Here is some background on the status of the code (from about a year ago) - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1833010

Here's a brief explanation of how to get it up and running - https://github.com/nex3/arc/blob/master/how-to-run-news

I had arc.news up and running a few months ago. The code is quite outdated but has all the essentials to get your own HN site. Truthfully, it'd be very nice so get a crack at some more recent code.

Personally, I'd love to use arc.news to run a closed news aggregator/discussion site for a close group of friends.