diff --git a/paramiko/__init__.py b/paramiko/__init__.py
index 6e282c6..bfd28f2 100644
--- a/paramiko/__init__.py
+++ b/paramiko/__init__.py
@@ -16,38 +16,6 @@
 # along with Paramiko; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
 # 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA.
 
-"""
-Paramiko (a combination of the esperanto words for "paranoid" and "friend")
-is a module for python 2.5 or greater that implements the SSH2 protocol for
-secure (encrypted and authenticated) connections to remote machines.  Unlike
-SSL (aka TLS), the SSH2 protocol does not require hierarchical certificates
-signed by a powerful central authority.  You may know SSH2 as the protocol that
-replaced ``telnet`` and ``rsh`` for secure access to remote shells, but the
-protocol also includes the ability to open arbitrary channels to remote
-services across an encrypted tunnel.  (This is how ``sftp`` works, for example.)
-
-The high-level client API starts with creation of an `.SSHClient` object.
-For more direct control, pass a socket (or socket-like object) to a
-`.Transport`, and use `start_server <.Transport.start_server>` or
-`start_client <.Transport.start_client>` to negoatite
-with the remote host as either a server or client.  As a client, you are
-responsible for authenticating using a password or private key, and checking
-the server's host key. (Key signature and verification is done by paramiko,
-but you will need to provide private keys and check that the content of a
-public key matches what you expected to see.) As a server, you are
-responsible for deciding which users, passwords, and keys to allow, and what
-kind of channels to allow.
-
-Once you have finished, either side may request flow-controlled `channels <Channel>`
-to the other side, which are python objects that act like sockets, but send and
-receive data over the encrypted session.
-
-Paramiko is written entirely in python (no C or platform-dependent code) and is
-released under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL).
-
-Website: https://github.com/paramiko/paramiko/
-"""
-
 import sys
 
 if sys.version_info < (2, 5):
diff --git a/sites/docs/index.rst b/sites/docs/index.rst
index 98f4069..87a0f99 100644
--- a/sites/docs/index.rst
+++ b/sites/docs/index.rst
@@ -10,6 +10,28 @@ please see `the main website <http://paramiko.org>`_.
 API documentation
 =================
 
+The high-level client API starts with creation of an `.SSHClient` object. For
+more direct control, pass a socket (or socket-like object) to a `.Transport`,
+and use `start_server <.Transport.start_server>` or `start_client
+<.Transport.start_client>` to negotiate with the remote host as either a server
+or client.
+
+As a client, you are responsible for authenticating using a password or private
+key, and checking the server's host key. (Key signature and verification is
+done by paramiko, but you will need to provide private keys and check that the
+content of a public key matches what you expected to see.)
+
+As a server, you are responsible for deciding which users, passwords, and keys
+to allow, and what kind of channels to allow.
+
+Once you have finished, either side may request flow-controlled `channels
+<.Channel>` to the other side, which are Python objects that act like sockets,
+but send and receive data over the encrypted session.
+
+For details, please see the following tables of contents (which are organized
+by area of interest.)
+
+
 Core SSH protocol classes
 -------------------------