-[OpenSSH](http://openssh.com/) provides a functional way for
-management of explicit RSA and DSA keys (without any type of [Public
-Key Infrastructure
-(PKI)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Key_Infrastructure)). The
-basic idea of this project is to create a framework that uses
+Everyone who has used secure shell is familiar with the prompt given
+the first time you log in to a new server, asking if you want to trust
+the server's key by verifying the key fingerprint. Unfortunately,
+unless you have access to the server's key fingerprint through a
+secure out-of-band channel, there is no way to verify that the
+fingerprint you are presented with is in fact that of the server your
+really trying to connect to.
+
+Many users also take advantage of OpenSSH's ability to use RSA or DSA
+keys for authenticating to a server (known as
+"`PubkeyAuthentication`"), rather than relying on a password exchange.
+But again, the public part of the key needs to be transmitted to the
+server through a secure out-of-band channel (usually via a separate
+password-based SSH connection) in order for this type of
+authentication to work
+
+[OpenSSH](http://openssh.com/) currently provides a functional way to
+managing the RSA and DSA keys required for these interactions through
+the `known_hosts` and `authorized_keys` files. However, it lacks
+any type of [Public Key Infrastructure
+(PKI)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Key_Infrastructure) that
+can verify that the keys being used really are the one required or
+expected.
+
+The basic idea of the Monkeysphere is to create a framework that uses