polished README.md

Tweaked markup and language; fixed typos

README.md

@@ -3,28 +3,32 @@ Permanent Identifiers for the Web
 
 [![Build Status](https://travis-ci.org/perma-id/w3id.org.svg)](https://travis-ci.org/perma-id/w3id.org)
 
-This repository holds the website source code for https://w3id.org/
+This repository holds the website source code for <https://w3id.org/>.
 
 The purpose of w3id.org is to provide a secure, permanent URL re-direction
 service for Web applications. This service is run by the [W3C Permanent
 Identifier Community Group](http://www.w3.org/community/perma-id/).
 
 Web applications that deal with Linked Data often need to specify and use URLs 
-that are very stable. They utilize services such as this one to ensure that 
+that are very stable. Entities minting such URLs utilize services such as this one to ensure that 
 applications using their URLs will always be re-directed to a working 
 website. This website operates like a switchboard, connecting requests for 
 information with the true location of the information on the Web. The 
 switchboard can be reconfigured to point to a new location if the old 
 location stops working.
 
-There are a growing group of organizations that have pledged responsibility 
-to ensure the operation of this website. These organizations are: 
-Digital Bazaar, 3 Round Stones, OpenLink Software, Applied Testing and 
-Technology, Openspring, and Bosatsu Consulting. 
+A growing group of organizations has pledged responsibility 
+to ensure the operation of this website. These organizations include 
+[Digital Bazaar](https://digitalbazaar.com/), 
+[3 Round Stones](http://3roundstones.com/), 
+[OpenLink Software](https://www.openlinksw.com/), 
+[Applied Testing and Technology](http://www.aptest.com/), 
+[Openspring](http://openspring.net/), and 
+[Bosatsu Consulting](https://bosatsu.net/). 
 They are responsible for all administrative 
 tasks associated with operating the service. The social contract between 
 these organizations gives each of them full access to all information required 
-to maintain and operate the website. The agreement is setup such that a 
+to maintain and operate the website. The agreement has been set up such that a 
 number of these companies could fail, lose interest, or become unavailable 
 for long periods of time without negatively affecting the operation of the site.
 
@@ -35,9 +39,9 @@ public infrastructure sectors.
 
 All identifiers associated with this website are intended to be around for 
 as long as the Web is around. This means decades, if not centuries. If the 
-final destination for popular identifiers used by this service fail in 
+final destinations for popular identifiers used by this service fail in 
 such a way as to be a major inconvenience or danger to the Web, the community 
-will mirror the information for the popular identifier and setup a working 
+will mirror the information for the popular identifiers and setup a working 
 redirect to restore service to the rest of the Web.
 
 Adding a Permanent Identifier to w3id.org
@@ -46,13 +50,13 @@ Adding a Permanent Identifier to w3id.org
 For the technically savvy, the preferred way to create the redirect yourself is
 by following these steps:
 
-1. Fork the [perma-id/w3id.org](https://github.com/perma-id/w3id.org) 
+1. Fork the [`perma-id/w3id.org`](https://github.com/perma-id/w3id.org) 
    source code repository.
 2. Add a new re-direct entry. For a simple example, see
-   [security/.htaccess](security/.htaccess) 
+   [`security/.htaccess`](security/.htaccess) 
 3. (Optional) Add a `README.md` detailing contact persons and 
    (a subset of) your permanent identifiers. For an example, 
-   see [rdw/README.md](rdw/README.md)
+   see [`rdw/README.md`](rdw/README.md)
 4. Commit your changes and submit a 
    [pull request](https://github.com/perma-id/w3id.org/pulls).
 5. w3id.org administrators will review your pull request and merge it if 
@@ -68,30 +72,30 @@ when redirecting. An administrator will then create the redirect for you.
 Guidelines on Identifiers
 -------------------------
 
-1. Do not link squat. If you are going to claim a permanent identifier,
+1. Do not link-squat. If you are going to claim a permanent identifier,
    make sure you or your organization intends for it to be around for
    at least 20+ years.
 2. Make sure the link you redirect to works. If not, we will most
    likely reject your requested addition.
 3. If you are creating a link to your personal website, please do so under 
-   the /people/ subdirectory. A simple redirect should be placed in
-   /people/.htaccess. A complex redirect should be placed under a 
-   directory like /people/rubarb/.htaccess.
+   the `/people/` subdirectory. A simple redirect should be placed in
+   `/people/.htaccess`. A complex redirect should be placed under a 
+   directory like `/people/rubarb/.htaccess`.
 
 Link checking
 -------------
 A simple [Travis-CI](https://travis-ci.org/perma-id/w3id.org) job 
-(see [.travis.yml](.travis.yml)) will extract all https://w3id.org/ 
+(see [`.travis.yml`](.travis.yml)) will extract all https://w3id.org/ 
 URIs from `*/README.md` and check them with
-[linkchecker](https://wummel.github.io/linkchecker/) - 
-in theory this will catch two kinds of errors: 
+[`linkchecker`](https://wummel.github.io/linkchecker/).
+In theory, this will catch two kinds of errors: 
 
 1. Following a redirection gives a `404 Not Found` 
 2. An error in `.htaccess` causes a `500 Server Error`.
 
 Note that this only checks URIs that are listed in the `README.md` files.
 
-Travis might comment on your Pull Request if this test reveals an error - 
-check its output logs to ensure the errors are not caused by 
+Travis might comment on your Pull Request if this test reveals an error. 
+Check its output logs to ensure the errors are not caused by 
 your modification.