diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 282791f..1e66a11 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 # Ignore python bytecode:
 *.pyc
 
-# Ignore secure config files:
-config/secure.py
+# Ignore bot-specific config file:
+config.json
 
 # Ignore pydev's nonsense:
 .project
diff --git a/config/__init__.py b/config/__init__.py
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29..0000000
diff --git a/config/irc.py b/config/irc.py
deleted file mode 100644
index ee9ef3e..0000000
--- a/config/irc.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,25 +0,0 @@
-# -*- coding: utf-8  -*-
-
-# EarwigBot Configuration File
-# This file contains information that the bot uses to connect to IRC.
-
-# our main (front-end) server's hostname and port
-HOST = "irc.freenode.net"
-PORT = 6667
-
-# our watcher server's hostname, port, and RC channel
-WATCHER_HOST = "irc.wikimedia.org"
-WATCHER_PORT = 6667
-WATCHER_CHAN = "#en.wikipedia"
-
-# our nick, ident, and real name, used on both servers
-NICK = "EarwigBot"
-IDENT = "earwigbot"
-REALNAME = "[[w:en:User:EarwigBot]]"
-
-# channels to join on main server's startup
-CHANS = ["##earwigbot", "##earwig", "#wikipedia-en-afc"]
-
-# hardcoded hostnames of users with certain permissions
-OWNERS = ["wikipedia/The-Earwig"] # can use owner-only commands (!restart and !git)
-ADMINS = ["wikipedia/The-Earwig", "wikipedia/LeonardBloom"] # can use high-risk commands, e.g. !op
diff --git a/config/main.py b/config/main.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 6e8c082..0000000
--- a/config/main.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-# -*- coding: utf-8  -*-
-
-# EarwigBot Configuration File
-# This file tells the bot which of its components should be enabled.
-
-# The IRC frontend (configured in config/irc.py) sits on a public IRC network,
-# responds to commands given to it, and reports edits (if the IRC watcher
-# component is enabled).
-enable_irc_frontend = True
-
-# The IRC watcher (connection details configured in config/irc.py as well) sits
-# on an IRC network that gives a recent changes feed, usually irc.wikimedia.net.
-# It looks for edits matching certain (often regex) patterns (rules configured
-# in config/watcher.py), and either reports them to the IRC frontend (if
-# enabled), or activates a task on the WikiBot (if configured to do).
-enable_irc_watcher = True
-
-# EarwigBot doesn't have to edit a wiki, although this is its main purpose. If
-# the wiki schedule is disabled, it will not be able to handle scheduled tasks
-# that involve editing (such as creating a daily category every day at midnight
-# UTC), but it can still edit through rules given in the watcher, and bot tasks
-# can still be activated by the command line. The schedule is configured in
-# config/schedule.py.
-enable_wiki_schedule = True
diff --git a/config/schedule.py b/config/schedule.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 093050b..0000000
--- a/config/schedule.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,28 +0,0 @@
-# -*- coding: utf-8  -*-
-
-# EarwigBot Configuration File
-# This file tells the bot when to run certain wiki-editing tasks.
-
-def check(minute, hour, month_day, month, week_day):
-    tasks = [] # tasks to run this turn, each as a tuple of (task_name, kwargs) or just task_name
-
-    if minute == 0: # run every hour on the hour
-        tasks.append(("afc_statistics", {"action": "save"})) # save statistics to [[Template:AFC_statistics]]
-
-        if hour == 0: # run every day at midnight
-            tasks.append("afc_dailycats") # create daily categories for WP:AFC
-            tasks.append("feed_dailycats") # create daily categories for WP:FEED
-
-            if week_day == 0: # run every Sunday at midnight (that is, the start of Sunday, not the end)
-                tasks.append("afc_undated") # clear [[Category:Undated AfC submissions]]
-
-            if week_day == 1: # run every Monday at midnight
-                tasks.append("afc_catdelink") # delink mainspace categories in declined AfC submissions
-
-            if week_day == 2: # run every Tuesday at midnight
-                tasks.append("wrongmime") # tag files whose extensions do not agree with their MIME type
-
-            if week_day == 3: # run every Wednesday at midnight
-                tasks.append("blptag") # add |blp=yes to {{WPB}} or {{WPBS}} when it is used along with {{WP Biography}}
-
-    return tasks
diff --git a/config/secure.default.py b/config/secure.default.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 0db882e..0000000
--- a/config/secure.default.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-# -*- coding: utf-8  -*-
-
-# EarwigBot Configuration File
-# This file contains information that should be kept hidden, including passwords.
-
-# IRC: identify ourselves to NickServ?
-NS_AUTH = False
-NS_USER = ""
-NS_PASS = ""
diff --git a/config/watcher.py b/config/watcher.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 6e2fe28..0000000
--- a/config/watcher.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,69 +0,0 @@
-# -*- coding: utf-8  -*-
-
-# EarwigBot Configuration File
-# This file contains rules for the bot's watcher component.
-
-import re
-
-from wiki import task_manager
-
-# Define different report channels on our front-end server. They /must/ be in CHANS in config/irc.py or the bot will not be able to send messages to them (unless they have -n set).
-AFC_CHANS = ["#wikipedia-en-afc"] # report recent AfC changes/give AfC status messages upon join
-BOT_CHANS = ["##earwigbot", "#wikipedia-en-afc"] # report edits containing "!earwigbot"
-
-# Define some commonly used strings.
-afc_prefix = "wikipedia( talk)?:(wikiproject )?articles for creation"
-
-# Define our compiled regexps used when finding certain edits.
-r_page = re.compile(afc_prefix)
-r_ffu = re.compile("wikipedia( talk)?:files for upload")
-r_move1 = re.compile("moved \[\[{}".format(afc_prefix)) # an AFC page was either moved locally or out
-r_move2 = re.compile("moved \[\[(.*?)\]\] to \[\[{}".format(afc_prefix)) # an outside page was moved into AFC
-r_moved_pages = re.compile("^moved \[\[(.*?)\]\] to \[\[(.*?)\]\]")
-r_delete = re.compile("deleted \"\[\[{}".format(afc_prefix))
-r_deleted_page = re.compile("^deleted \"\[\[(.*?)\]\]")
-r_restore = re.compile("restored \"\[\[{}".format(afc_prefix))
-r_restored_page = re.compile("^restored \"\[\[(.*?)\]\]")
-r_protect = re.compile("protected \"\[\[{}".format(afc_prefix))
-
-def process(rc):
-    chans = set() # channels to report this message to
-    page_name = rc.page.lower()
-    comment = rc.comment.lower()
-    
-    if "!earwigbot" in rc.msg.lower():
-        chans.update(BOT_CHANS)
-        
-    if r_page.search(page_name):
-        task_manager.start_task("afc_statistics", action="process_edit", page=rc.page)
-        task_manager.start_task("afc_copyvios", action="process_edit", page=rc.page)
-        chans.update(AFC_CHANS)
-        
-    elif r_ffu.match(page_name):
-        chans.update(AFC_CHANS)
-        
-    elif page_name.startswith("template:afc submission"):
-        chans.update(AFC_CHANS)
-    
-    elif rc.flags == "move" and (r_move1.match(comment) or r_move2.match(comment)):
-        p = r_moved_pages.findall(rc.comment)[0]
-        task_manager.start_task("afc_statistics", action="process_move", pages=p)
-        task_manager.start_task("afc_copyvios", action="process_move", pages=p)
-        chans.update(AFC_CHANS)
-    
-    elif rc.flags == "delete" and r_delete.match(comment):
-        p = r_deleted_page.findall(rc.comment)[0][0]
-        task_manager.start_task("afc_statistics", action="process_delete", page=p)
-        task_manager.start_task("afc_copyvios", action="process_delete", page=p)
-        chans.update(AFC_CHANS)
-    
-    elif rc.flags == "restore" and r_restore.match(comment):
-        p = r_restored_page.findall(rc.comment)[0][0]
-        task_manager.start_task("afc_statistics", action="process_restore", page=p)
-        task_manager.start_task("afc_copyvios", action="process_restore", page=p)
-        chans.update(AFC_CHANS)
-    
-    elif rc.flags == "protect" and r_protect.match(comment):
-        chans.update(AFC_CHANS)
-
-    return chans
diff --git a/core/config.py b/core/config.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..29c3fe1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/config.py
@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8  -*-
+
+"""
+EarwigBot's JSON Config File Parser
+
+This handles all tasks involving reading and writing to our config file,
+including encrypting and decrypting passwords and making a new config file from
+scratch at the inital bot run.
+
+Usually you'll just want to do "from core import config" and access config data
+from within config's three global variables and one function:
+
+* config.components       - a list of enabled components
+* config.wiki             - a dict of config information for wiki-editing
+* config.irc              - a dict of config information for IRC
+* config.schedule()       - returns a list of tasks scheduled to run now
+"""
+
+import json
+from os import makedirs, path
+
+from lib import blowfish
+
+script_dir = path.dirname(path.abspath(__file__))
+root_dir = path.split(script_dir)[0]
+config_path = path.join(root_dir, "config.json")
+
+_config = None  # holds data loaded from our config file
+
+# set our three easy-config-access global variables to None
+components, wiki, irc = (None, None, None)
+
+def load_config():
+    """Load data from our JSON config file (config.json) into _config."""
+    global _config
+    with open(config_path, 'r') as fp:
+        try:
+            _config = json.load(fp)
+        except ValueError as error:
+            print "Error parsing config file {0}:".format(config_path)
+            print error
+            exit(1)
+
+def verify_config():
+    """Check to see if we have a valid config file, and if not, notify the
+    user. If there is no config file at all, offer to make one; otherwise,
+    exit."""
+    if path.exists(config_path):
+        load_config()
+        try:
+            return _config["encryptPasswords"]  # are passwords encrypted?
+        except KeyError:
+            return False  # assume passwords are not encrypted by default
+    else:
+        print "You haven't configured the bot yet!"
+        choice = raw_input("Would you like to do this now? [y/n] ")
+        if choice.lower().startswith("y"):
+            return make_new_config()
+        else:
+            exit()
+
+def parse_config(key):
+    """Store data from our config file in three global variables for easy
+    access, and use the key to unencrypt passwords. Catch password decryption
+    errors and report them to the user."""
+    global components, wiki, irc
+
+    load_config()  # we might be re-loading unnecessarily here, but no harm in
+                   # that!
+    try:
+        components = _config["components"]
+    except KeyError:
+        components = []
+    try:
+        wiki = _config["wiki"]
+    except KeyError:
+        wiki = {}
+    try:
+        irc = _config["irc"]
+    except KeyError:
+        irc = {}
+
+    try:
+        try:
+            if _config["encryptPasswords"]:
+                decrypt(key, "wiki['password']")
+                decrypt(key, "irc['frontend']['nickservPassword']")
+                decrypt(key, "irc['watcher']['nickservPassword']")
+        except KeyError:
+            pass
+    except blowfish.BlowfishError as error:
+        print "\nError decrypting passwords:"
+        print "{0}: {1}.".format(error.__class__.__name__, error)
+        exit(1)
+
+def decrypt(key, item):
+    """Decrypt 'item' with blowfish.decrypt() using the given key and set it to
+    the decrypted result. 'item' should be a string, like
+    decrypt(key, "wiki['password']"), NOT decrypt(key, wiki['password'),
+    because that won't work."""
+    global irc, wiki
+    try:
+        result = blowfish.decrypt(key, eval(item))
+    except KeyError:
+        return
+    exec "{0} = result".format(item)
+
+def schedule(minute, hour, month_day, month, week_day):
+    """Return a list of tasks that are scheduled to run at the time specified
+    by the function arguments. The schedule data comes from our config file's
+    'schedule' field, which is stored as _config["schedule"]. Call this
+    function with config.schedule(args)."""
+    tasks = []  # tasks to run this turn, each as a tuple of either (task_name,
+    # kwargs), or just task_name
+
+    now = {"minute": minute, "hour": hour, "month_day": month_day,
+            "month": month, "week_day": week_day}
+
+    try:
+        data = _config["schedule"]
+    except KeyError:
+        data = []
+    for event in data:
+        do = True
+        for key, value in now.items():
+            try:
+                requirement = event[key]
+            except KeyError:
+                continue
+            if requirement != value:
+                do = False
+                break
+        if do:
+            try:
+                tasks.extend(event["tasks"])
+            except KeyError:
+                pass
+
+    return tasks
+
+def make_new_config():
+    """Make a new config file based on the user's input."""
+    makedirs(config_dir)
+    
+    encrypt = raw_input("Would you like to encrypt passwords stored in " +
+            "config.json? [y/n] ")
+    if encrypt.lower().startswith("y"):
+        is_encrypted = True
+    else:
+        is_encrypted = False
+        
+    return is_encrypted
diff --git a/core/main.py b/core/main.py
index 3000def..0b49842 100644
--- a/core/main.py
+++ b/core/main.py
@@ -1,23 +1,34 @@
+#! /usr/bin/python
 # -*- coding: utf-8  -*-
 
-## EarwigBot's Core
-
-## EarwigBot has three components that can run independently of each other: an
-## IRC front-end, an IRC watcher, and a wiki scheduler.
-## * The IRC front-end runs on a normal IRC server and expects users to
-##   interact with it/give it commands.
-## * The IRC watcher runs on a wiki recent-changes server and listens for
-##   edits. Users cannot interact with this part of the bot.
-## * The wiki scheduler runs wiki-editing bot tasks in separate threads at
-##   user-defined times through a cron-like interface.
-
-## There is a "priority" system here:
-## 1. If the IRC frontend is enabled, it will run on the main thread, and the
-##    IRC watcher and wiki scheduler (if enabled) will run on separate threads.
-## 2. If the wiki scheduler is enabled, it will run on the main thread, and the
-##    IRC watcher (if enabled) will run on a separate thread.
-## 3. If the IRC watcher is enabled, it will run on the main (and only) thread.
-## Else, the bot will stop, as no components are enabled.
+"""
+EarwigBot's Core
+
+This (should) not be run directly; the wrapper in "earwigbot.py" is preferred,
+but it should work fine alone, as long as you enter the password-unlock key at
+the initial hidden prompt.
+
+The core is essentially responsible for starting the various bot components
+(irc, scheduler, etc) and making sure they are all happy. An explanation of the
+different components follows:
+
+EarwigBot has three components that can run independently of each other: an IRC
+front-end, an IRC watcher, and a wiki scheduler.
+* The IRC front-end runs on a normal IRC server and expects users to interact
+  with it/give it commands.
+* The IRC watcher runs on a wiki recent-changes server and listens for edits.
+  Users cannot interact with this part of the bot.
+* The wiki scheduler runs wiki-editing bot tasks in separate threads at
+  user-defined times through a cron-like interface.
+
+There is a "priority" system here:
+1. If the IRC frontend is enabled, it will run on the main thread, and the IRC
+   watcher and wiki scheduler (if enabled) will run on separate threads.
+2. If the wiki scheduler is enabled, it will run on the main thread, and the
+   IRC watcher (if enabled) will run on a separate thread.
+3. If the IRC watcher is enabled, it will run on the main (and only) thread.
+Else, the bot will stop, as no components are enabled.
+"""
 
 import threading
 import time
@@ -25,30 +36,31 @@ import traceback
 import sys
 import os
 
-parent_dir = os.path.split(sys.path[0])[0]
-sys.path.append(parent_dir) # make sure we look in the parent directory for modules
+script_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
+root_dir = os.path.split(script_dir)[0]  # the bot's "root" directory relative
+                                         # to its different components
+sys.path.append(root_dir)  # make sure we look in the root dir for modules
 
-from config.main import *
+from core import config
 from irc import frontend, watcher
 from wiki import task_manager
 
 f_conn = None
 w_conn = None
 
-def irc_watcher(f_conn):
+def irc_watcher(f_conn=None):
     """Function to handle the IRC watcher as another thread (if frontend and/or
     scheduler is enabled), otherwise run as the main thread."""
     global w_conn
-    print "\nStarting IRC watcher..."
-    while 1: # restart the watcher component if (just) it breaks
+    while 1:  # restart the watcher component if it breaks (and nothing else)
         w_conn = watcher.get_connection()
         w_conn.connect()
-        print # print a blank line here to signify that the bot has finished starting up
+        print  # blank line to signify that the bot has finished starting up
         try:
             watcher.main(w_conn, f_conn)
         except:
             traceback.print_exc()
-        time.sleep(5) # sleep a bit before restarting watcher
+        time.sleep(5)  # sleep a bit before restarting watcher
         print "\nWatcher has stopped; restarting component..."
 
 def wiki_scheduler():
@@ -57,12 +69,12 @@ def wiki_scheduler():
     while 1:
         time_start = time.time()
         now = time.gmtime(time_start)
-        
+
         task_manager.start_tasks(now)
-        
+
         time_end = time.time()
         time_diff = time_start - time_end
-        if time_diff < 60: # sleep until the next minute
+        if time_diff < 60:  # sleep until the next minute
             time.sleep(60 - time_diff)
 
 def irc_frontend():
@@ -70,20 +82,21 @@ def irc_frontend():
     enable the wiki scheduler and IRC watcher on new threads if they are
     enabled."""
     global f_conn
-    
-    print "\nStarting IRC frontend..."
+
+    print "Starting IRC frontend..."
     f_conn = frontend.get_connection()
     frontend.startup(f_conn)
-    
-    if enable_wiki_schedule:
+
+    if "wiki_schedule" in config.components:
         print "\nStarting wiki scheduler..."
         task_manager.load_tasks()
         t_scheduler = threading.Thread(target=wiki_scheduler)
         t_scheduler.name = "wiki-scheduler"
         t_scheduler.daemon = True
         t_scheduler.start()
-    
-    if enable_irc_watcher:
+
+    if "irc_watcher" in config.components:
+        print "\nStarting IRC watcher..."
         t_watcher = threading.Thread(target=irc_watcher, args=(f_conn,))
         t_watcher.name = "irc-watcher"
         t_watcher.daemon = True
@@ -91,32 +104,45 @@ def irc_frontend():
 
     frontend.main()
 
-    if enable_irc_watcher:
+    if "irc_watcher" in config.components:
         w_conn.close()
     f_conn.close()
-    
+
 def run():
-    if enable_irc_frontend: # make the frontend run on our primary thread if enabled, and enable additional components through that function
-        irc_frontend()
-    
-    elif enable_wiki_schedule: # the scheduler is enabled - run it on the main thread, but also run the IRC watcher on another thread if it is enabled
-        print "\nStarting wiki scheduler..."
-        task_manager.load_tasks()
-        if enable_irc_watcher:
-            t_watcher = threading.Thread(target=irc_watcher, args=(f_conn,))
+    try:
+        key = raw_input()  # wait for our password unlock key from the bot's
+    except EOFError:       # wrapper
+        key = None
+    config.parse_config(key)  # load data from the config file and parse it
+                              # using the unlock key
+    enabled = config.components
+
+    if "irc_frontend" in enabled:  # make the frontend run on our primary
+        irc_frontend()             # thread if enabled, and enable additional
+                                   # components through that function
+
+    elif "wiki_schedule" in enabled:       # run the scheduler on the main
+        print "Starting wiki scheduler..." # thread, but also run the IRC
+        task_manager.load_tasks()          # watcher on another thread iff it
+        if "irc_watcher" in enabled:       # is enabled
+            print "\nStarting IRC watcher..."
+            t_watcher = threading.Thread(target=irc_watcher, args=())
             t_watcher.name = "irc-watcher"
             t_watcher.daemon = True
             t_watcher.start()
         wiki_scheduler()
-    
-    elif enable_irc_watcher: # the IRC watcher is our only enabled component, so run its function only and don't worry about anything else
-        irc_watcher()
-        
-    else: # nothing is enabled!
-        exit("\nNo bot parts are enabled; stopping...")
+
+    elif "irc_watcher" in enabled:      # the IRC watcher is our only enabled
+        print "Starting IRC watcher..." # component, so run its function only
+        irc_watcher()                   # and don't worry about anything else
+
+    else:  # nothing is enabled!
+        print "No bot parts are enabled; stopping..."
+        exit(1)
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     try:
         run()
     except KeyboardInterrupt:
-        exit("\nKeyboardInterrupt: stopping main bot loop.")
+        print "\nKeyboardInterrupt: stopping main bot loop."
+        exit(1)
diff --git a/earwigbot.py b/earwigbot.py
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index f7852ef..3542076
--- a/earwigbot.py
+++ b/earwigbot.py
@@ -1,22 +1,57 @@
+#! /usr/bin/python
 # -*- coding: utf-8  -*-
 
-import time
-from subprocess import *
+"""
+EarwigBot
 
-try:
-    from config import irc, main, schedule, secure, watcher
-except ImportError:
-    print """Missing a config file! Make sure you have configured the bot. All *.py.default files in config/
-should have their .default extension removed, and the info inside should be corrected."""
-    exit()
+A thin wrapper for EarwigBot's main bot code, specified by bot_script. This
+wrapper will automatically restart the bot when it shuts down (from !restart,
+for example). It requests the bot's password at startup and reuses it every
+time the bot restarts internally, so you do not need to re-enter the password
+after using !restart.
+
+For information about the bot as a whole, see the attached README.md file (in
+markdown format!) and the LICENSE for licensing information.
+"""
+
+from getpass import getpass
+from subprocess import Popen, PIPE
+from os import path
+from sys import executable
+from time import sleep
+
+from core.config import verify_config
+
+__author__ = "Ben Kurtovic"
+__copyright__ = "Copyright (c) 2009-2011 by Ben Kurtovic"
+__license__ = "MIT License"
+__version__ = "0.1dev"
+__email__ = "ben.kurtovic@verizon.net"
+
+bot_script = path.join(path.dirname(path.abspath(__file__)), "core", "main.py")
 
 def main():
+    print "EarwigBot v{0}\n".format(__version__)
+
+    is_encrypted = verify_config()
+    if is_encrypted:  # passwords in the config file are encrypted
+        key = getpass("Enter key to unencrypt bot passwords: ")
+    else:
+        key = None
+
     while 1:
-        call(['python', 'core/main.py'])
-        time.sleep(5) # sleep for five seconds between bot runs
+        bot = Popen([executable, bot_script], stdin=PIPE)
+        bot.communicate(key)  # give the key to core.config.load_config()
+        return_code = bot.wait()
+        if return_code == 1:
+            exit()  # let critical exceptions in the subprocess cause us to
+                    # exit as well
+        else:
+            sleep(5)  # sleep between bot runs following a non-critical
+                      # subprocess exit
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     try:
         main()
     except KeyboardInterrupt:
-        exit("\nKeyboardInterrupt: stopping bot wrapper.")
+        print "\nKeyboardInterrupt: stopping bot wrapper."
diff --git a/irc/classes/__init__.py b/irc/classes/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b92db69
--- /dev/null
+++ b/irc/classes/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+from base_command import *
+from connection import *
+from data import *
+from rc import *
diff --git a/irc/base_command.py b/irc/classes/base_command.py
similarity index 100%
rename from irc/base_command.py
rename to irc/classes/base_command.py
diff --git a/irc/connection.py b/irc/classes/connection.py
similarity index 100%
rename from irc/connection.py
rename to irc/classes/connection.py
diff --git a/irc/data.py b/irc/classes/data.py
similarity index 100%
rename from irc/data.py
rename to irc/classes/data.py
diff --git a/irc/rc.py b/irc/classes/rc.py
similarity index 100%
rename from irc/rc.py
rename to irc/classes/rc.py
diff --git a/irc/commands/afc_status.py b/irc/commands/afc_status.py
index 4b3553a..6a7f720 100644
--- a/irc/commands/afc_status.py
+++ b/irc/commands/afc_status.py
@@ -6,8 +6,7 @@ import json
 import re
 import urllib
 
-from config.watcher import *
-from irc.base_command import BaseCommand
+from irc.classes import BaseCommand
 
 class AFCStatus(BaseCommand):
     def get_hooks(self):
@@ -22,7 +21,7 @@ class AFCStatus(BaseCommand):
         data.command == "number" or data.command == "afc_status"):
             return True
         try:
-            if data.line[1] == "JOIN" and data.chan in AFC_CHANS:
+            if data.line[1] == "JOIN" and data.chan == "#wikipedia-en-afc":
                 return True
         except IndexError:
             pass
diff --git a/irc/commands/calc.py b/irc/commands/calc.py
index ceaca78..fbd26a1 100644
--- a/irc/commands/calc.py
+++ b/irc/commands/calc.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 import re
 import urllib
 
-from irc.base_command import BaseCommand
+from irc.classes import BaseCommand
 
 class Calc(BaseCommand):
     def get_hooks(self):
diff --git a/irc/commands/chanops.py b/irc/commands/chanops.py
index e7b4683..210a830 100644
--- a/irc/commands/chanops.py
+++ b/irc/commands/chanops.py
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 
 # Voice/devoice/op/deop users in the channel.
 
-from irc.base_command import BaseCommand
-from config.irc import *
+from irc.classes import BaseCommand
+from core import config
 
 class ChanOps(BaseCommand):
     def get_hooks(self):
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ class ChanOps(BaseCommand):
         return False
 
     def process(self, data):
-        if data.host not in ADMINS:
+        if data.host not in config.irc["permissions"]["admins"]:
             self.connection.reply(data, "you must be a bot admin to use this command.")
             return
 
diff --git a/irc/commands/git.py b/irc/commands/git.py
index 9ca793d..60c0ecc 100644
--- a/irc/commands/git.py
+++ b/irc/commands/git.py
@@ -2,10 +2,12 @@
 
 # Commands to interface with the bot's git repository; use '!git help' for sub-command list.
 
-import shlex, subprocess, re
+import shlex
+import subprocess
+import re
 
-from config.irc import *
-from irc.base_command import BaseCommand
+from irc.classes import BaseCommand
+from core import config
 
 class Git(BaseCommand):
     def get_hooks(self):
@@ -21,7 +23,7 @@ class Git(BaseCommand):
 
     def process(self, data):
         self.data = data
-        if data.host not in OWNERS:
+        if data.host not in config.irc["permissions"]["owners"]:
             self.connection.reply(data, "you must be a bot owner to use this command.")
             return
 
diff --git a/irc/commands/help.py b/irc/commands/help.py
index 1970337..54eefa2 100644
--- a/irc/commands/help.py
+++ b/irc/commands/help.py
@@ -2,8 +2,7 @@
 
 # Generates help information.
 
-from irc.base_command import BaseCommand
-from irc.data import Data
+from irc.classes import BaseCommand, Data
 from irc import command_handler
 
 class Help(BaseCommand):
diff --git a/irc/commands/link.py b/irc/commands/link.py
index 59f2d6e..4587451 100644
--- a/irc/commands/link.py
+++ b/irc/commands/link.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 import re
 
-from irc.base_command import BaseCommand
+from irc.classes import BaseCommand
 
 class Link(BaseCommand):
     def get_hooks(self):
diff --git a/irc/commands/tasks.py b/irc/commands/tasks.py
index d1903bc..7776db4 100644
--- a/irc/commands/tasks.py
+++ b/irc/commands/tasks.py
@@ -2,13 +2,12 @@
 
 # Manage wiki tasks from IRC, and check on thread status.
 
-import threading, re
+import threading
+import re
 
-from irc.base_command import BaseCommand
-from irc.data import *
+from irc.classes import BaseCommand, Data, KwargParseException
 from wiki import task_manager
-from config.main import *
-from config.irc import *
+from core import config
 
 class Tasks(BaseCommand):
     def get_hooks(self):
@@ -24,7 +23,7 @@ class Tasks(BaseCommand):
 
     def process(self, data):
         self.data = data
-        if data.host not in OWNERS:
+        if data.host not in config.irc["permissions"]["owners"]:
             self.connection.reply(data, "at this time, you must be a bot owner to use this command.")
             return
 
@@ -116,9 +115,9 @@ class Tasks(BaseCommand):
 
     def get_main_thread_name(self):
         """Return the "proper" name of the MainThread; e.g. "irc-frontend" or "irc-watcher"."""
-        if enable_irc_frontend:
+        if "irc_frontend" in config.components:
             return "irc-frontend"
-        elif enable_wiki_schedule:
+        elif "wiki_schedule" in config.components:
             return "wiki-scheduler"
         else:
             return "irc-watcher"
diff --git a/irc/commands/test.py b/irc/commands/test.py
index 69ecd2f..630a37f 100644
--- a/irc/commands/test.py
+++ b/irc/commands/test.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 import random
 
-from irc.base_command import BaseCommand
+from irc.classes import BaseCommand
 
 class Test(BaseCommand):
     def get_hooks(self):
diff --git a/irc/frontend.py b/irc/frontend.py
index 293bc0a..2a8537d 100644
--- a/irc/frontend.py
+++ b/irc/frontend.py
@@ -1,28 +1,42 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8  -*-
 
-## Imports
-import re, time
+"""
+EarwigBot's IRC Front-end Component
 
-from config.irc import *
-from config.secure import *
+The IRC frontend runs on a normal IRC server and expects users to interact with
+it and give it commands. Commands are stored as "command classes", subclasses
+of BaseCommand in irc/base_command.py. All command classes are automatically
+imported by irc/command_handler.py if they are in irc/commands.
+"""
 
+from re import findall
+
+from core import config
 from irc import command_handler
-from irc.connection import *
-from irc.data import Data
+from irc.classes import Connection, Data, BrokenSocketException
 
 connection = None
 
 def get_connection():
-    connection = Connection(HOST, PORT, NICK, IDENT, REALNAME)
+    """Return a new Connection() instance with information about our server
+    connection, but don't actually connect yet."""
+    cf = config.irc["frontend"]
+    connection = Connection(cf["host"], cf["port"], cf["nick"], cf["ident"],
+            cf["realname"])
     return connection
 
 def startup(conn):
+    """Accept a single arg, a Connection() object, and set our global variable
+    'connection' to it. Load all command classes in irc/commands with
+    command_handler, and then establish a connection with the IRC server."""
     global connection
     connection = conn
     command_handler.load_commands(connection)
     connection.connect()
 
 def main():
+    """Main loop for the Frontend IRC Bot component. get_connection() and
+    startup() should have already been called."""
     read_buffer = str()
 
     while 1:
@@ -35,41 +49,56 @@ def main():
         lines = read_buffer.split("\n")
         read_buffer = lines.pop()
 
-        for line in lines:
+        for line in lines:  # handle a single message from IRC
             line = line.strip().split()
-            data = Data()
+            data = Data()  # new Data() instance to store info about this line
             data.line = line
 
             if line[1] == "JOIN":
-                data.nick, data.ident, data.host = re.findall(":(.*?)!(.*?)@(.*?)\Z", line[0])[0]
+                data.nick, data.ident, data.host = findall(
+                        ":(.*?)!(.*?)@(.*?)\Z", line[0])[0]
                 data.chan = line[2][1:]
-
-                command_handler.check("join", data) # check if there's anything we can respond to, and if so, respond
+                command_handler.check("join", data) # check for 'join' hooks in
+                                                    # our commands
 
             if line[1] == "PRIVMSG":
-                data.nick, data.ident, data.host = re.findall(":(.*?)!(.*?)@(.*?)\Z", line[0])[0]
+                data.nick, data.ident, data.host = findall(
+                        ":(.*?)!(.*?)@(.*?)\Z", line[0])[0]
                 data.msg = ' '.join(line[3:])[1:]
                 data.chan = line[2]
 
-                if data.chan == NICK: # this is a privmsg to us, so set 'chan' as the nick of the sender
+                if data.chan == config.irc["frontend"]["nick"]:
+                    # this is a privmsg to us, so set 'chan' as the nick of the
+                    # sender, then check for private-only command hooks
                     data.chan = data.nick
-                    command_handler.check("msg_private", data) # only respond if it's a private message
+                    command_handler.check("msg_private", data)
                 else:
-                    command_handler.check("msg_public", data) # only respond if it's a public (channel) message
+                    # check for public-only command hooks
+                    command_handler.check("msg_public", data)
 
-                command_handler.check("msg", data) # check for general messages
+                # check for command hooks that apply to all messages
+                command_handler.check("msg", data)
 
-                if data.msg.startswith("!restart"): # hardcode the !restart command (we can't restart from within an ordinary command)
-                    if data.host in OWNERS:
+                # hardcode the !restart command (we can't restart from within
+                # an ordinary command)
+                if data.msg in ["!restart", ".restart"]:
+                    if data.host in config.irc["permissions"]["owners"]:
                         print "Restarting bot per owner request..."
                         return
 
-            if line[0] == "PING": # If we are pinged, pong back to the server
+            if line[0] == "PING":  # if we are pinged, pong back to the server
                 connection.send("PONG %s" % line[1])
 
-            if line[1] == "376":
-                if NS_AUTH: # if we're supposed to auth to nickserv, do that
-                    connection.say("NickServ", "IDENTIFY %s %s" % (NS_USER, NS_PASS))
-                time.sleep(3) # sleep for a bit so we don't join channels un-authed
-                for chan in CHANS: # join all of our startup channels
+            if line[1] == "376":  # we've successfully connected to the network
+                try:  # if we're supposed to auth to nickserv, do that
+                    ns_username = config.irc["frontend"]["nickservUsername"]
+                    ns_password = config.irc["frontend"]["nickservPassword"]
+                except KeyError:
+                    pass
+                else:
+                    connection.say("NickServ", "IDENTIFY {0} {1}".format(
+                            ns_username, ns_password))
+                
+                # join all of our startup channels
+                for chan in config.irc["frontend"]["channels"]:
                     connection.join(chan)
diff --git a/irc/watcher.py b/irc/watcher.py
index 2aff8dd..b031b20 100644
--- a/irc/watcher.py
+++ b/irc/watcher.py
@@ -1,20 +1,34 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8  -*-
 
-## Imports
-from config.irc import *
-from config.main import *
-from config.watcher import *
+"""
+EarwigBot's IRC Watcher Component
 
-from irc.connection import *
-from irc.rc import RC
+The IRC watcher runs on a wiki recent-changes server and listens for edits.
+Users cannot interact with this part of the bot. When an event occurs, run it
+through irc/watcher_logic.py's process() function, which can result in either
+wiki bot tasks being started (listed in wiki/tasks/) or messages being sent to
+channels in the IRC frontend.
+"""
 
-global frontend_conn
+from core import config
+from irc.classes import Connection, RC, BrokenSocketException
+from irc import watcher_logic
+
+frontend_conn = None
 
 def get_connection():
-    connection = Connection(WATCHER_HOST, WATCHER_PORT, NICK, IDENT, REALNAME)
+    """Return a new Connection() instance with information about our server
+    connection, but don't actually connect yet."""
+    cf = config.irc["watcher"]
+    connection = Connection(cf["host"], cf["port"], cf["nick"], cf["ident"],
+            cf["realname"])
     return connection
 
-def main(connection, f_conn):
+def main(connection, f_conn=None):
+    """Main loop for the Watcher IRC Bot component. get_connection() should
+    have already been called and the connection should have been started with
+    connection.connect(). Accept the frontend connection as well as an optional
+    parameter in order to send messages directly to frontend IRC channels."""
     global frontend_conn
     frontend_conn = f_conn
     read_buffer = str()
@@ -33,26 +47,32 @@ def main(connection, f_conn):
 
             if line[1] == "PRIVMSG":
                 chan = line[2]
-                if chan != WATCHER_CHAN: # if we're getting a msg from another channel, ignore it
+
+                # ignore messages originating from channels not in our list, to
+                # prevent someone PMing us false data
+                if chan not in config.irc["watcher"]["channels"]:
                     continue
 
                 msg = ' '.join(line[3:])[1:]
-                rc = RC(msg) # create a new RC object to store this change's data
-                rc.parse()
-                check(rc)
+                rc = RC(msg)  # new RC object to store this event's data
+                rc.parse()  # parse a message into pagenames, usernames, etc.
+                process(rc)  # report to frontend channels or start tasks
 
-            if line[0] == "PING": # If we are pinged, pong back to the server
+            if line[0] == "PING":  # if we are pinged, pong back to the server
                 connection.send("PONG %s" % line[1])
 
-            if line[1] == "376": # Join the recent changes channel when we've finished starting up
-                connection.join(WATCHER_CHAN)
-
-def check(rc):
-    """check if we're supposed to report this message anywhere"""
-    results = process(rc) # process the message in config/watcher.py, and get a list of channels to send it to
-    if not results:
-        return
-    pretty = rc.get_pretty()
-    if enable_irc_frontend:
-        for chan in results:
+            # when we've finished starting up, join all watcher channels
+            if line[1] == "376":
+                for chan in config.irc["watcher"]["channels"]:
+                    connection.join(chan)
+
+def process(rc):
+    """Process a message from IRC (technically, an RC object). The actual
+    processing is configurable, so we don't have that hard-coded here. We
+    simply call irc/watcher_logic.py's process() function and expect a list of
+    channels back, which we report the event data to."""
+    chans = watcher_logic.process(rc)
+    if chans and frontend_conn:
+        pretty = rc.get_pretty()
+        for chan in chans:
             frontend_conn.say(chan, pretty)
diff --git a/irc/watcher_logic.py b/irc/watcher_logic.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bcce171
--- /dev/null
+++ b/irc/watcher_logic.py
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8  -*-
+
+"""
+EarwigBot's IRC Watcher Logic
+
+This file contains (configurable!) rules that EarwigBot's watcher uses after it
+recieves an event from IRC.
+
+This should, ideally, be in config.xml somehow, but Python code makes more
+sense for this sort of thing... so...
+"""
+
+import re
+
+from wiki import task_manager as tasks
+
+afc_prefix = "wikipedia( talk)?:(wikiproject )?articles for creation"
+
+# compile some regexps used when finding specific events
+r_page = re.compile(afc_prefix)
+r_ffu = re.compile("wikipedia( talk)?:files for upload")
+r_move1 = re.compile("moved \[\[{}".format(afc_prefix))
+r_move2 = re.compile("moved \[\[(.*?)\]\] to \[\[{}".format(afc_prefix))
+r_moved_pages = re.compile("^moved \[\[(.*?)\]\] to \[\[(.*?)\]\]")
+r_delete = re.compile("deleted \"\[\[{}".format(afc_prefix))
+r_deleted_page = re.compile("^deleted \"\[\[(.*?)\]\]")
+r_restore = re.compile("restored \"\[\[{}".format(afc_prefix))
+r_restored_page = re.compile("^restored \"\[\[(.*?)\]\]")
+r_protect = re.compile("protected \"\[\[{}".format(afc_prefix))
+
+def process(rc):
+    """Given an RC() object, return a list of channels to report this event to.
+    Also, start any wiki bot tasks within this function if necessary."""
+    chans = set()  # channels to report this message to
+    page_name = rc.page.lower()
+    comment = rc.comment.lower()
+    
+    if "!earwigbot" in rc.msg.lower():
+        chans.update(("##earwigbot", "#wikipedia-en-afc"))
+        
+    if r_page.search(page_name):
+        tasks.start_task("afc_statistics", action="process_edit", page=rc.page)
+        tasks.start_task("afc_copyvios", action="process_edit", page=rc.page)
+        chans.add("#wikipedia-en-afc")
+        
+    elif r_ffu.match(page_name):
+        chans.add("#wikipedia-en-afc")
+        
+    elif page_name.startswith("template:afc submission"):
+        chans.add("#wikipedia-en-afc")
+    
+    elif rc.flags == "move" and (r_move1.match(comment) or
+            r_move2.match(comment)):
+        p = r_moved_pages.findall(rc.comment)[0]
+        tasks.start_task("afc_statistics", action="process_move", pages=p)
+        tasks.start_task("afc_copyvios", action="process_move", pages=p)
+        chans.add("#wikipedia-en-afc")
+    
+    elif rc.flags == "delete" and r_delete.match(comment):
+        p = r_deleted_page.findall(rc.comment)[0][0]
+        tasks.start_task("afc_statistics", action="process_delete", page=p)
+        tasks.start_task("afc_copyvios", action="process_delete", page=p)
+        chans.add("#wikipedia-en-afc")
+    
+    elif rc.flags == "restore" and r_restore.match(comment):
+        p = r_restored_page.findall(rc.comment)[0][0]
+        tasks.start_task("afc_statistics", action="process_restore", page=p)
+        tasks.start_task("afc_copyvios", action="process_restore", page=p)
+        chans.add("#wikipedia-en-afc")
+    
+    elif rc.flags == "protect" and r_protect.match(comment):
+        chans.add("#wikipedia-en-afc")
+
+    return chans
diff --git a/wiki/task_manager.py b/wiki/task_manager.py
index b17cbbb..de40db1 100644
--- a/wiki/task_manager.py
+++ b/wiki/task_manager.py
@@ -1,25 +1,32 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8  -*-
 
-# A module to manage bot tasks.
+"""
+EarwigBot's Wiki Bot Task Manager
+
+This module provides some functions to run and load bot tasks from wiki/tasks/.
+"""
 
 import time
 import traceback
 import threading
 import os
 
-from config import schedule
+from core import config
 
-task_list = dict() # the key is the task's name, the value is the task's class instance
+# store loaded tasks as a dict where the key is the task name and the value is
+# an instance of the task class (wiki.tasks.task_file.Task())
+task_list = dict()
 
 def load_tasks():
-    """Load all valid task classes from wiki/tasks/, and add them to the task_list."""
-    files = os.listdir(os.path.join("wiki", "tasks")) # get all files in wiki/tasks/
-    files.sort() # alphabetically sort list of files
+    """Load all valid task classes from wiki/tasks/, and add them to the
+    task_list variable."""
+    files = os.listdir(os.path.join("wiki", "tasks"))
+    files.sort()  # alphabetically sort all files in wiki/tasks/
     for f in files:
-        if not os.path.isfile(os.path.join("wiki", "tasks", f)): # ignore non-files
-            continue
-        if f.startswith("_") or not f.endswith(".py"): # ignore non-python files or files beginning with "_"
-            continue
+        if not os.path.isfile(os.path.join("wiki", "tasks", f)):
+            continue  # ignore non-files
+        if f.startswith("_") or not f.endswith(".py"):
+            continue  # ignore non-python files or files beginning with an _
         load_class_from_file(f)
     print "Found %s tasks: %s." % (len(task_list), ', '.join(task_list.keys()))
 
@@ -27,10 +34,10 @@ def load_class_from_file(f):
     """Look in a given file for the task class."""
     global task_list
     
-    module = f[:-3] # strip .py from end
+    module = f[:-3]  # strip .py from end
     try:
         exec "from wiki.tasks import %s as m" % module
-    except: # importing the file failed for some reason...
+    except:  # importing the file failed for some reason...
         print "Couldn't load task file %s:" % f
         traceback.print_exc()
         return
@@ -46,26 +53,34 @@ def load_class_from_file(f):
 
 def start_tasks(now=time.gmtime()):
     """Start all tasks that are supposed to be run at a given time."""
-    tasks = schedule.check(now.tm_min, now.tm_hour, now.tm_mday, now.tm_mon, now.tm_wday) # get list of tasks to run this turn
+    tasks = config.schedule(now.tm_min, now.tm_hour, now.tm_mday, now.tm_mon,
+            now.tm_wday)  # get list of tasks to run this turn
+
     for task in tasks:
-        if isinstance(task, tuple): # they've specified kwargs, so pass those to start_task
-            start_task(task[0], **task[1])
-        else: # otherwise, just pass task_name
+        if isinstance(task, tuple):         # they've specified kwargs
+            start_task(task[0], **task[1])  # so pass those to start_task
+        else:  # otherwise, just pass task_name
             start_task(task)
 
 def start_task(task_name, **kwargs):
-    """Start a given task in a new thread. Pass args to the task's run function."""
-    print "Starting task '{}' in a new thread...".format(task_name)
-    
+    """Start a given task in a new thread. Pass args to the task's run()
+    function."""
+    print "Starting task '{0}' in a new thread...".format(task_name)
+
     try:
-        task = task_list[task_name] # get the class for this task, a subclass of BaseTask
+        task = task_list[task_name]
     except KeyError:
-        print "Couldn't find task '{}': wiki/tasks/{}.py does not exist.".format(task_name, task_name)
+        print ("Couldn't find task '{0}': wiki/tasks/{1}.py does not " + 
+        "exist.").format(task_name, task_name)
         return
-    
-    task_thread = threading.Thread(target=lambda: task_wrapper(task, **kwargs)) # Normally we'd do task_wrapper(task, **kwargs), but because of threading we'd have to do Thread(target=task_wrapper, args=(task, **kwargs)), which doesn't work because the **kwargs is inside a tuple, not inside function params. Use lambda to get around the args=tuple nonsense
-    task_thread.name = "{} ({})".format(task_name, time.strftime("%b %d %H:%M:%S"))
-    task_thread.daemon = True # stop bot task threads automagically if the main bot stops
+
+    task_thread = threading.Thread(target=lambda: task_wrapper(task, **kwargs))  
+    task_thread.name = "{0} ({1})".format(task_name, time.strftime(
+            "%b %d %H:%M:%S"))
+
+    # stop bot task threads automagically if the main bot stops
+    task_thread.daemon = True
+
     task_thread.start()
 
 def task_wrapper(task, **kwargs):
@@ -73,7 +88,8 @@ def task_wrapper(task, **kwargs):
     try:
         task.run(**kwargs)
     except:
-        print "Task '{}' raised an exception and had to stop:".format(task.task_name)
+        print "Task '{0}' raised an exception and had to stop:".format(
+                task.task_name)
         traceback.print_exc()
     else:
-        print "Task '{}' finished without error.".format(task.task_name)
+        print "Task '{0}' finished without error.".format(task.task_name)