diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index dec2bb44..c79cea8f 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
+dnl Process this file with autoconf to produce a configure script.
+dnl Minimum version of autoconf required
 AC_PREREQ(2.59)
+
 dnl Update it right before the release since $pkgver_foo are all _post_ release snapshots
 AC_INIT([Pacman package manager], 3.1.0-dev, [pacman-dev@archlinux.org], [pacman])
 AC_LANG([C])
@@ -222,6 +225,7 @@ scripts/gensync
 scripts/makepkg
 scripts/makeworld
 scripts/pacman-optimize
+scripts/rankmirrors
 scripts/repo-add
 scripts/repo-remove
 scripts/updatesync
diff --git a/scripts/.gitignore b/scripts/.gitignore
index 58630324..17a2a41e 100644
--- a/scripts/.gitignore
+++ b/scripts/.gitignore
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ gensync
 makepkg
 makeworld
 pacman-optimize
+rankmirrors
 repo-add
 repo-remove
 updatesync
diff --git a/scripts/Makefile.am b/scripts/Makefile.am
index ddacb0e6..45f0957d 100644
--- a/scripts/Makefile.am
+++ b/scripts/Makefile.am
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
-# TODO: this would be nice to enable, but we need --help and --version
-#       flags on all of our scripts first (this is what it checks)
-#AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS = std-options
+# enforce that all scripts have a --help and --version option
+AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS = std-options
 
 bin_SCRIPTS = \
 	abs \
diff --git a/scripts/abs.in b/scripts/abs.in
index b30c1752..7ed677d4 100644
--- a/scripts/abs.in
+++ b/scripts/abs.in
@@ -67,12 +67,12 @@ update() {
 	done
 } 
 
-if [ "$1" = "-h" ] || [ "$1" = "--help" ]; then
+if [ "$1" = "-h" -o "$1" = "--help" ]; then
 	usage
 	exit 0
 fi
 
-if [ "$1" = "-V" ] || [ "$1" = "--version" ]; then
+if [ "$1" = "-V" -o "$1" = "--version" ]; then
 	version
 	exit 0
 fi
diff --git a/scripts/makepkg.in b/scripts/makepkg.in
index 0d147041..2884e5db 100644
--- a/scripts/makepkg.in
+++ b/scripts/makepkg.in
@@ -600,7 +600,7 @@ installpackage() {
 }
 
 usage() {
-	printf "$(gettext "makepkg version %s")\n" "$myver"
+	printf "$(gettext "makepkg (pacman) %s")\n" "$myver"
 	echo
 	printf "$(gettext "Usage: %s [options]")\n" "$0"
 	echo
@@ -633,6 +633,15 @@ usage() {
 	echo
 }
 
+version() {
+	printf "$(gettext "makepkg (pacman) %s")\n" "$myver"
+	echo "$(gettext "Copyright (C) 2002-2007 Judd Vinet <jvinet@zeroflux.org>.")"
+	echo
+	echo "$(gettext "This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.")"
+	echo "$(gettext "There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.")"
+	echo
+}
+
 ARGLIST=$@
 
 #preserve environment variables
@@ -684,6 +693,10 @@ while [ "$#" -ne "0" ]; do
 					usage
 					exit 0
 					;;
+		--version)
+					version
+					exit 0
+					;;
 		--*)
 					usage
 					exit 1
@@ -699,10 +712,6 @@ while [ "$#" -ne "0" ]; do
 				f) FORCE=1 ;;
 				F) INFAKEROOT=1 ;;
 				g) GENINTEG=1 ;;
-				h)
-						usage
-						exit 0
-						;;
 				i) INSTALL=1 ;;
 				L) LOGGING=1 ;;
 				m) USE_COLOR="n" ;;
@@ -712,6 +721,14 @@ while [ "$#" -ne "0" ]; do
 				R) REPKG=1 ;;
 				s) DEP_BIN=1 ;;
 				S) SUDO=1 ;;
+				h)
+						usage
+						exit 0
+						;;
+				V)
+						version
+						exit 0
+						;;
 				-)
 						OPTIND=0
 						break
diff --git a/scripts/makeworld.in b/scripts/makeworld.in
index 8783fc9d..ca5b7261 100644
--- a/scripts/makeworld.in
+++ b/scripts/makeworld.in
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ version() {
 	printf "Copyright (C) 2002-2007 Judd Vinet <jvinet@zeroflux.org>.\n"
 	echo
 	printf "This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.\n"
-	printf "There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by the law.\n"
+	printf "There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.\n"
 	echo
 }
 
@@ -83,53 +83,53 @@ for arg in $*; do
 		--nobuild)    MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -o" ;;
 		--nocolor)    MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -m" ;;
 		--help)
-		usage
-		exit 0
-		;;
+			usage
+			exit 0
+			;;
 		--version)
-		version
-		exit 0
-		;;
+			version
+			exit 0
+			;;
 		--*)
-		usage
-		exit 1
-		;;
+			usage
+			exit 1
+			;;
 		-*)
-		while getopts "chisSbdfrBCemoSV-" opt; do
-			case $opt in
-				c) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -c" ;;
-				i) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -i" ;;
-				s) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -s" ;;
-				b) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -b" ;;
-				d) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -d" ;;
-				f) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -f" ;;
-				r) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -r" ;;
-				B) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -B" ;;
-				C) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -C" ;;
-				e) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -e" ;;
-				m) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -m" ;;
-				o) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -o" ;;
-				S) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -S" ;;
-				h)
-				usage
-				exit 0
-				;;
-				V)
-				version
-				exit 0
-				;;
-				-)
-				OPTIND=0
-				break
-				;;
-			esac
-		done
-		;;
+			while getopts "chisSbdfrBCemoSV-" opt; do
+				case $opt in
+					c) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -c" ;;
+					i) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -i" ;;
+					s) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -s" ;;
+					b) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -b" ;;
+					d) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -d" ;;
+					f) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -f" ;;
+					r) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -r" ;;
+					B) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -B" ;;
+					C) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -C" ;;
+					e) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -e" ;;
+					m) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -m" ;;
+					o) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -o" ;;
+					S) MAKEPKG_OPTS="$MAKEPKG_OPTS -S" ;;
+					h)
+						usage
+						exit 0
+						;;
+					V)
+						version
+						exit 0
+						;;
+					-)
+						OPTIND=0
+						break
+						;;
+				esac
+			done
+			;;
 		*)
-		dest=$arg
-		shift
-		break
-		;;
+			dest=$arg
+			shift
+			break
+			;;
 	esac
 	shift
 	if [ "$dest" != "" ]; then
diff --git a/scripts/pacman-optimize.in b/scripts/pacman-optimize.in
index 2bfec40e..cce4a5c1 100644
--- a/scripts/pacman-optimize.in
+++ b/scripts/pacman-optimize.in
@@ -21,6 +21,11 @@
 #
 
 myver='@PACKAGE_VERSION@'
+#TODO replace with configure-time db location
+dbroot="/var/lib/pacman"
+#TODO replace with configure-time lockfile location
+lockfile="/tmp/pacman.lck"
+
 
 error() {
 	if [ "$USECOLOR" = "YES" -o "$USECOLOR" = "yes" ]; then
@@ -30,11 +35,12 @@ error() {
 	fi
 }
 
-source /etc/rc.conf #for USECOLOR
-source /etc/rc.d/functions
+# determine current USECOLOR setting
+#[ -f "/etc/rc.conf" ] && source /etc/rc.conf
+#[ -f "/etc/rc.d/functions" ] && source /etc/rc.d/functions
 
 usage() {
-	echo "pacman-optimize $myver"
+	echo "pacman-optimize (pacman) $myver"
 	echo "usage: $0 [pacman_db_root]"
 	echo 
 	echo "pacman-optimize is a little hack that should improve the performance"
@@ -64,26 +70,26 @@ die() {
 }
 
 die_r() {
-	rm -f /tmp/pacman.lck
+	rm -f $lockfile
 	die $@
 }
 
-dbroot="/var/lib/pacman"
+if [ "$1" = "-h" -o "$1" = "--help" ]; then
+	usage
+	exit 0
+fi
+
+if [ "$1" = "-V" -o "$1" = "--version" ]; then
+	version
+	exit 0
+fi
 
 if [ "$1" != "" ]; then
-	if [ "$1" = "-h" -o "$1" = "--help" ]; then
-		usage
-		exit 0
-	fi
-	if [ "$1" = "-V" -o "$1" = "--version" ]; then
-		version
-		exit 0
-	fi
 	dbroot="$1"
 fi
 
 # make sure pacman isn't running
-if [ -f /tmp/pacman.lck ]; then
+if [ -f $lockfile ]; then
 	die "Pacman lockfile was found.  Cannot run while pacman is running."
 fi
 
@@ -96,7 +102,7 @@ if [ ! -w "$dbroot" ]; then
 fi
 
 # do not let pacman run while we do this
-touch /tmp/pacman.lck
+touch $lockfile
 
 # step 1: sum the old db
 stat_busy "Md5sum'ing the old database"
@@ -134,7 +140,7 @@ if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
 	# failed
 	stat_fail
 	# leave /tmp/pacsums.old and .new for checking to see what doesn't match up
-	rm -rf "$dbroot.new" /tmp/pacman.lck /tmp/pacmanDB.tgz
+	rm -rf "$dbroot.new" $lockfile /tmp/pacmanDB.tgz
 	die_r "integrity check FAILED, reverting to old database"
 fi
 stat_done
@@ -147,7 +153,7 @@ tar -zxpf /tmp/pacmanDB.tgz -C "$dbroot"/
 stat_done
 
 # remove the lock file, sum files, and .tgz of database
-rm -f /tmp/pacman.lck /tmp/pacsums.old /tmp/pacsums.new /tmp/pacmanDB.tgz
+rm -f $lockfile /tmp/pacsums.old /tmp/pacsums.new /tmp/pacmanDB.tgz
 
 echo
 echo "Finished.  Your pacman database has been optimized."
diff --git a/scripts/rankmirrors b/scripts/rankmirrors.in
old mode 100755
new mode 100644
similarity index 94%
rename from scripts/rankmirrors
rename to scripts/rankmirrors.in
index 3eb10b5a..da0811c0
--- a/scripts/rankmirrors
+++ b/scripts/rankmirrors.in
@@ -25,10 +25,12 @@ from optparse import OptionParser
 
 def createOptParser():
     usage = "usage: %prog [options] MIRRORFILE | URL"
+    version = '%prog (pacman) @PACKAGE_VERSION@'
     description = "Ranks pacman mirrors by their connection and opening " \
             "speed. Pacman mirror files are located in /etc/pacman.d/. It " \
             "can also rank one mirror if the URL is provided."
-    parser = OptionParser(usage = usage, description = description)
+    parser = OptionParser(usage = usage, version = version,
+                          description = description)
     parser.add_option("-n", type = "int", dest = "num", default = 0,
                       help = "number of servers to output, 0 for all")
     parser.add_option("-t", "--times", action = "store_true",
@@ -39,6 +41,9 @@ def createOptParser():
     parser.add_option("-v", "--verbose", action = "store_true",
                       dest = "verbose", default = False,
                       help = "be verbose in ouptut")
+    # The following two options should be automatic
+    #parser.add_option("-h", "--help", action = "help")
+    #parser.add_option("-V", "--version", action = "version")
     return parser
 
 def timeCmd(cmd):