diff --git a/app/views/registrations/new.html.erb b/app/views/registrations/new.html.erb
index a0911372d..67af6f7bb 100644
--- a/app/views/registrations/new.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/registrations/new.html.erb
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
               <%= t('.sign_up') %>
             </h4>
 
-            <%= form_for(resource, :as => resource_name, :url => registration_path(resource_name), :html => {:class => "form-horizontal block-form", :autocomplete => "off"}, :validate => true) do |f| %>
+            <%= form_for(resource, :validate => true, :url => registration_path(resource_name), :html => {:class => "form-horizontal block-form", :autocomplete => "off"}) do |f| %>
                 <fieldset>
                   <div class="control-group">
                     <label class="control-label" for="user_email">
diff --git a/features/signs_up.feature b/features/signs_up.feature
index cffe886ec..2b5b87e2f 100644
--- a/features/signs_up.feature
+++ b/features/signs_up.feature
@@ -36,3 +36,26 @@ Feature: new user registration
     And I wait for 3 seconds
     And I go to the home page
     Then I should not see "Welcome to Diaspora"
+
+  Scenario: user fills in bogus data - client side validation
+    When I log out manually
+    And I go to the new user registration page
+    And I fill in "user_username" with "§$%&(/&%$&/=)(/"
+    And I press "Continue"
+
+    Then the "user_username" field should have a validation error
+    And the "user_email" field should have a validation error
+    And the "user_password" field should have a validation error
+
+    When I fill in "user_username" with "valid_user"
+    And I fill in "user_email" with "this is not a valid email $%&/()("
+    And I press "Continue"
+
+    Then the "user_email" field should have a validation error
+    And the "user_password" field should have a validation error
+
+    When I fill in "user_email" with "valid@email.com"
+    And I fill in "user_password" with "1"
+    And I press "Continue"
+
+    Then the "user_password" field should have a validation error
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/features/step_definitions/custom_web_steps.rb b/features/step_definitions/custom_web_steps.rb
index 4c6eb19d9..298ba941c 100644
--- a/features/step_definitions/custom_web_steps.rb
+++ b/features/step_definitions/custom_web_steps.rb
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ And /^I submit the form$/ do
   click_button :submit
 end
 
+Then /^the "([^"]*)" field should have a validation error$/ do |field|
+  find_field(field).has_xpath?(".//ancestor::div[contains(@class, 'control-group')]/div[contains(@class, 'field_with_errors')]")
+end
+
 And /^I expand the publisher$/ do
  click_publisher
 end
diff --git a/features/step_definitions/session_steps.rb b/features/step_definitions/session_steps.rb
index 3ed1b5a52..e28d05c1d 100644
--- a/features/step_definitions/session_steps.rb
+++ b/features/step_definitions/session_steps.rb
@@ -39,3 +39,7 @@ end
 When /^I (?:log|sign) out$/ do
   logout
 end
+
+When /^I (?:log|sign) out manually$/ do
+  manual_logout
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/features/support/user_cuke_helpers.rb b/features/support/user_cuke_helpers.rb
index 84b755d00..5ef5e5dae 100644
--- a/features/support/user_cuke_helpers.rb
+++ b/features/support/user_cuke_helpers.rb
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ module UserCukeHelpers
     login_as @me.username, @me.password
   end
 
+  # checks the page content to see, if the login was successful
   def confirm_login
     wait_until { page.has_content?("#{@me.first_name} #{@me.last_name}") }
   end
@@ -51,6 +52,11 @@ module UserCukeHelpers
     $browser.delete_cookie('_session', 'path=/') if $browser
     $browser.delete_all_visible_cookies if $browser
   end
+
+  def manual_logout
+    find("#user_menu li:first-child a").click
+    find("#user_menu li:last-child a").click
+  end
 end
 
 World(UserCukeHelpers)