diff --git a/CHANGES b/CHANGES
index da3a04bc18..990a840f50 100644
--- a/CHANGES
+++ b/CHANGES
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
+2.6-624 | 2019-07-16 16:07:59 +0000
+
+ * Redo README. We now have separate plain text and Markdown versions.
+ (Zeke Medley, Corelight)
+
2.6-616 | 2019-07-16 15:21:37 +0000
* Fix referecne counting bug in EnumType copy constructor. (Jon
diff --git a/README b/README
index 2c71e11c0b..1dbad2ce1f 100644
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -1,36 +1,93 @@
-=============================
-Zeek Network Security Monitor
-=============================
+=================================
+The Zeek Network Security Monitor
+=================================
-Zeek is a powerful framework for network analysis and security
-monitoring.
+Zeek is a powerful framework for network traffic analysis and security
+monitoring. Follow us on Twitter at @zeekurity.
-(Zeek is the new name for the long-established Bro system. Note that
-parts of the system retain the "Bro" name, and it also often appears in
-the documentation and distributions.)
+Key Features
+============
-Please see the INSTALL file for installation instructions and pointers
-for getting started. NEWS contains release notes for the current
-version, and CHANGES has the complete history of changes. Please see
-COPYING for licensing information.
+* **In-depth Analysis**
+ Zeek ships with analyzers for many protocols, enabling
+ high-level semantic analysis at the application layer.
-You can download source and binary releases on:
+* **Adaptable & Flexible**
+ Zeek's domain specific scripting language enables site-specific
+ monitoring policies and means that it is not restricted to any
+ particular detection approach.
- https://www.zeek.org/download
+* **Efficient**
+ Zeek targets high-performance networks and is used operationally
+ at a variety of large sites.
-To get the current development version, clone our master git
-repository:
+* **Highly Stateful**
+ Zeek keeps extensive application-layer state about the network
+ it monitors and provides a high-level archive of a network's
+ activity.
- git clone --recursive https://github.com/zeek/zeek
+Getting Started
+===============
-For more documentation, research publications, and community contact
-information, please see the home page:
+The best place to find information about getting started with Zeek is
+our web site https://www.zeek.org, specifically the documentation
+section there [1]. One the web site you can also get downloads for
+stable releases, tutorials on getting Zeek set up, and many other
+useful resources.
- https://www.zeek.org
+You can find release notes in NEWS, and a complete record of all
+changes in CHANGES.
-On behalf of the Zeek Development Team,
+To work with the most recent code from the development branch of Zeek,
+clone the master git repository:
+
+ > git clone --recursive https://github.com/zeek/zeek
+
+With all dependencies [2] in place, build and install:
+
+ > ./configure && make && sudo make install
+
+Write your first Zeek script:
+
+ # File "hello.zeek"
+
+ event zeek_init
+ {
+ print "Hello, World!";
+ }
+
+And run it:
+
+ > zeek hello.zeek
+
+For learning more about the Zeek scripting language,
+https://try.zeek.org is a great resource.
+
+Development
+===========
+
+Zeek is developed on GitHub by its community. We welcome
+contributions. Working on an open source project like Zeek can be an
+incredibly rewarding experience and, packet by packet, makes the
+Internet a little safer. Today, as a result of countless
+contributions, Zeek is used operationally around the world by major
+companies and educational and scientific institutions alike for
+securing their cyber infrastructure.
+
+If you're interested in getting involved, we collect feature requests
+and issues on GitHub. More information on Zeek's development can be
+found here [2], and information about its community and mailing lists
+(which are fairly active) can be found here [3].
+
+License
+-------
+
+Zeek comes with a BSD license, allowing for free use with virtually no
+restrictions. You can find it in COPYING.
+
+
+[1] https://www.zeek.org/documentation/index.html
+[2] https://docs.zeek.org/en/stable/install/install.html
+[3] https://www.zeek.org/development/index.html
+[4] https://www.zeek.org/community/index.html
-Vern Paxson & Robin Sommer,
-International Computer Science Institute &
-Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
-vern@icir.org / robin@icir.org
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5a39d327d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+
+
+[](https:://www.zeek.org)
+
+The Zeek Network Security Monitor
+
+
+
+A [powerful](https://www.zeek.org/why_choose_zeek.pdf) framework for network
+traffic analysis and security monitoring.
+
+[_Key Features_](#key-features) —
+[_Documentation_](https://docs.zeek.org/en/stable/index.html) —
+[_Getting Started_](#getting-started) —
+[_Development_](#development) —
+[_License_](#license)
+
+Follow us on Twitter at [@zeekurity](https://twitter.com/zeekurity).
+
+
+
+Key Features
+--------------
+
+* __In-depth Analysis__
+ Zeek ships with analyzers for many protocols, enabling high-level semantic
+ analysis at the application layer.
+
+* __Adaptable and Flexible__
+ Zeek's domain-specific scripting language enables site-specific monitoring
+ policies and means that it is not restricted to any particular detection
+ approach.
+
+* __Efficient__
+ Zeek targets high-performance networks and is used operationally at a variety
+ of large sites.
+
+* __Highly Stateful__
+ Zeek keeps extensive application-layer state about the network it monitors
+ and provides a high-level archive of a network's activity.
+
+Getting Started
+---------------
+
+The best place to find information about getting started with Zeek is
+our web site [www.zeek.org](https://www.zeek.org), specifically the
+[documentation](https://www.zeek.org/documentation/index.html) section
+there. On the web site you can also find downloads for stable
+releases, tutorials on getting Zeek set up, and many other useful
+resources.
+
+You can find release notes in [NEWS](https://github.com/zeek/zeek/blob/master/NEWS),
+and a complete record of all changes in [CHANGES](https://github.com/zeek/zeek/blob/master/CHANGES).
+
+To work with the most recent code from the development branch of Zeek,
+clone the master git repository:
+
+`git clone --recursive https://github.com/zeek/zeek`
+
+With all [dependencies](https://docs.zeek.org/en/stable/install/install.html#prerequisites)
+in place, build and install:
+
+`./configure && make && sudo make install`
+
+Write your first Zeek script:
+
+```zeek
+# File "hello.zeek"
+
+event zeek_init
+ {
+ print "Hello World!";
+ }
+```
+
+And run it:
+
+`zeek hello.zeek`
+
+For learning more about the Zeek scripting
+language, [try.zeek.org](http://try.zeek.org) is a great resource.
+
+Development
+-----------
+
+Zeek is developed on GitHub by its community. We welcome
+contributions. Working on an open source project like Zeek can be an
+incredibly rewarding experience and, packet by packet, makes the
+Internet a little safer. Today, as a result of countless
+contributions, Zeek is used operationally around the world by major
+companies and educational and scientific institutions alike for
+securing their cyber infrastructure.
+
+If you're interested in getting involved, we collect feature requests
+and issues on GitHub [here](https://github.com/zeek/zeek/issues) and
+you might find
+[these](https://github.com/zeek/zeek/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3A%22Difficulty%3A+Easy%22)
+to be a good place to get started. More information on Zeek's
+development can be found
+[here](https://www.zeek.org/development/index.html), and information
+about its community and mailing lists (which are fairly active) can be
+found [here](https://www.zeek.org/community/index.html).
+
+License
+-------
+
+Zeek comes with a BSD license, allowing for free use with virtually no
+restrictions. You can find it [here](https://github.com/zeek/zeek/blob/master/COPYING).
diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
deleted file mode 120000
index 100b93820a..0000000000
--- a/README.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-README
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index e3ec0cf2b1..38097559ee 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-2.6-616
+2.6-624