There is also a '-r' option for recursive copying of files across directories. The default OpenSSH configuration will work for everyone. The configuration file for ssh only set the default options for itself. This allows a user to put in his own options. There are quite a few options here but not all are required.
Compression is a good option to give here.
In addition to an encrypted connection, you can also choose to compress the data. This is great over slower modem links. 1 being the least level of compression and 9 being the most compression. DSAAuthentication specifies that you would like to use the more secure DSA method of authentication. Hostname parameter should be set to the host that you are trying to connect to.