diff --git a/Changelog.md b/Changelog.md
index d880cf2af..cf62724cc 100644
--- a/Changelog.md
+++ b/Changelog.md
@@ -2,8 +2,12 @@
 
 ## Refactor
 
+* Refactored config/ directory [#4145](https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/pull/4145).
+
 ## Bug fixes
 
+* Don't use Pathname early to circumvent some rare initialization errors [#3816](https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/issues/3816)
+
 ## Features
 
 
diff --git a/app/models/person.rb b/app/models/person.rb
index 0e1dbb40c..87de1e532 100644
--- a/app/models/person.rb
+++ b/app/models/person.rb
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ class Person < ActiveRecord::Base
 
   def self.search_query_string(query)
     query = query.downcase
-    like_operator = postgres? ? "ILIKE" : "LIKE"
+    like_operator = AppConfig.postgres? ? "ILIKE" : "LIKE"
 
     where_clause = <<-SQL
       profiles.full_name #{like_operator} ? OR
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ class Person < ActiveRecord::Base
   # @return [Array<String>] postgreSQL and mysql deal with null values in orders differently, it seems.
   def self.search_order
     @search_order ||= Proc.new {
-      order = if postgres?
+      order = if AppConfig.postgres?
         "ASC"
       else
         "DESC"
diff --git a/app/models/share_visibility.rb b/app/models/share_visibility.rb
index 8ca3ee8b6..67f42661a 100644
--- a/app/models/share_visibility.rb
+++ b/app/models/share_visibility.rb
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ class ShareVisibility < ActiveRecord::Base
   def self.batch_import(contact_ids, share)
     return false unless ShareVisibility.new(:shareable_id => share.id, :shareable_type => share.class.to_s).valid?
 
-    if postgres?
+    if AppConfig.postgres?
       contact_ids.each do |contact_id|
         ShareVisibility.find_or_create_by_contact_id_and_shareable_id_and_shareable_type(contact_id, share.id, share.class.base_class.to_s)
       end
diff --git a/app/models/user.rb b/app/models/user.rb
index 0ddfba2f0..faca1f6af 100644
--- a/app/models/user.rb
+++ b/app/models/user.rb
@@ -15,8 +15,7 @@ class User < ActiveRecord::Base
 
   devise :database_authenticatable, :registerable,
          :recoverable, :rememberable, :trackable, :validatable,
-         :token_authenticatable, :lockable, :lock_strategy => :none,
-         :unlock_strategy => :none
+         :lockable, :lock_strategy => :none, :unlock_strategy => :none
 
   before_validation :strip_and_downcase_username
   before_validation :set_current_language, :on => :create
@@ -24,7 +23,7 @@ class User < ActiveRecord::Base
   validates :username, :presence => true, :uniqueness => true
   validates_format_of :username, :with => /\A[A-Za-z0-9_]+\z/
   validates_length_of :username, :maximum => 32
-  validates_exclusion_of :username, :in => USERNAME_BLACKLIST
+  validates_exclusion_of :username, :in => AppConfig.settings.username_blacklist
   validates_inclusion_of :language, :in => AVAILABLE_LANGUAGE_CODES
   validates_format_of :unconfirmed_email, :with  => Devise.email_regexp, :allow_blank => true
 
diff --git a/config/application.rb b/config/application.rb
index 2f14c8c41..6fb1650b0 100644
--- a/config/application.rb
+++ b/config/application.rb
@@ -1,23 +1,7 @@
-#   Copyright (c) 2010-2011, Diaspora Inc.  This file is
-#   licensed under the Affero General Public License version 3 or later.  See
-#   the COPYRIGHT file.
-
-require 'pathname'
-require Pathname.new(__FILE__).expand_path.dirname.join('boot')
-
-require 'yaml'
+require_relative 'boot'
 
 require 'rails/all'
-
-# Sanitize groups to make matching :assets easier
-RAILS_GROUPS = Rails.groups(:assets => %w(development test)).map { |group| group.to_sym }
-
-if defined?(Bundler)
-  # If you precompile assets before deploying to production, use this line
-  Bundler.require(*RAILS_GROUPS)
-  # If you want your assets lazily compiled in production, use this line
-  # Bundler.require(:default, :assets, Rails.env)
-end
+Bundler.require(*Rails.groups(:assets => %w(development test))) if defined?(Bundler)
 
 module Diaspora
   class Application < Rails::Application
@@ -25,15 +9,15 @@ module Diaspora
     # Application configuration should go into files in config/initializers
     # -- all .rb files in that directory are automatically loaded.
 
-    # Add additional load paths for your own custom dirs
-     config.autoload_paths      += %W{#{config.root}/app/presenters #{config.root}/app}
-     config.autoload_once_paths += %W{#{config.root}/lib}
+    # Custom directories with classes and modules you want to be autoloadable.
+    config.autoload_paths      += %W{#{config.root}/app}
+    config.autoload_once_paths += %W{#{config.root}/lib}
 
     # Only load the plugins named here, in the order given (default is alphabetical).
-    # :all can be used as a placeholder for all plugins not explicitly named
+    # :all can be used as a placeholder for all plugins not explicitly named.
     # config.plugins = [ :exception_notification, :ssl_requirement, :all ]
 
-    # Activate observers that should always be running
+    # Activate observers that should always be running.
     # config.active_record.observers = :cacher, :garbage_collector, :forum_observer
 
     # Set Time.zone default to the specified zone and make Active Record auto-convert to this zone.
@@ -44,47 +28,71 @@ module Diaspora
     # config.i18n.load_path += Dir[Rails.root.join('my', 'locales', '*.{rb,yml}').to_s]
     # config.i18n.default_locale = :de
 
-    # Configure generators values. Many other options are available, be sure to check the documentation.
-     config.generators do |g|
-       g.template_engine :haml
-       g.test_framework  :rspec
-     end
-
     # Configure the default encoding used in templates for Ruby 1.9.
     config.encoding = "utf-8"
 
     # Configure sensitive parameters which will be filtered from the log file.
-    config.filter_parameters += [:password]
-    config.filter_parameters += [:xml]
-    config.filter_parameters += [:message]
-    config.filter_parameters += [:text]
-    config.filter_parameters += [:bio]
+    config.filter_parameters += [:password, :xml,:message, :text, :bio]
+
+    # Enable escaping HTML in JSON.
+    config.active_support.escape_html_entities_in_json = true
+
+    # Use SQL instead of Active Record's schema dumper when creating the database.
+    # This is necessary if your schema can't be completely dumped by the schema dumper,
+    # like if you have constraints or database-specific column types
+    # config.active_record.schema_format = :sql
+
+    # Enforce whitelist mode for mass assignment.
+    # This will create an empty whitelist of attributes available for mass-assignment for all models
+    # in your app. As such, your models will need to explicitly whitelist or blacklist accessible
+    # parameters by using an attr_accessible or attr_protected declaration.
+    #config.active_record.whitelist_attributes = true
 
     # Enable the asset pipeline
     config.assets.enabled = true
 
-    config.assets.initialize_on_precompile = false
-
     # Precompile additional assets (application.js, application.css, and all non-JS/CSS are already added)
-    # Javascripts
-    config.assets.precompile += [ "aspect-contacts.js", "contact-list.js", "finder.js",
-      "home.js", "ie.js", "inbox.js", "jquery.js", "jquery_ujs.js", "jquery.textchange.js",
-      "login.js", "mailchimp.js", "main.js", "mobile.js", "profile.js", "people.js", "photos.js",
-      "profile.js", "publisher.js", "templates.js", "validation.js" ]
+    config.assets.precompile += %w{
+      aspect-contacts.js 
+      contact-list.js
+      finder.js
+      home.js
+      ie.js
+      inbox.js
+      jquery.js
+      jquery_ujs.js
+      jquery.textchange.js
+      login.js
+      mailchimp.js
+      main.js
+      mobile.js
+      profile.js
+      people.js
+      photos.js
+      profile.js
+      publisher.js
+      templates.js
+      validation.js
 
-    # Stylesheets
-    config.assets.precompile += [ "blueprint.css", "bootstrap.css", "bootstrap-complete.css",
-      "bootstrap-responsive.css", "default.css", "error_pages.css", "login.css", "mobile.css",
-      "new-templates.css", "rtl.css" ]
-
-    # Rails Admin - these assets need to be added here since the Engine initializer
-    # doesn't run with initialize_on_precompile disabled. This list is taken
-    # directly from the Rails Admin Engine initializer.
-    config.assets.precompile += ['rails_admin/rails_admin.js', 'rails_admin/rails_admin.css',
-      'rails_admin/jquery.colorpicker.js', 'rails_admin/jquery.colorpicker.css']
+      blueprint.css
+      bootstrap.css
+      bootstrap-complete.css
+      bootstrap-responsive.css
+      default.css
+      error_pages.css
+      login.css
+      mobile.css
+      new-templates.css
+      rtl.css
+    }
 
     # Version of your assets, change this if you want to expire all your assets
     config.assets.version = '1.0'
 
+    # Configure generators values. Many other options are available, be sure to check the documentation.
+    config.generators do |g|
+      g.template_engine :haml
+      g.test_framework  :rspec
+    end
   end
 end
diff --git a/config/boot.rb b/config/boot.rb
index 5caea9de0..0eee595af 100644
--- a/config/boot.rb
+++ b/config/boot.rb
@@ -1,17 +1,11 @@
-#   Copyright (c) 2010-2011, Diaspora Inc.  This file is
-#   licensed under the Affero General Public License version 3 or later.  See
-#   the COPYRIGHT file.
-
-require 'pathname'
+require 'rubygems'
 
 # Set up gems listed in the Gemfile.
-gemfile = Pathname.new(__FILE__).dirname.join('..').expand_path.join('Gemfile')
-begin
-  ENV['BUNDLE_GEMFILE'] = gemfile.to_s
-  require 'bundler'
-  Bundler.setup
-rescue Bundler::GemNotFound => e
-  STDERR.puts e.message
-  STDERR.puts "Try running `bundle install`."
-  exit!
-end if File.exist?(gemfile)
+ENV['BUNDLE_GEMFILE'] ||= File.expand_path('../../Gemfile', __FILE__)
+require 'bundler/setup' if File.exists?(ENV['BUNDLE_GEMFILE'])
+
+# Ensure Builder is loaded
+require 'active_support/builder' unless defined?(Builder)
+
+# Load configuration early
+require_relative 'load_config'
diff --git a/config/defaults.yml b/config/defaults.yml
index d4b0ecde9..4c7ec4817 100644
--- a/config/defaults.yml
+++ b/config/defaults.yml
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ defaults:
       concurrency: 5
       retry: 10
       backtrace: 15
-      log: "log/sidekiq.log"
+      log: 'log/sidekiq.log'
     s3:
       enable: false
       key:
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ defaults:
     mixpanel_uid:
     chartbeat_uid:
   settings:
-    pod_name: "Diaspora*"
+    pod_name: 'Diaspora*'
     enable_registrations: true
     follow_diasporahq: true
     invitations:
@@ -61,6 +61,21 @@ defaults:
       enable: false
       suggest_email:
     typhoeus_verbose: false
+    username_blacklist:
+      - 'admin'
+      - 'administrator'
+      - 'hostmaster'
+      - 'info'
+      - 'postmaster'
+      - 'root'
+      - 'ssladmin'
+      - 'ssladministrator'
+      - 'sslwebmaster'
+      - 'sysadmin'
+      - 'webmaster'
+      - 'support'
+      - 'contact'
+      - 'example_user1dsioaioedfhgoiesajdigtoearogjaidofgjo'
   services:
     facebook:
       enable: false
@@ -109,7 +124,7 @@ production:
   i_am_a_dummy: # Remove if you add an actual override
 test:
   environment:
-    url: "http://localhost:9887/"
+    url: 'http://localhost:9887/'
     single_process_mode: true
     require_ssl: false
     assets:
@@ -127,14 +142,14 @@ test:
     enable: true
 integration1:
   environment:
-    url: "http://localhost:45789/"
+    url: 'http://localhost:45789/'
     single_process_mode: true
     assets:
       serve: true
     require_ssl: false
 integration2:
   environment:
-    url: "http://localhost:34658/"
+    url: 'http://localhost:34658/'
     single_process_mode: true
     assets:
       serve: true
diff --git a/config/diaspora.yml.example b/config/diaspora.yml.example
index 82beb6143..3449c28b0 100644
--- a/config/diaspora.yml.example
+++ b/config/diaspora.yml.example
@@ -328,6 +328,8 @@ configuration: ## Section
 ## Here you can make overides to settings defined above if you need
 ## to have them different in different environments.
 production: ## Section
+  environment: ## Section
+    #redis_url: 'redis://production.example.org:6379'
   
 development: ## Section
   environment: ## Section
diff --git a/config/environment.rb b/config/environment.rb
index 4731a494a..c9482d0ee 100644
--- a/config/environment.rb
+++ b/config/environment.rb
@@ -1,44 +1,5 @@
-#   Copyright (c) 2010-2011, Diaspora Inc.  This file is
-#   licensed under the Affero General Public License version 3 or later.  See
-#   the COPYRIGHT file.
-
-# check what database you have
-def postgres?
-  @using_postgres ||= defined?(ActiveRecord::ConnectionAdapters::PostgreSQLAdapter) && ActiveRecord::Base.connection.is_a?(ActiveRecord::ConnectionAdapters::PostgreSQLAdapter)
-end
-
-def sqlite?
-  @using_sqlite ||= defined?(ActiveRecord::ConnectionAdapters::SQLite3Adapter) && ActiveRecord::Base.connection.class == ActiveRecord::ConnectionAdapters::SQLite3Adapter
-end
-
 # Load the rails application
-require Pathname.new(__FILE__).dirname.expand_path.join('application')
-
-# Load configuration system early 
-require Rails.root.join('config', 'load_config')
-
-Haml::Template.options[:format] = :html5
-Haml::Template.options[:escape_html] = true
-
-# Blacklist of usernames
-USERNAME_BLACKLIST = ['admin', 'administrator', 'hostmaster', 'info', 'postmaster', 'root', 'ssladmin', 
-  'ssladministrator', 'sslwebmaster', 'sysadmin', 'webmaster', 'support', 'contact', 'example_user1dsioaioedfhgoiesajdigtoearogjaidofgjo']
+require_relative 'application'
 
 # Initialize the rails application
 Diaspora::Application.initialize!
-
-# allow token auth only for posting activitystream photos
-module Devise
-  module Strategies
-    class TokenAuthenticatable < Authenticatable
-      private
-      def valid_params_request?
-        params[:controller] == "activity_streams/photos" && params[:action] == "create"
-      end
-    end
-  end
-end
-
-
-# Ensure Builder is loaded
-require 'active_support/builder' unless defined?(Builder)
diff --git a/config/environments/development.rb b/config/environments/development.rb
index 58735ae07..8c22c98c9 100644
--- a/config/environments/development.rb
+++ b/config/environments/development.rb
@@ -1,12 +1,9 @@
-#   Copyright (c) 2010-2011, Diaspora Inc.  This file is
-#   licensed under the Affero General Public License version 3 or later.  See
-#   the COPYRIGHT file.
 Diaspora::Application.configure do
-  # Settings specified here will take precedence over those in config/environment.rb
+  # Settings specified here will take precedence over those in config/application.rb
 
   # In the development environment your application's code is reloaded on
-  # every request.  This slows down response time but is perfect for development
-  # since you don't have to restart the webserver when you make code changes.
+  # every request. This slows down response time but is perfect for development
+  # since you don't have to restart the web server when you make code changes.
   config.cache_classes = false
 
   # Log error messages when you accidentally call methods on nil.
@@ -16,41 +13,25 @@ Diaspora::Application.configure do
   config.consider_all_requests_local       = true
   config.action_controller.perform_caching = false
 
-  # Do not compress assets
-  config.assets.compress = false
-
-  # Expands the lines which load the assets
-  config.assets.debug = false
-
-  # Allow pass debug_assets=true as a query parameter to load pages with unpackaged assets
-  config.assets.allow_debugging = true
-
-
   # Don't care if the mailer can't send
   config.action_mailer.raise_delivery_errors = false
-  config.active_support.deprecation = [:stderr, :log]
 
+  # Print deprecation notices to the Rails logger
+  config.active_support.deprecation = :log
 
+  # Only use best-standards-support built into browsers
+  config.action_dispatch.best_standards_support = :builtin
 
-    # Raise exception on mass assignment protection for Active Record models
-  # config.active_record.mass_assignment_sanitizer = :strict
+  # Raise exception on mass assignment protection for Active Record models
+  #config.active_record.mass_assignment_sanitizer = :strict
 
   # Log the query plan for queries taking more than this (works
   # with SQLite, MySQL, and PostgreSQL)
   config.active_record.auto_explain_threshold_in_seconds = 0.5
-  #config.threadsafe!
-  
-  # Monkeypatch around the nasty "2.5MB exception page" issue, caused by very large environment vars
-  # This snippet via: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3114993/exception-pages-in-development-mode-take-upwards-of-15-30-seconds-to-render-why
-  # Relevant Rails ticket: https://rails.lighthouseapp.com/projects/8994/tickets/5027-_request_and_responseerb-and-diagnosticserb-take-an-increasingly-long-time-to-render-in-development-with-multiple-show-tables-calls
-  config.after_initialize do
-    module SmallInspect
-      def inspect
-        "<#{self.class.name} - tooooo long>"
-      end
-    end
-    [ActionController::Base, OmniAuth::Strategy, Warden::Proxy].each do |klazz|
-      klazz.send(:include, SmallInspect)
-    end
-  end
+
+  # Do not compress assets
+  config.assets.compress = false
+
+  # Expands the lines which load the assets
+  config.assets.debug = true
 end
diff --git a/config/environments/integration.rb b/config/environments/integration.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0a1b06f80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/environments/integration.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+require Rails.root.join('config', 'environment', 'development')
+
+Diaspora::Application.configure do
+  # Enable threaded mode
+  config.threadsafe!
+end
diff --git a/config/environments/integration1.rb b/config/environments/integration1.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index 974d6b472..000000000
--- a/config/environments/integration1.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,39 +0,0 @@
-#   Copyright (c) 2010-2011, Diaspora Inc.  This file is
-#   licensed under the Affero General Public License version 3 or later.  See
-#   the COPYRIGHT file.
-
-Diaspora::Application.configure do
-  # Settings specified here will take precedence over those in config/environment.rb
-
-  # In the development environment your application's code is reloaded on
-  # every request.  This slows down response time but is perfect for development
-  # since you don't have to restart the webserver when you make code changes.
-  config.cache_classes = false
-
-  # Log error messages when you accidentally call methods on nil.
-  config.whiny_nils = true
-
-  # Show full error reports and disable caching
-  config.consider_all_requests_local       = true
-  config.action_controller.perform_caching = false
-
-  # Don't care if the mailer can't send
-  config.action_mailer.raise_delivery_errors = false
-  config.active_support.deprecation = :log
-  
-  config.threadsafe!
-
-  # Monkeypatch around the nasty "2.5MB exception page" issue, caused by very large environment vars
-  # This snippet via: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3114993/exception-pages-in-development-mode-take-upwards-of-15-30-seconds-to-render-why
-  # Relevant Rails ticket: https://rails.lighthouseapp.com/projects/8994/tickets/5027-_request_and_responseerb-and-diagnosticserb-take-an-increasingly-long-time-to-render-in-development-with-multiple-show-tables-calls
-  config.after_initialize do
-    module SmallInspect
-      def inspect
-        "<#{self.class.name} - tooooo long>"
-      end
-    end
-    [ActionController::Base, OmniAuth::Strategy, Warden::Proxy].each do |klazz|
-      klazz.send(:include, SmallInspect)
-    end
-  end
-end
diff --git a/config/environments/integration1.rb b/config/environments/integration1.rb
new file mode 120000
index 000000000..cddadc746
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/environments/integration1.rb
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+integration.rb
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/config/environments/integration2.rb b/config/environments/integration2.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index 184a05302..000000000
--- a/config/environments/integration2.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,39 +0,0 @@
-#   Copyright (c) 2010-2011, Diaspora Inc.  This file is
-#   licensed under the Affero General Public License version 3 or later.  See
-#   the COPYRIGHT file.
-
-Diaspora::Application.configure do
-  # Settings specified here will take precedence over those in config/environment.rb
-
-  # In the development environment your application's code is reloaded on
-  # every request.  This slows down response time but is perfect for development
-  # since you don't have to restart the webserver when you make code changes.
-  config.cache_classes = true
-
-  # Log error messages when you accidentally call methods on nil.
-  config.whiny_nils = true
-
-  # Show full error reports and disable caching
-  config.consider_all_requests_local       = true
-  config.action_controller.perform_caching = false
-
-  # Don't care if the mailer can't send
-  config.action_mailer.raise_delivery_errors = false
-  config.active_support.deprecation = :log
-
-  #config.threadsafe!
-
-  # Monkeypatch around the nasty "2.5MB exception page" issue, caused by very large environment vars
-  # This snippet via: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3114993/exception-pages-in-development-mode-take-upwards-of-15-30-seconds-to-render-why
-  # Relevant Rails ticket: https://rails.lighthouseapp.com/projects/8994/tickets/5027-_request_and_responseerb-and-diagnosticserb-take-an-increasingly-long-time-to-render-in-development-with-multiple-show-tables-calls
-  config.after_initialize do
-    module SmallInspect
-      def inspect
-        "<#{self.class.name} - tooooo long>"
-      end
-    end
-    [ActionController::Base, OmniAuth::Strategy, Warden::Proxy].each do |klazz|
-      klazz.send(:include, SmallInspect)
-    end
-  end
-end
diff --git a/config/environments/integration2.rb b/config/environments/integration2.rb
new file mode 120000
index 000000000..cddadc746
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/environments/integration2.rb
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+integration.rb
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/config/environments/production.rb b/config/environments/production.rb
index 052bded5d..8d3a7d0f6 100644
--- a/config/environments/production.rb
+++ b/config/environments/production.rb
@@ -1,11 +1,6 @@
-#   Copyright (c) 2010-2011, Diaspora Inc.  This file is
-#   licensed under the Affero General Public License version 3 or later.  See
-#   the COPYRIGHT file.
-
 Diaspora::Application.configure do
-  # Settings specified here will take precedence over those in config/environment.rb
+  # Settings specified here will take precedence over those in config/application.rb
 
-  # The production environment is meant for finished, "live" apps.
   # Code is not reloaded between requests
   config.cache_classes = true
 
@@ -13,48 +8,67 @@ Diaspora::Application.configure do
   config.consider_all_requests_local       = false
   config.action_controller.perform_caching = true
 
-  # Specifies the header that your server uses for sending files
-  #config.action_dispatch.x_sendfile_header = "X-Sendfile"
-
-  config.active_support.deprecation = :notify
-
-  # For nginx:
-   config.action_dispatch.x_sendfile_header = 'X-Accel-Redirect'
-
-  # If you have no front-end server that supports something like X-Sendfile,
-  # just comment this out and Rails will serve the files
-
-  # See everything in the log (default is :info)
-  # config.log_level = :debug
-
-  # Use a different logger for distributed setups
-  # config.logger = SyslogLogger.new
-
-  # Use a different cache store in production
-  # config.cache_store = :mem_cache_store
-
-  # Disable Rails's static asset server
-  # In production, Apache or nginx will already do this
+  # Disable Rails's static asset server (Apache or nginx will already do this)
   config.serve_static_assets = false
 
-  # Disable delivery errors, bad email addresses will be ignored
-  # config.action_mailer.raise_delivery_errors = false
-
-  # Compress JavaScript and CSS
+  # Compress JavaScripts and CSS
   config.assets.compress = true
 
-  # Don't fallback to assets pipeline
+  # Don't fallback to assets pipeline if a precompiled asset is missed
   config.assets.compile = false
 
   # Generate digests for assets URLs
   config.assets.digest = true
 
-  if defined?(AppConfig) && AppConfig.environment.assets.host.present?
+  # Defaults to nil and saved in location specified by config.assets.prefix
+  # config.assets.manifest = YOUR_PATH
+
+  # Specifies the header that your server uses for sending files
+  # config.action_dispatch.x_sendfile_header = "X-Sendfile" # for apache
+  # config.action_dispatch.x_sendfile_header = 'X-Accel-Redirect' # for nginx
+
+  # Force all access to the app over SSL, use Strict-Transport-Security, and use secure cookies.
+  # config.force_ssl = true
+
+  # See everything in the log (default is :info)
+  # config.log_level = :debug
+
+  # Prepend all log lines with the following tags
+  # config.log_tags = [ :subdomain, :uuid ]
+
+  # Use a different logger for distributed setups
+  # config.logger = ActiveSupport::TaggedLogging.new(SyslogLogger.new)
+
+  # Use a different cache store in production
+  # config.cache_store = :mem_cache_store
+
+  # Enable serving of images, stylesheets, and JavaScripts from an asset server
+  # config.action_controller.asset_host = "http://assets.example.com"
+
+  # Precompile additional assets (application.js, application.css, and all non-JS/CSS are already added)
+  # config.assets.precompile += %w( search.js )
+
+  # Disable delivery errors, bad email addresses will be ignored
+  # config.action_mailer.raise_delivery_errors = false
+
+  # Enable threaded mode
+  config.threadsafe!
+
+  # Enable locale fallbacks for I18n (makes lookups for any locale fall back to
+  # the I18n.default_locale when a translation can not be found)
+  config.i18n.fallbacks = true
+
+  # Send deprecation notices to registered listeners
+  config.active_support.deprecation = :notify
+
+  # Log the query plan for queries taking more than this (works
+  # with SQLite, MySQL, and PostgreSQL)
+  # config.active_record.auto_explain_threshold_in_seconds = 0.5
+
+  # For nginx:
+   config.action_dispatch.x_sendfile_header = 'X-Accel-Redirect'
+
+  if AppConfig.environment.assets.host.present?
     config.action_controller.asset_host = AppConfig.environment.assets.host.get
   end
-  
-  config.threadsafe!
 end
-
-GC.enable_stats if GC.respond_to?(:enable_stats)
-GC::Profiler.enable if defined?(GC::Profiler) && GC::Profiler.respond_to?(:enable)
diff --git a/config/environments/staging.rb b/config/environments/staging.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index e49d26a40..000000000
--- a/config/environments/staging.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,50 +0,0 @@
-#   Copyright (c) 2010-2011, Diaspora Inc.  This file is
-#   licensed under the Affero General Public License version 3 or later.  See
-#   the COPYRIGHT file.
-
-Diaspora::Application.configure do
-  # Settings specified here will take precedence over those in config/environment.rb
-
-  # The production environment is meant for finished, "live" apps.
-  # Code is not reloaded between requests
-  config.cache_classes = true
-
-  # Full error reports are disabled and caching is turned on
-  config.consider_all_requests_local       = true
-  config.action_controller.perform_caching = true
-
-  # Specifies the header that your server uses for sending files
-  #config.action_dispatch.x_sendfile_header = "X-Sendfile"
-
-  config.active_support.deprecation = :notify
-
-  # For nginx:
-   config.action_dispatch.x_sendfile_header = 'X-Accel-Redirect'
-
-  # If you have no front-end server that supports something like X-Sendfile,
-  # just comment this out and Rails will serve the files
-
-  # See everything in the log (default is :info)
-  # config.log_level = :debug
-
-  # Use a different logger for distributed setups
-  # config.logger = SyslogLogger.new
-
-  # Use a different cache store in production
-  # config.cache_store = :mem_cache_store
-
-  # Disable Rails's static asset server
-  # In production, Apache or nginx will already do this
-  config.serve_static_assets = false
-
-  # Enable serving of images, stylesheets, and javascripts from an asset server
-  # config.action_controller.asset_host = "http://assets.example.com"
-
-  # Disable delivery errors, bad email addresses will be ignored
-  # config.action_mailer.raise_delivery_errors = false
-
-  config.threadsafe!
-end
-
-# Sacrifice readability for a 10% performance boost
-Haml::Template::options[:ugly] = true
diff --git a/config/environments/test.rb b/config/environments/test.rb
index 612b0b6f5..074be4cca 100644
--- a/config/environments/test.rb
+++ b/config/environments/test.rb
@@ -1,17 +1,17 @@
-#   Copyright (c) 2010-2011, Diaspora Inc.  This file is
-#   licensed under the Affero General Public License version 3 or later.  See
-#   the COPYRIGHT file.
-
 Diaspora::Application.configure do
-  # Settings specified here will take precedence over those in config/environment.rb
+  # Settings specified here will take precedence over those in config/application.rb
 
   # The test environment is used exclusively to run your application's
-  # test suite.  You never need to work with it otherwise.  Remember that
+  # test suite. You never need to work with it otherwise. Remember that
   # your test database is "scratch space" for the test suite and is wiped
-  # and recreated between test runs.  Don't rely on the data there!
+  # and recreated between test runs. Don't rely on the data there!
   config.cache_classes = true
 
-  # Log error messages when you accidentally call methods on nil.
+  # Configure static asset server for tests with Cache-Control for performance
+  config.serve_static_assets = true
+  config.static_cache_control = "public, max-age=3600"
+
+  # Log error messages when you accidentally call methods on nil
   config.whiny_nils = true
 
   # Show full error reports and disable caching
@@ -28,24 +28,10 @@ Diaspora::Application.configure do
   # The :test delivery method accumulates sent emails in the
   # ActionMailer::Base.deliveries array.
   config.action_mailer.delivery_method = :test
+
+  # Raise exception on mass assignment protection for Active Record models
+  #config.active_record.mass_assignment_sanitizer = :strict
+
+  # Print deprecation notices to the stderr
   config.active_support.deprecation = :stderr
-
-  # config.active_record.mass_assignment_sanitizer = :strict
-
-
-  # Configure static asset server for tests with Cache-Control for performance
-  config.serve_static_assets = true
-  config.static_cache_control = "public, max-age=3600"
-
-  config.assets.enabled = true
-  config.assets.debug = false
-
-
-  # fixes url helper issue in rspec
-  #config.threadsafe!
-
-  # Use SQL instead of Active Record's schema dumper when creating the test database.
-  # This is necessary if your schema can't be completely dumped by the schema dumper,
-  # like if you have constraints or database-specific column types
-  # config.active_record.schema_format = :sql
 end
diff --git a/config/initializers/acts_as_taggable_on.rb b/config/initializers/acts_as_taggable_on.rb
index d42a381b1..bfc309bf2 100644
--- a/config/initializers/acts_as_taggable_on.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/acts_as_taggable_on.rb
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
+require 'models/acts_as_taggable_on/tag'
 ActsAsTaggableOn.force_lowercase = true
-require Rails.root.join("app", "models", "acts_as_taggable_on", "tag")
diff --git a/config/initializers/backtrace_silencers.rb b/config/initializers/backtrace_silencers.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index 95f10f04a..000000000
--- a/config/initializers/backtrace_silencers.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-#   Copyright (c) 2010-2011, Diaspora Inc.  This file is
-#   licensed under the Affero General Public License version 3 or later.  See
-#   the COPYRIGHT file.
-
-# Be sure to restart your server when you modify this file.
-
-# You can add backtrace silencers for libraries that you're using but don't wish to see in your backtraces.
-# Rails.backtrace_cleaner.add_silencer { |line| line =~ /my_noisy_library/ }
-
-# You can also remove all the silencers if you're trying to debug a problem that might stem from framework code.
-# Rails.backtrace_cleaner.remove_silencers!
diff --git a/config/initializers/carrierwave.rb b/config/initializers/carrierwave.rb
index b86e52528..0321d5242 100644
--- a/config/initializers/carrierwave.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/carrierwave.rb
@@ -9,10 +9,10 @@ CarrierWave.configure do |config|
     config.storage = :fog
     config.cache_dir = Rails.root.join('tmp', 'uploads').to_s
     config.fog_credentials = {
-        :provider               => 'AWS',
-        :aws_access_key_id      => AppConfig.environment.s3.key.get,
-        :aws_secret_access_key  => AppConfig.environment.s3.secret.get,
-        :region                 => AppConfig.environment.s3.region.get
+        provider:              'AWS',
+        aws_access_key_id:     AppConfig.environment.s3.key.get,
+        aws_secret_access_key: AppConfig.environment.s3.secret.get,
+        region:                AppConfig.environment.s3.region.get
     }
     if AppConfig.environment.s3.cache?
       config.fog_attributes['Cache-Control'] = 'max-age=31536000'
diff --git a/config/initializers/check_session_secret.rb b/config/initializers/check_session_secret.rb
index 563143dcf..941915356 100644
--- a/config/initializers/check_session_secret.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/check_session_secret.rb
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 if AppConfig.heroku?
   Rails.application.config.secret_token = AppConfig.secret_token
-elsif !File.exists?( Rails.root.join('config', 'initializers', 'secret_token.rb'))
+elsif !Rails.root.join('config', 'initializers', 'secret_token.rb').exist?
   `bundle exec rake generate:secret_token`
   require  Rails.root.join('config', 'initializers', 'secret_token.rb')
 end 
diff --git a/config/initializers/direction_detector.rb b/config/initializers/direction_detector.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index 2f509889b..000000000
--- a/config/initializers/direction_detector.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-#   Copyright (c) 2010-2011, Diaspora Inc.  This file is
-#   licensed under the Affero General Public License version 3 or later.  See
-#   the COPYRIGHT file.
-
-require Rails.root.join('lib', 'direction_detector')
diff --git a/config/initializers/faraday.rb b/config/initializers/faraday.rb
index 30b827fcb..274a998b5 100644
--- a/config/initializers/faraday.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/faraday.rb
@@ -1,9 +1,13 @@
 #   Copyright (c) 2010-2011, Diaspora Inc.  This file is
 #   licensed under the Affero General Public License version 3 or later.  See
 #   the COPYRIGHT file.
-options = {:timeout => 25}
+options = {
+  timeout: 25,
+  ssl: {
+    ca_file: AppConfig.environment.certificate_authorities.get
+  }
+}
 
-options[:ssl] = {:ca_file => AppConfig.environment.certificate_authorities}
 Faraday.default_connection = Faraday::Connection.new(options) do |b|
   b.use FaradayMiddleware::FollowRedirects
   b.adapter Faraday.default_adapter
diff --git a/config/initializers/haml.rb b/config/initializers/haml.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..83225bbd4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/initializers/haml.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Haml::Template.options[:format] = :html5
+Haml::Template.options[:escape_html] = true
diff --git a/config/initializers/inflections.rb b/config/initializers/inflections.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index ad74fec2a..000000000
--- a/config/initializers/inflections.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-#   Copyright (c) 2010-2011, Diaspora Inc.  This file is
-#   licensed under the Affero General Public License version 3 or later.  See
-#   the COPYRIGHT file.
-
-# Be sure to restart your server when you modify this file.
-
-# Add new inflection rules using the following format
-# (all these examples are active by default):
- ActiveSupport::Inflector.inflections do |inflect|
-#   inflect.plural /^(ox)$/i, '\1en'
-#   inflect.singular /^(ox)en/i, '\1'
-#   inflect.irregular 'person', 'people'
-#   inflect.uncountable %w( fish sheep )
- end
diff --git a/config/initializers/json_patch.rb b/config/initializers/json_patch.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index 13e5756d8..000000000
--- a/config/initializers/json_patch.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,6 +0,0 @@
-class Fixnum
-  def to_json(options = nil)
-    to_s
-  end
-end
-
diff --git a/config/initializers/load_analyitics.rb b/config/initializers/load_analyitics.rb
index f8731f9d3..5663b0901 100644
--- a/config/initializers/load_analyitics.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/load_analyitics.rb
@@ -6,15 +6,14 @@
 if Rails.env == 'production'
   Diaspora::Application.configure do
     if AppConfig.privacy.google_analytics_key.present?
-      config.gem 'rack-google-analytics', :lib => 'rack/google-analytics'
-      config.middleware.use Rack::GoogleAnalytics, :tracker => AppConfig.privacy.google_analytics_key.get
+      require 'rack/google-analytics'
+      config.middleware.use Rack::GoogleAnalytics, tracker: AppConfig.privacy.google_analytics_key.get
     end
 
     if AppConfig.privacy.piwik.enable?
       require 'rack/piwik'
-      config.gem 'rack-piwik', :lib => 'rack/piwik'
-      config.middleware.use Rack::Piwik, :piwik_url => AppConfig.privacy.piwik.host.get, 
-                                         :piwik_id => AppConfig.privacy.piwik.site_id.get
+      config.middleware.use Rack::Piwik, piwik_url: AppConfig.privacy.piwik.host.get,
+                                         piwik_id:  AppConfig.privacy.piwik.site_id.get
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/config/initializers/load_libraries.rb b/config/initializers/load_libraries.rb
index 4aaa7d6d5..e66da1d87 100644
--- a/config/initializers/load_libraries.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/load_libraries.rb
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ require 'markdownify_helper'
 # Our libs
 require 'collect_user_photos'
 require 'diaspora'
+require 'direction_detector'
 require 'email_inviter'
 require 'evil_query'
 require 'federation_logger'
@@ -33,4 +34,3 @@ require 'stream'
 require 'template_picker'
 require 'webfinger'
 require 'webfinger_profile'
-
diff --git a/config/initializers/mailer_config.rb b/config/initializers/mailer_config.rb
index 6cd89dd87..c667fe372 100644
--- a/config/initializers/mailer_config.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/mailer_config.rb
@@ -4,8 +4,10 @@
 require Rails.root.join('lib', 'messagebus', 'mailer')
 
 Diaspora::Application.configure do
-  config.action_mailer.default_url_options = {:protocol => AppConfig.pod_uri.scheme,
-                                              :host => AppConfig.pod_uri.authority }
+  config.action_mailer.default_url_options = {
+    protocol: AppConfig.pod_uri.scheme,
+    host:     AppConfig.pod_uri.authority
+  }
   config.action_mailer.asset_host = AppConfig.pod_uri.to_s
   config.action_mailer.perform_deliveries = AppConfig.mail.enable?
 
@@ -21,26 +23,26 @@ Diaspora::Application.configure do
     elsif AppConfig.mail.method == "sendmail"
       config.action_mailer.delivery_method = :sendmail
       sendmail_settings = {
-        :location => AppConfig.mail.sendmail.location.get
+        location: AppConfig.mail.sendmail.location.get
       }
       sendmail_settings[:arguments] = "-i" if AppConfig.mail.sendmail.exim_fix?
       config.action_mailer.sendmail_settings = sendmail_settings
     elsif AppConfig.mail.method == "smtp"
       config.action_mailer.delivery_method = :smtp
       smtp_settings = {
-        :address => AppConfig.mail.smtp.host.get,
-        :port => AppConfig.mail.smtp.port.to_i,
-        :domain => AppConfig.mail.smtp.domain.get,
-        :enable_starttls_auto => false,
-        :openssl_verify_mode => AppConfig.mail.smtp.openssl_verify_mode.get
+        address:              AppConfig.mail.smtp.host.get,
+        port:                 AppConfig.mail.smtp.port.to_i,
+        domain:               AppConfig.mail.smtp.domain.get,
+        enable_starttls_auto: false,
+        openssl_verify_mode:  AppConfig.mail.smtp.openssl_verify_mode.get
       }
       
       if AppConfig.mail.smtp.authentication != "none"
         smtp_settings.merge!({
-          :authentication => AppConfig.mail.smtp.authentication.gsub('-', '_').to_sym,
-          :user_name => AppConfig.mail.smtp.username.get,
-          :password => AppConfig.mail.smtp.password.get,
-          :enable_starttls_auto => AppConfig.mail.smtp.starttls_auto?
+          authentication:       AppConfig.mail.smtp.authentication.gsub('-', '_').to_sym,
+          user_name:            AppConfig.mail.smtp.username.get,
+          password:             AppConfig.mail.smtp.password.get,
+          enable_starttls_auto: AppConfig.mail.smtp.starttls_auto?
         })
       end
       
diff --git a/config/initializers/markerb.rb b/config/initializers/markerb.rb
index 3d7351b6b..a7cccced2 100644
--- a/config/initializers/markerb.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/markerb.rb
@@ -1,3 +1 @@
-require Rails.root.join("lib", "diaspora", "markdownify_email")
-
-Rails.application.config.markerb.renderer = Diaspora::Markdownify::Email
\ No newline at end of file
+Rails.application.config.markerb.renderer = Diaspora::Markdownify::Email
diff --git a/config/initializers/mime_types.rb b/config/initializers/mime_types.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index 340afa7d7..000000000
--- a/config/initializers/mime_types.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-#   Copyright (c) 2010-2011, Diaspora Inc.  This file is
-#   licensed under the Affero General Public License version 3 or later.  See
-#   the COPYRIGHT file.
-
-# Be sure to restart your server when you modify this file.
-
-# Add new mime types for use in respond_to blocks:
-# Mime::Type.register "text/richtext", :rtf
-# Mime::Type.register_alias "text/html", :iphone
diff --git a/config/initializers/omniauth.rb b/config/initializers/omniauth.rb
index e96b8c9ed..67ec29747 100644
--- a/config/initializers/omniauth.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/omniauth.rb
@@ -16,8 +16,14 @@ Rails.application.config.middleware.use OmniAuth::Builder do
   end
   
   if AppConfig.services.facebook.enable?
-    provider :facebook, AppConfig.services.facebook.app_id, AppConfig.services.facebook.secret,
-             { :display => "popup", :scope => "publish_actions,publish_stream,offline_access",
-               :client_options => {:ssl => {:ca_file => AppConfig.environment.certificate_authorities }}}  
+    provider :facebook, AppConfig.services.facebook.app_id, AppConfig.services.facebook.secret, {
+      display: 'popup',
+      scope: 'publish_actions,publish_stream,offline_access',
+      client_options: {
+        ssl: {
+          ca_file: AppConfig.environment.certificate_authorities
+        }
+      }
+    }  
   end
 end
diff --git a/config/initializers/session_store.rb b/config/initializers/session_store.rb
index 30017169b..e46823d17 100644
--- a/config/initializers/session_store.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/session_store.rb
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 # Be sure to restart your server when you modify this file.
 
-Rails.application.config.session_store :cookie_store, :key => '_diaspora_session', :httponly => false
+Rails.application.config.session_store :cookie_store, key: '_diaspora_session', httponly: false
 
 # Use the database for sessions instead of the cookie-based default,
 # which shouldn't be used to store highly confidential information
diff --git a/config/initializers/setup_mail.rb b/config/initializers/setup_mail.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index 0d3f958a7..000000000
--- a/config/initializers/setup_mail.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-# if you wish to intercept emails to go to a particuar email address
-#ActionMailer::Base.register_interceptor(DevelopmentMailInterceptor) if Rails.env.development?  
diff --git a/config/load_config.rb b/config/load_config.rb
index f7f060ccb..faef94b60 100644
--- a/config/load_config.rb
+++ b/config/load_config.rb
@@ -1,41 +1,36 @@
 require 'configurate'
 
-rails_root = Pathname.new(__FILE__).dirname.join('..').expand_path
+rails_root = File.expand_path('../../', __FILE__)
 rails_env = ENV['RACK_ENV']
 rails_env ||= ENV['RAILS_ENV']
 rails_env ||= 'development'
 
-require rails_root.join('lib', 'configuration_methods')
+require File.join(rails_root, 'lib', 'configuration_methods')
 
-config_dir = rails_root.join("config")
-
-if File.exists?(config_dir.join("application.yml"))
-  $stderr.puts "ATTENTION: There's a new configuration system, please remove your"
-  $stderr.puts "           application.yml and migrate your settings."
-end
+config_dir = File.join rails_root, 'config'
 
 
 AppConfig ||= Configurate::Settings.create do
   add_provider Configurate::Provider::Dynamic
   add_provider Configurate::Provider::Env
   
-  unless heroku? || rails_env == "test" || File.exists?(config_dir.join("diaspora.yml"))
+  unless heroku? || rails_env == "test" || File.exists?(File.join(config_dir, 'diaspora.yml'))
     $stderr.puts "FATAL: Configuration not found. Copy over diaspora.yml.example"
     $stderr.puts "       to diaspora.yml and edit it to your needs."
-    Process.exit(1)
+    exit!
   end
   
   add_provider Configurate::Provider::YAML,
-               config_dir.join("diaspora.yml"),
-               namespace: rails_env, required: false
+               File.join(config_dir, 'diaspora.yml'),
+               namespace: rails_env, required: false unless rails_env == 'test'
   add_provider Configurate::Provider::YAML,
-               config_dir.join("diaspora.yml"),
+               File.join(config_dir, 'diaspora.yml'),
                namespace: "configuration", required: false
   add_provider Configurate::Provider::YAML,
-               config_dir.join("defaults.yml"),
+               File.join(config_dir, 'defaults.yml'),
                namespace: rails_env
   add_provider Configurate::Provider::YAML,
-               config_dir.join("defaults.yml"),
+               File.join(config_dir, 'defaults.yml'),
                namespace: "defaults"
 
   extend Configuration::Methods
@@ -45,6 +40,6 @@ AppConfig ||= Configurate::Settings.create do
      environment.certificate_authorities.empty? ||
      !File.file?(environment.certificate_authorities.get))
     $stderr.puts "FATAL: Diaspora doesn't know where your certificate authorities are. Please ensure they are set to a valid path in diaspora.yml"
-    Process.exit(1)
+    exit!
   end
 end
diff --git a/config/unicorn.rb b/config/unicorn.rb
index 0257093e2..2e5528978 100644
--- a/config/unicorn.rb
+++ b/config/unicorn.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-require 'pathname'
-require Pathname.new(__FILE__).expand_path.dirname.join('load_config')
+require File.expand_path('../load_config', __FILE__)
 
 # Enable and set these to run the worker as a different user/group
 #user  = 'diaspora'
diff --git a/lib/configuration_methods.rb b/lib/configuration_methods.rb
index d41ee81e5..4b08dfec0 100644
--- a/lib/configuration_methods.rb
+++ b/lib/configuration_methods.rb
@@ -104,13 +104,18 @@ module Configuration
       path.to_s
     end
 
+    def postgres?
+      defined?(ActiveRecord::ConnectionAdapters::PostgreSQLAdapter) &&
+      ActiveRecord::Base.connection.is_a?(ActiveRecord::ConnectionAdapters::PostgreSQLAdapter)
+    end
+
     private
 
     def get_git_info
       return if git_info_present? || !git_available?
       
       git_cmd = `git log -1 --pretty="format:%H %ci"`
-      if git_cmd =~ /^([\d\w]+?)\s(.+)$/
+      if git_cmd =~ /^(\w+?)\s(.+)$/
         @git_revision = $1
         @git_update = $2.strip
       end
diff --git a/lib/diaspora/markdownify.rb b/lib/diaspora/markdownify.rb
index c31ddbc0c..4a2d06686 100644
--- a/lib/diaspora/markdownify.rb
+++ b/lib/diaspora/markdownify.rb
@@ -1,13 +1,6 @@
 module Diaspora
   module Markdownify
-    class HTML < Redcarpet::Render::HTML
-      include ActionView::Helpers::TextHelper
-      include ActionView::Helpers::TagHelper
-
-      def autolink(link, type)
-        auto_link(link, :link => :urls, :html => { :target => "_blank" })
-      end
-
-    end
+    require 'diaspora/markdownify/html'
+    require 'diaspora/markdownify/email'
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/diaspora/markdownify_email.rb b/lib/diaspora/markdownify/email.rb
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/diaspora/markdownify_email.rb
rename to lib/diaspora/markdownify/email.rb
diff --git a/lib/diaspora/markdownify/html.rb b/lib/diaspora/markdownify/html.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c31ddbc0c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/diaspora/markdownify/html.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+module Diaspora
+  module Markdownify
+    class HTML < Redcarpet::Render::HTML
+      include ActionView::Helpers::TextHelper
+      include ActionView::Helpers::TagHelper
+
+      def autolink(link, type)
+        auto_link(link, :link => :urls, :html => { :target => "_blank" })
+      end
+
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/statistics.rb b/lib/statistics.rb
index 1fefbb166..bc62695e9 100644
--- a/lib/statistics.rb
+++ b/lib/statistics.rb
@@ -176,10 +176,8 @@ SQL
 
   protected
   def where_clause_sql
-    if postgres?
+    if AppConfig.postgres?
       "WHERE users.created_at > NOW() - '1 month'::INTERVAL"
-    elsif sqlite?
-      raise "#where_clause_sql not yet written for SQLite"
     else
       "where users.created_at > FROM_UNIXTIME(#{(Time.now - 1.month).to_i})"
     end