We've been building for over a year, with a whole set of new kinds, without a single NIP for any of them, and nobody has yet died.

I find the kind list and tag list on the readme most interesting, to make sure I don't accidentally reuse a popular number, and to peruse existing data structures. I sometimes dig stuff up out of PRs, like public messages, and implement it. I don't bother to wait for a NIP.

Either it's a good idea, or it isn't. The bad ideas eventually just peter out, and I decide for myself which ones are the good ones.

New devs often ask me for advice on NIPs to use and I direct them to open PRs that I'm following, but they're sometimes scared to use them.