diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 5bc38013a..90c08057f 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-FROM node:7
+FROM node:7.9
 
 # Create app directory
 RUN mkdir -p /usr/src/app
diff --git a/INSTALL.md b/INSTALL.md
index 33b634de8..18244f635 100644
--- a/INSTALL.md
+++ b/INSTALL.md
@@ -1,37 +1,204 @@
+## Contents
+
+- [Installation](#installation) - install the application on a machine
+	- [Via Docker](#installation-from-docker)
+	- [Via Source](#installation-from-source)
+- [Setup](#setup) - setup the application for first use
+- [Usage](#usage) - connect the application to a website
+
 # Installation
 
 ## Requirements
 
-### System
-
 - Any flavour of Linux, OSX or Windows
 - 1GB memory (minimum)
 - 5GB storage (minimum)
+- [MongoDB](https://www.mongodb.com/) v3.4 or later
+- [Redis](https://redis.io/) v3.2 or later
+- SSL Certificate
+  - This application assumes that you will be serving this application in a
+    production environment, and therefore requires that you serve it behind a
+    webserver with a valid SSL certificate. This is chosen in order to secure
+    user's sessions.
+
+## Installation From Docker
+
+We currently support packaging the Talk application via Docker, which automates
+the dependency install and asset build process. This is the recommended way to
+deploy the application when used in production.
+
+Available as [coralproject/talk](https://hub.docker.com/r/coralproject/talk/) on Docker Hub.
+
+Images are tagged using the following notation:
+
+- `x` (where `x` is the major version number): any minor or patch updates will be included in this. If you're ok getting
+  new features occasionally and all the bug fixes, this is the tag for you.
+- `x.y` (where `y` is the minor version number): any patch updates will be
+  included with this tag. If you like getting fixes and having features change
+  only when you want, this is the tag for you. **(recommended)**
+- `x.y.z` (where `z` is the patch version): this tag never gets updated, and
+  essentially freezes your version, this should only be used when you are either
+  extending Talk or are sure of a specific version you want to freeze.
+
+We provide tags with `*-onbuild` that can be used for easy plugin integration and
+acts as a customization endpoint. Instructions are provided in the `PLUGINS.md`
+document as to how to use it.
+
+### Requirements
+
+There are some runtime requirements for running Talk for Docker:
+
+- [Docker](https://www.docker.com/) v1.13.0 or later
+- [Docker Compose](https://docs.docker.com/compose/) v1.10.0 or later
+
+_Please be sure to check the versions of these requirements. Incorrect versions
+of these may lead to unexpected errors!_
+
+### Installing
+
+An example docker-compose.yml:
+
+```yaml
+version: '2'
+services:
+  talk:
+    image: coralproject/talk:1.5
+    restart: always
+    ports:
+      - "5000:5000"
+    depends_on:
+      - mongo
+      - redis
+    environment:
+      - TALK_MONGO_URL=mongodb://mongo/talk
+      - TALK_REDIS_URL=redis://redis
+  mongo:
+    image: mongo:3.2
+    restart: always
+    volumes:
+      - mongo:/data/db
+  redis:
+    image: redis:3.2
+    restart: always
+    volumes:
+      - redis:/data
+volumes:
+  mongo:
+    external: false
+  redis:
+    external: false
+```
+
+At this stage, you should refer to the `README.md` for configuration variables
+that are specific to your installation. Some pre-defined fields have been filled
+in the above example which are consistent with Docker Compose naming conventions
+for [Docker Links](https://docs.docker.com/compose/networking/#links).
+
+### Scaling
+
+If you are interested in splitting apart services, you can simply adjust the
+command being executed in the container to optimize for your use case. An
+example would be if you wanted to run the API server and the job processor
+on different machines. You can achieve this easily with docker compose:
+
+```yaml
+version: '2'
+services:
+  talk-api:
+    image: coralproject/talk:1.5
+    command: cli serve
+    restart: always
+    ports:
+      - "5000:5000"
+    depends_on:
+      - mongo
+      - redis
+    environment:
+      - TALK_MONGO_URL=mongodb://mongo/talk
+      - TALK_REDIS_URL=redis://redis
+  talk-jobs:
+    image: coralproject/talk:1.5
+    command: cli jobs process
+    restart: always
+    ports:
+      - "5001:5000"
+    depends_on:
+      - mongo
+      - redis
+    environment:
+      - TALK_MONGO_URL=mongodb://mongo/talk
+      - TALK_REDIS_URL=redis://redis
+  mongo:
+    image: mongo:3.2
+    restart: always
+    volumes:
+      - mongo:/data/db
+  redis:
+    image: redis:3.2
+    restart: always
+    volumes:
+      - redis:/data
+volumes:
+  mongo:
+    external: false
+  redis:
+    external: false
+```
+
+Note that the only difference is in the `command` key. From this, you are able
+to discretely control which modules are running in order to have the maximum
+flexibility when managing your application.
+
+### Running
+
+If you're using docker compose:
+
+```bash
+# Start the services using compose
+docker-compose up -d
+```
+
+If you're using plain docker:
+
+```bash
+docker run -d -P coralproject/talk:latest
+```
 
 ## Installation From Source
 
+This provides information on how to setup the application from source. Note that
+this is not recommended for production deploys, but will work for development
+and testing purposes.
+
 ### Requirements
 
 There are some runtime requirements for running Talk from source:
 
-- [Node](https://nodejs.org/) v7 or later
-- [MongoDB](https://www.mongodb.com/) v3.4 or later
-- [Redis](https://redis.io/) v3.2 or later
-- [Yarn](https://yarnpkg.com/) v0.19.1 or later
+- [Node](https://nodejs.org/) v7.9 or later
+- [Yarn](https://yarnpkg.com/) v0.22.0 or later
 
-_Please be sure to check the versions of these requirements. Insufficient versions of these may lead to unexpected errors!_
+_Please be sure to check the versions of these requirements. Incorrect versions
+of these may lead to unexpected errors!_
 
 ### Installing
 
+#### Download
+
+It is highly recommended that you download a released version as the code
+available in `master` may not be stable. You can download the latest release
+from the [releases page](https://github.com/coralproject/talk/releases).
+
+You can also clone the git repository via:
+
 ```bash
-# Download the tarball containing the repository
-curl -L https://github.com/coralproject/talk/tarball/master -o coralproject-talk.tar.gz
+git clone https://github.com/coralproject/talk.git
+```
 
-# Untar that file and change to that directory
-tar xpf coralproject-talk.tar.gz
-mv coralproject-talk-* coralproject-talk
-cd coralproject-talk
+#### Building
 
+We now have to install the dependencies and build the static assets.
+
+```bash
 # Install package dependancies
 yarn
 
@@ -39,6 +206,17 @@ yarn
 yarn build
 ```
 
+After you create/modify the `plugins.json` (refer to `PLUGINS.md` for plugin
+docs) file, you can re-run the following to install their dependencies:
+
+```bash
+# Reconcile plugins
+./bin/cli plugins reconcile
+
+# Build static files
+yarn build
+```
+
 ### Running
 
 Refer to the `README.md` file for required configuration variables to add to the
@@ -50,45 +228,48 @@ You can start the server after configuring the server using the command:
 yarn start
 ```
 
+This will setup the server to serve everything on a single node.js process and
+is designed to be used in production.
+
 You can see other scripts we've made available by consulting the `package.json`
 file under the `scripts` key including:
 
 - `yarn test` run unit tests
 - `yarn e2e` run end to end tests
 - `yarn build-watch` watch for changes to client files and build static assets
-- `yarn dev-start` watch for changes to server files and reload the server
+- `yarn dev-start` watch for changes to server files and reload the server while
+  also sourcing a `.env` file in your local directory for configuration
 
-## Installation From Docker Hub
+# Setup
 
-### Requirements
+Once you've installed Talk (either via Docker or source), you still need to
+setup the application. If you are unfamiliar with any terminoligy used in the
+setup process, refer to the `TERMINOLOGY.md` document.
 
-There are some runtime requirements for running Talk for Docker:
+## Via Web
 
-- [MongoDB](https://www.mongodb.com/) v3.2 or later
-- [Redis](https://redis.io/) v3.2 or later
-- [Docker](https://www.docker.com/) v1.13.0 or later
-- [Docker Compose](https://docs.docker.com/compose/) v1.10.0 or later
+If you want to perform your setup via the web, you can navigate to your
+installation of Talk at the path `/admin/install`. There you will be asked a
+series of questions for your installation.
 
-_Please be sure to check the versions of these requirements. Insufficient versions of these may lead to unexpected errors!_
+## Via CLI
 
-### Installing
+If you want to perform your setup through the terminal, you can simply run:
 
 ```bash
-# Create a directory for talk
-mkdir coralproject-talk
-cd coralproject-talk
-
-# Download the docker-compose.yml file from the repository
-curl -LO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/coralproject/talk/master/docker-compose.yml
+cli setup
 ```
 
-At this stage, you should refer to the `README.md` file for required
-configuration variables to add to the environment key for the `talk` service
-listed in the `docker-compose.yml` file.
+And follow the instructions to perform initial setup and create your first user
+account.
 
-### Running
 
-```bash
-# Start the services using compose
-docker-compose up -d
-```
+# Usage
+
+After setup is complete, you can then refer to the `/admin/configure` path to
+get the embed code that you can copy/paste onto your blog or website in order to
+start using Talk.
+
+_In order for the embed to work correctly, you will need to whitelist the domain
+that is allowed to embed your site on the `/admin/configure` page, failure to do
+so will result in the comment stream not loading._
diff --git a/PLUGINS.md b/PLUGINS.md
index 8bf00229d..068a0886f 100644
--- a/PLUGINS.md
+++ b/PLUGINS.md
@@ -46,27 +46,73 @@ External plugins can be resolved by running:
 ./bin/cli plugins reconcile
 ```
 
-This will also traverse into local plugin folders and install their
-dependancies. _Note that if the plugin is already installed and available in the
-node_modules folder, it will not be fetched again unless there is a version
-mismatch._
+This achieves two things:
+
+1. It will traverse into local plugin folders and install their dependencies.
+  _Note that if the plugin is already installed and available in the node_modules folder, it will not be
+  fetched again unless there is a version mismatch._ This will result in the
+  project `package.json` and `yarn.lock` files to be modified, this is normal as
+  this ensures that repeated deployments (with the same config) will have the
+  same config, these changes should not be committed to source control.
+2. It will seek out dependencies that are listed in the object notation and try
+  to install them from npm.
 
 ## Plugin Dependencies
 
-From your plugins you may import any component of server code relative to the
-project root. An example could be:
-
-```js
-const cache = require('services/cache');
-```
-
-You may also include additional external depenancies in your local packages by
+You may also include additional external dependencies in your local packages by
 specifying a `package.json` at your plugin root which will result in a
 `node_modules` folder being generated at the plugin root with your specific
 dependencies.
 
+## Deployment Solutions
+
+Plugins can be deployed with a production instance of Talk.
+
+### Source
+
+Source deployments can just modify the `plugins.json` file and include any
+local plugins into the `plugins/` directory. After including the config, you
+need to reconcile the plugins and build the static assets:
+
+```bash
+# get plugin dependancies and remote plugins
+./bin/cli plugins reconcile
+
+# build staic assets (including enabled client side plugins)
+yarn build
+```
+
+Then the application can be started as is.
+
+### Docker
+
+If you deploy using Docker, you can extend from the `*-onbuild` image, an
+example `Dockerfile` for your project could be:
+
+```Dockerfile
+FROM coralproject/talk:latest-onbuild
+```
+
+Where the directory for your instance would contain a `plugins.json` file
+describing the plugin requirements and a `plugins` directory containing any
+other local plugins that should be included.
+
+Onbuild triggers will execute when the image is building with your custom
+configuration and will ensure that the image is ready to use by building all
+assets inside the image as well.
+
 ## Server Plugins
 
+### API
+
+You can access any API available inside the talk directory in a plugin by simply
+importing the file relative to the talk project root. An example would be if you
+wanted to import the `MetadataService`, you would simply write:
+
+```javascript
+const MetadataService = require('services/metadata');
+```
+
 ### Specification
 
 Each plugin should export a single object with all hooks available on it.
diff --git a/circle.yml b/circle.yml
index 013ef28b8..e7427094b 100644
--- a/circle.yml
+++ b/circle.yml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 machine:
   node:
-    version: 7
+    version: 7.9
   services:
     - docker
     - redis
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 76c28d20f..000000000
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,25 +0,0 @@
-version: '2'
-services:
-  talk:
-    image: coralproject/talk:latest
-    restart: always
-    ports:
-      - "5000:5000"
-    depends_on:
-      - mongo
-      - redis
-  mongo:
-    image: mongo:3.2
-    restart: always
-    volumes:
-      - mongo:/data/db
-  redis:
-    image: redis:3.2
-    restart: always
-    volumes:
-      - redis:/data
-volumes:
-  mongo:
-    external: false
-  redis:
-    external: false
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 41d8732de..1b09c78c8 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -182,6 +182,6 @@
     "webpack": "^2.3.1"
   },
   "engines": {
-    "node": "^7.7.0"
+    "node": "^7.9.0"
   }
 }
diff --git a/services/metadata.js b/services/metadata.js
index 2cabed8b8..511429e24 100644
--- a/services/metadata.js
+++ b/services/metadata.js
@@ -36,7 +36,14 @@ class MetadataService {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Sets an object on the metadata field of an object.
+   * Sets an object on the metadata field of an object. An example could be:
+   *
+   * @example
+   * const MetadataService = require('services/metadata');
+   * const CommentModel = require('models/comment');
+   *
+   * // Sets the property `loaded` on the comment with `id=1`.
+   * MetadataService.set(CommentModel, '1', 'loaded', true);
    *
    * @static
    * @param {mongoose.Model} model the mongoose model for the object
@@ -60,6 +67,13 @@ class MetadataService {
   /**
    * Removes the value for the metadata field as the specific key.
    *
+   * @example
+   * const MetadataService = require('services/metadata');
+   * const CommentModel = require('models/comment');
+   *
+   * // Removes the property `loaded` on the comment with `id=1`.
+   * MetadataService.unset(CommentModel, '1', 'loaded');
+   *
    * @static
    * @param {mongoose.Model} model the mongoose model for the object
    * @param {String} id the value for the field `id` of the model
diff --git a/services/users.js b/services/users.js
index de9678089..14301ccf4 100644
--- a/services/users.js
+++ b/services/users.js
@@ -254,26 +254,28 @@ module.exports = class UsersService {
    * @param  {Boolean}  checkAgainstWordlist  enables cheching against the wordlist
    * @return {Promise}
    */
-  static isValidUsername(username, checkAgainstWordlist = true) {
+  static async isValidUsername(username, checkAgainstWordlist = true) {
     const onlyLettersNumbersUnderscore = /^[A-Za-z0-9_]+$/;
 
     if (!username) {
-      return Promise.reject(errors.ErrMissingUsername);
+      throw errors.ErrMissingUsername;
     }
 
     if (!onlyLettersNumbersUnderscore.test(username)) {
-
-      return Promise.reject(errors.ErrSpecialChars);
+      throw errors.ErrSpecialChars;
     }
 
     if (checkAgainstWordlist) {
 
       // check for profanity
-      console.log('Username profanity check disabled: ', Wordlist.usernameCheck(username));
+      let err = await Wordlist.usernameCheck(username);
+      if (err) {
+        throw err;
+      }
     }
 
     // No errors found!
-    return Promise.resolve(username);
+    return username;
   }
 
   /**