added quick start

.gitignore

@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 node_modules
 config.js
-storage-data
+storage-data/*.json

README.md

@@ -1,12 +1,39 @@
 Steampunk IRC is a simple web-based IRC client. A user's browser
 connects to a server which maintains a persistent connection to an
 IRC server (similar to bouncers like [ZNC][]) and relays messages
-between the browser and the IRC server.
+between the browser and the IRC server. Users can easily see messages
+they missed while they were offline.
 
-The name *Steampunk* was chosen because my friend [Pascal Finette][finette]
+The name *Steampunk* was chosen because my colleague [Pascal Finette][finette]
 once jokingly referred to IRC as [steampunk][], which I found both
 humorous and apt.
 
+This project is highly experimental and the UI is quite preliminary.
+
+## Quick Start
+
+    git clone git://github.com/toolness/steampunk.git
+    cd steampunk
+    npm install
+    npm test
+    cp config.sample.js config.js
+
+Edit `config.js` to taste, then run:
+
+    node app.js
+
+Navigate to [localhost:3000/test][] to run the browser-side test suite.
+Then go to [localhost:3000][].
+
+Type `/login username password` into the command line and press enter. Then
+type `/` for a list of commands, and use `@username msg` to send a private
+message to a user or `#channel msg` to send a message to a channel you're 
+joined to. (You can abbreviate the channel name and the client will
+automatically send your message to the closest unique channel that
+you're joined to.)
+
   [ZNC]: http://znc.in
   [finette]: http://www.finette.com/
   [steampunk]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk
+  [localhost:3000/test/]: http://localhost:3000/test/
+  [localhost:3000]: http://localhost:3000/

storage-data/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+This directory contains persistent storage data for Steampunk IRC users,
+stored as human-readable JSON files.