diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md
index a7b50772..9d03f31c 100644
--- a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md
@@ -1,42 +1,25 @@
----
-name: Bug report
-about: Report a bug in pycromanager
-labels: bug
----
-
-
-### Bug report
-
-<!--To help us understand and resolve your issue, please fill out the form to the best of your ability.-->
-<!--feel free to delete the sections that do not apply.-->
-
 <!--Before submitting a bug report, make sure you have 
     1) installed the latest version of pycromanager (pip install pycromanager --upgrade) 
     2) are using the latest nightly build of micro-manager
     -->
 
-<!--Also, note that many times things that may appear to be bugs in pycro-manager are 
+<!--Note that many times things that may appear to be bugs in pycro-manager are 
     actually coming from the micro-manager core or the device adapters for the hardware in use.
     If this is the case, you should instead open a bug in the main micro-manager repository 
     (https://github.com/micro-manager/micro-manager). To check this, try reproducing your 
     bug using the micro-manager demo configuration, which comes with every micro-manager installation
-    and provides simulated "demo" hardware. If you can't reproduce your issue with the demo configuration, 
-    it is likely unrelated to pycro-manager
+    and provides simulated "demo" hardware. If you can't reproduce your issue with the demo
+    configuration, it is likely unrelated to pycro-manager
     -->
 
-**Bug summary**
+<!--The best bug reports are those which can be converted into an automated test. This ensures that once fixed, the bug can be avoided in the future. Tests are minimal scripts that reproduce the errant behavior using the Micro-Manager Demo configuration. Examples of tests can be found here: https://github.com/micro-manager/pycro-manager/tree/main/pycromanager/test
+-->
 
-<!--A succint description of the bug-->
+<!--If you're familiar with the process of making pull requests, the most helpful type of bug report to create is one with a linked pull request with a new test added (which should currently fail due to the bug). More information running the testing framework can be found here: (https://github.com/micro-manager/pycro-manager/blob/main/Contributing.md#testing-the-code). If you're not familiar with this process, it is also okay to simply paste a snippet of code in this report.-->
 
 **Code for reproduction**
-
-<!--A minimum code snippet required to reproduce the bug.
-    If possible, this should be reproducible using the micro-manager demo configuration-->
-
 ```python
-# Paste your code here
-#
-#
+# your code here
 ```
 
 **Expected outcome**
@@ -47,12 +30,3 @@ labels: bug
 
 <!--The output produced by the above code, which may be a screenshot, console output, etc.-->
 
-
-**Version Info**
-<!--Please specify your platform and versions of the relevant libraries you are using:-->
-  * Operating system:
-  * pycromanager version: 
-  * MicroManager version:
-  * Python version:
-  * Python environment (command line, IDE, Jupyter notebook, etc)
-