-changelog)
-        to fill in a draft of the changelog this gather PRs merged throughout
-        the month
-  - [ ] add reference to new page in sidebar
-  - [ ] create headers; move bullets to appropriate headers
-  - [ ] merge like bullets where relevant
-  - [ ] revise wording
-  - [ ] review each item and fill in changelog with images, diagrams, screen
-        recordings, etc.
-- [ ] backfill docs with anything we've done in the past month (if there's not
-      much, just edit it in the main PR; otherwise backfilling docs in separate
-      PRs might make sense)
-- [ ] publish changelog and docs updates
-- [ ] write blog post
-  - [ ] review each of the things we've done in the past month
-  - [ ] consider
-    - [ ] what were the major themes of the month?
-    - [ ] what's immediately useful to our users?
-    - [ ] what interesting technical challenges did we face?
-  - [ ] can we link to any new docs/features?
-  - [ ] what header image should we use?
-- [ ] record (video/audio) a release review, and thoughts for he upcoming
-      month(s)
-- [ ] publish the recording to youtube (after minor editing?); update blog post
-      with link
-- [ ] draft email/tweet/toot
-- [ ] publish blog post with missing/broken links at the bottom
-- [ ] publish to mastodon, reddit, twitter, lobstrs, etc.
-- [ ] update blog post with all of those links
-- [ ] send email to users
-
-It may be worth additionally considering:
-
-- [ ] were there any emergencies (i.e. service interruptions) throughout the
-      month? are they worth documenting within the changelog or during our
-      normal release cycle? Check `#status` and `#operations` in Discord, for
-      reference.
+The easiest way to step through this is to create an issue using the
+[release issue template](https://github.com/darklang/docs/tree/main/.github/issue_template.md)
 
 ## Writing your PRs so the `dark-changelog` canvas will be able to parse the changelog