Bill gives some great advice on the best ways to handle branches in Subversion. Because it is easier to create tags and branches in Subversion than CVS, there is also a chance of doing things incorrectly.
Since we aren't using Subversion yet, this part was the most important for me:
Update before email. Updating against the repository should be the first thing you do in the morning, even before reading your email. This tip isn't specific to branching, but it's so central to having a good working practice with any form of source control, I'll mention it here. Some of the biggest development issues with source control can be traced directly to not updating frequently. Do it until it becomes muscle memory. Email is a terrible way to start the day anyway.
I think I'll send that around the office.
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