Documentation Cleanup in /Doc

Added some help text, and bumped version numbers.

Added a Readable Index for /Contrib

Fixing /Contrib Index URLs

Revert Version Numbers.

README.md

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ the Bitcoin client software, see http://www.bitcoin.org.
 License
 -------
 
-Bitcoin is released under the terms of the MIT license. See `COPYING` for more
+Bitcoin is released under the terms of the MIT license. See [COPYING](COPYING) for more
 information or see http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT.
 
 Development process
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ submitter will be asked to start a discussion (if they haven't already) on the
 
 The patch will be accepted if there is broad consensus that it is a good thing.
 Developers should expect to rework and resubmit patches if the code doesn't
-match the project's coding conventions (see `doc/coding.md`) or are
+match the project's coding conventions (see [doc/coding.md](doc/coding.md)) or are
 controversial.
 
 The `master` branch is regularly built and tested, but is not guaranteed to be
@@ -56,10 +56,7 @@ lots of money.
 ### Automated Testing
 
 Developers are strongly encouraged to write unit tests for new code, and to
-submit new unit tests for old code.
-
-Unit tests can be compiled and run (assuming they weren't disabled in configure) with:
-  make check
+submit new unit tests for old code. Unit tests can be compiled and run (assuming they weren't disabled in configure) with: `make check`
 
 Every pull request is built for both Windows and Linux on a dedicated server,
 and unit and sanity tests are automatically run. The binaries produced may be
@@ -71,5 +68,4 @@ for the build/test scripts.
 
 Large changes should have a test plan, and should be tested by somebody other
 than the developer who wrote the code.
-
 See https://github.com/bitcoin/QA/ for how to create a test plan.

contrib/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+Contrib Index
+---------------------
+
+### [Debian](/contrib/debian) ###
+Contains files used to package bitcoind/bitcoin-qt
+for Debian-based Linux systems. If you compile bitcoind/bitcoin-qt yourself, there are some useful files here.
+
+### [Gitian-descriptors](/contrib/gitian-descriptors) ###
+Gavin's notes on getting gitian builds up and running using KVM.
+
+### [Gitian-downloader](/contrib/gitian-downloader)
+Various PGP files of core developers. 
+
+### [Macdeploy](/contrib/macdeploy) ###
+Scripts and notes for Mac builds. 
+
+### [PyMiner](/contrib/pyminer) ###
+
+This is a 'getwork' CPU mining client for Bitcoin. It is pure-python, and therefore very, very slow.  The purpose is to provide a reference implementation of a miner, for study.
+
+### [Qos](/contrib/qos) ###
+
+A Linux bash script that will set up tc to limit the outgoing bandwidth for connections to the Bitcoin network. This means one can have an always-on bitcoind instance running, and another local bitcoind/bitcoin-qt instance which connects to this node and receives blocks from it.
+
+### [Seeds](/contrib/seeds) ###
+Utility to generate the pnSeed[] array that is compiled into the client.
+
+### [SpendFrom](/contrib/spendfrom) ###
+
+Use the raw transactions API to send coins received on a particular
+address (or addresses).
+
+### [TestGen](/contrib/testgen) ###
+Utilities to generate test vectors for the data-driven Bitcoin tests.

contrib/debian/README

@@ -1,20 +0,0 @@
-This directory contains files used to package bitcoind/bitcoin-qt
-for Debian-based Linux systems.
-
-If you compile bitcoind/bitcoin-qt yourself, there are some
-useful files here:
-
-bitcoin: URI support
---------------------
-
-bitcoin-qt.desktop  (Gnome / Open Desktop)
-To install:
-  sudo desktop-file-install bitcoin-qt.desktop
-  sudo update-desktop-database
-
-If you build yourself, you will either need to modify the paths in
-the .desktop file or copy or symlink your bitcoin-qt binary to /usr/bin
-and the ../../share/pixmaps/bitcoin128.png to /usr/share/pixmaps
-
-bitcoin-qt.protocol (KDE)
-

contrib/debian/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+
+Debian
+====================
+This directory contains files used to package bitcoind/bitcoin-qt
+for Debian-based Linux systems. If you compile bitcoind/bitcoin-qt yourself, there are some useful files here.
+
+## bitcoin: URI support ##
+
+
+bitcoin-qt.desktop  (Gnome / Open Desktop)
+To install:
+
+	sudo desktop-file-install bitcoin-qt.desktop
+	sudo update-desktop-database
+
+If you build yourself, you will either need to modify the paths in
+the .desktop file or copy or symlink your bitcoin-qt binary to `/usr/bin`
+and the `../../share/pixmaps/bitcoin128.png` to `/usr/share/pixmaps`
+
+bitcoin-qt.protocol (KDE)
+

contrib/testgen/README

@@ -1 +1 @@
-Utilities to generate test vectors for the data-driven Bitcoin tests
+Utilities to generate test vectors for the data-driven Bitcoin tests.

doc/README.md

@@ -3,22 +3,15 @@ Bitcoin 0.8.2 BETA
 
 Copyright (c) 2009-2013 Bitcoin Developers
 
+License
+---------------------
 Distributed under the [MIT/X11 software license](http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php).
 This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the [OpenSSL Toolkit](http://www.openssl.org/). This product includes
 cryptographic software written by Eric Young ([eay@cryptsoft.com](mailto:eay@cryptsoft.com)), and UPnP software written by Thomas Bernard.
 
-
-Intro
----------------------
-Bitcoin is a free open source peer-to-peer electronic cash system that is
-completely decentralized, without the need for a central server or trusted
-parties.  Users hold the crypto keys to their own money and transact directly
-with each other, with the help of a P2P network to check for double-spending.
-
-
 Setup
 ---------------------
-[Bitcoin-Qt](http://bitcoin.org/en/download) is the original Bitcoin client and it builds the backbone of the network. However, it downloads and stores the entire history of Bitcoin transactions; depending on the speed of your computer and network connection, the synchronization process can take anywhere from a few hours to a day or more.
+[Bitcoin-Qt](http://bitcoin.org/en/download) is the original Bitcoin client and it builds the backbone of the network. However, it downloads and stores the entire history of Bitcoin transactions (which is currently several GBs); depending on the speed of your computer and network connection, the synchronization process can take anywhere from a few hours to a day or more.
 
 ### Unix
 
@@ -44,10 +37,12 @@ Unpack the files into a directory and run bitcoin-qt.exe.
 * See the documentation at the [Bitcoin Wiki](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Main_Page)
 for help and more information.
 * Ask for help on [#bitcoin](http://webchat.freenode.net?channels=bitcoin) on Freenode. If you don't have an IRC client use [webchat here](http://webchat.freenode.net?channels=bitcoin).
-* Ask for help on the [BitcoinTalk](https://bitcointalk.org/) forums.
+* Ask for help on the [BitcoinTalk](https://bitcointalk.org/) forums, in the [technical support board](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=4.0).
 
 Building
 ---------------------
+The following are developer notes on how to build Bitcoin on your native platform. They are not complete guide, but include notes on the necessary libraries, compile flags, etc.
+
 - [Bitcoin-Qt Readme](readme-qt.md)
 - [OSX Build Notes](build-osx.md)
 - [Unix Build Notes](build-unix.md)
@@ -55,6 +50,8 @@ Building
 
 Development
 ---------------------
+The Bitcoin repo's [root README](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/README.md) contains relevant information on the development process and automated testing.
+
 - [Coding Guidelines](coding.md)
 - [Multiwallet Qt Development](multiwallet-qt.md)
 - [Release Notes](release-notes.md)