diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b857f86..0b5f003 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -53,14 +53,31 @@ MariaDB have been tested) database, username, and password and put them in a
 
           lobsters$ rake db:schema:load
 
-* Create a `config/initializers/secret_token.rb` file, using a randomly generated key from the output of `rake secret`:
+* Create a `config/initializers/secret_token.rb` file, using a randomly
+generated key from the output of `rake secret`:
 
           Lobsters::Application.config.secret_token = 'your random secret here'
 
-* (Optional, only needed for the search engine) Install Sphinx.  Build Sphinx config and start server:
+* (Optional, only needed for the search engine) Install Sphinx.  Build Sphinx
+config and start server:
 
           lobsters$ rake thinking_sphinx:rebuild
 
+* Define your site's name and default domain, which are used in various places,
+in a `config/initializers/production.rb` or similar file:
+
+          class << Rails.application
+            def domain
+              "example.com"
+            end
+          
+            def name
+              "Example News"
+            end
+          end
+          
+          Rails.application.routes.default_url_options[:host] = Rails.application.domain
+
 * Create an initial administrator user and at least one tag:
 
           lobsters$ rails console
@@ -74,11 +91,7 @@ MariaDB have been tested) database, username, and password and put them in a
           irb(main):006:0> t.tag = "test"
           irb(main):007:0> t.save
 
-* The default development hostname is defined as `lobsters.localhost:3000`.
-You should define this in `/etc/hosts` (or through DNS) to point to
-`127.0.0.1`.
-
 * Run the Rails server in development mode.  You should be able to login to
-`http://lobsters.localhost:3000` with your `test` user:
+`http://localhost:3000` with your new `test` user:
 
           lobsters$ rails server
diff --git a/app/controllers/signup_controller.rb b/app/controllers/signup_controller.rb
index 9a67e93..d735696 100644
--- a/app/controllers/signup_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/signup_controller.rb
@@ -43,9 +43,10 @@ class SignupController < ApplicationController
     if @new_user.save
       @invitation.destroy
       session[:u] = @new_user.session_token
-      flash[:success] = "Welcome to Lobsters, #{@new_user.username}!"
+      flash[:success] = "Welcome to #{Rails.application.name}, " <<
+        "#{@new_user.username}!"
 
-      Countinual.count!("lobsters.users.created", "+1")
+      Countinual.count!("#{Rails.application.shortname}.users.created", "+1")
 
       return redirect_to "/signup/invite"
     else
diff --git a/app/controllers/stories_controller.rb b/app/controllers/stories_controller.rb
index d75f1f0..4cb8571 100644
--- a/app/controllers/stories_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/stories_controller.rb
@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@ class StoriesController < ApplicationController
       Vote.vote_thusly_on_story_or_comment_for_user_because(1, @story.id,
         nil, @user.id, nil)
 
-      Countinual.count!("lobsters.stories.submitted", "+1")
+      Countinual.count!("#{Rails.application.shortname}.stories.submitted",
+        "+1")
 
       return redirect_to @story.comments_url
 
diff --git a/app/mailers/email_message.rb b/app/mailers/email_message.rb
index 75bb3be..76fa853 100644
--- a/app/mailers/email_message.rb
+++ b/app/mailers/email_message.rb
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 class EmailMessage < ActionMailer::Base
-  default :from => "nobody@lobste.rs"
+  default :from => "#{Rails.application.name} " <<
+    "<nobody@#{Rails.application.domain}>"
 
   def notify(message, user)
     @message = message
     @user = user
 
-    mail(:to => user.email, :from => "Lobsters <nobody@lobste.rs>",
-      :subject => "[Lobsters] Private Message from " <<
-        "#{message.author.username}: #{message.subject}")
+    mail(
+      :to => user.email,
+      :subject => "[#{Rails.application.name}] Private Message from " <<
+        "#{message.author.username}: #{message.subject}"
+    )
   end
 end
diff --git a/app/mailers/email_reply.rb b/app/mailers/email_reply.rb
index cecb027..5c9869a 100644
--- a/app/mailers/email_reply.rb
+++ b/app/mailers/email_reply.rb
@@ -1,21 +1,26 @@
 class EmailReply < ActionMailer::Base
-  default :from => "nobody@lobste.rs"
+  default :from => "#{Rails.application.name} " <<
+    "<nobody@#{Rails.application.domain}>"
 
   def reply(comment, user)
     @comment = comment
     @user = user
 
-    mail(:to => user.email, :from => "Lobsters <nobody@lobste.rs>",
-      :subject => "[Lobsters] Reply from #{comment.user.username} on " <<
-      "#{comment.story.title}")
+    mail(
+      :to => user.email,
+      :subject => "[#{Rails.application.name}] Reply from " <<
+        "#{comment.user.username} on #{comment.story.title}"
+    )
   end
 
   def mention(comment, user)
     @comment = comment
     @user = user
 
-    mail(:to => user.email, :from => "Lobsters <nobody@lobste.rs>",
-      :subject => "[Lobsters] Mention from #{comment.user.username} on " <<
-      "#{comment.story.title}")
+    mail(
+      :to => user.email,
+      :subject => "[#{Rails.application.name}] Mention from " <<
+        "#{comment.user.username} on #{comment.story.title}"
+    )
   end
 end
diff --git a/app/mailers/invitation_mailer.rb b/app/mailers/invitation_mailer.rb
index 48a30b9..b77662e 100644
--- a/app/mailers/invitation_mailer.rb
+++ b/app/mailers/invitation_mailer.rb
@@ -1,9 +1,14 @@
 class InvitationMailer < ActionMailer::Base
+  default :from => "#{Rails.application.name} " <<
+    "<nobody@#{Rails.application.domain}>"
+
   def invitation(invitation)
     @invitation = invitation
 
-    mail(:to => invitation.email,
-      :from => "Lobsters Invitation <nobody@lobste.rs>",
-      subject: "[Lobsters] Welcome to Lobsters")
+    mail(
+      :to => invitation.email,
+      subject: "[#{Rails.application.name}] Welcome to " <<
+        Rails.application.name
+    )
   end
 end
diff --git a/app/mailers/password_reset.rb b/app/mailers/password_reset.rb
index b993ed9..5868ec2 100644
--- a/app/mailers/password_reset.rb
+++ b/app/mailers/password_reset.rb
@@ -1,9 +1,14 @@
 class PasswordReset < ActionMailer::Base
+  default :from => "#{Rails.application.name} " <<
+    "<nobody@#{Rails.application.domain}>"
+
   def password_reset_link(user, ip)
     @user = user
     @ip = ip
 
-    mail(:to => user.email, :from => "Lobsters <nobody@lobste.rs>",
-      :subject => "[Lobsters] Reset your password")
+    mail(
+      :to => user.email,
+      :subject => "[#{Rails.application.name}] Reset your password"
+    )
   end
 end
diff --git a/app/models/comment.rb b/app/models/comment.rb
index d1dcce4..8c3bc71 100644
--- a/app/models/comment.rb
+++ b/app/models/comment.rb
@@ -139,8 +139,8 @@ class Comment < ActiveRecord::Base
 
           if u.pushover_mentions? && u.pushover_user_key.present?
             Pushover.push(u.pushover_user_key, u.pushover_device, {
-              :title => "Lobsters mention by #{self.user.username} on " <<
-                self.story.title,
+              :title => "#{Rails.application.name} mention by " <<
+                "#{self.user.username} on #{self.story.title}",
               :message => self.plaintext_comment,
               :url => self.url,
               :url_title => "Reply to #{self.user.username}",
@@ -164,8 +164,8 @@ class Comment < ActiveRecord::Base
 
         if u.pushover_replies? && u.pushover_user_key.present?
           Pushover.push(u.pushover_user_key, u.pushover_device, {
-            :title => "Lobsters reply from #{self.user.username} on " <<
-              "#{self.story.title}",
+            :title => "#{Rails.application.name} reply from " <<
+              "#{self.user.username} on #{self.story.title}",
             :message => self.plaintext_comment,
             :url => self.url,
             :url_title => "Reply to #{self.user.username}",
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ class Comment < ActiveRecord::Base
   end
 
   def log_to_countinual
-    Countinual.count!("lobsters.comments.submitted", "+1")
+    Countinual.count!("#{Rails.application.shortname}.comments.submitted", "+1")
   end
 
   def delete_for_user(user)
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ class Comment < ActiveRecord::Base
   end
 
   def mailing_list_message_id
-    "comment.#{short_id}.#{created_at.to_i}@lobste.rs"
+    "comment.#{short_id}.#{created_at.to_i}@#{Rails.application.domain}"
   end
 
   def plaintext_comment
diff --git a/app/models/message.rb b/app/models/message.rb
index a4a1846..06865aa 100644
--- a/app/models/message.rb
+++ b/app/models/message.rb
@@ -45,8 +45,8 @@ class Message < ActiveRecord::Base
       self.recipient.pushover_user_key.present?
         Pushover.push(self.recipient.pushover_user_key,
           self.recipient.pushover_device, {
-          :title => "Lobsters message from #{self.author.username}: " <<
-            "#{self.subject}",
+          :title => "#{Rails.application.name} message from " <<
+            "#{self.author.username}: #{self.subject}",
           :message => self.plaintext_body,
           :url => self.url,
           :url_title => "Reply to #{self.author.username}",
diff --git a/app/models/story.rb b/app/models/story.rb
index 3cdeaf2..b501e22 100644
--- a/app/models/story.rb
+++ b/app/models/story.rb
@@ -229,7 +229,8 @@ class Story < ActiveRecord::Base
       s = Sponge.new
       s.timeout = 3
       @fetched_content = s.fetch(self.url, :get, nil, nil,
-        { "User-agent" => "lobste.rs! for #{for_remote_ip}" }, 3)
+        { "User-agent" => "#{Rails.application.domain} for #{for_remote_ip}" },
+        3)
     rescue
     end
 
@@ -284,7 +285,7 @@ class Story < ActiveRecord::Base
   end
 
   def mailing_list_message_id
-    "story.#{short_id}.#{created_at.to_i}@lobste.rs"
+    "story.#{short_id}.#{created_at.to_i}@#{Rails.application.domain}"
   end
 
   @_tags_a = []
diff --git a/app/models/user.rb b/app/models/user.rb
index e4a609d..6a3984d 100644
--- a/app/models/user.rb
+++ b/app/models/user.rb
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ class User < ActiveRecord::Base
 
   def linkified_about
     # most users are probably mentioning "@username" to mean a twitter url, not
-    # a link to a lobste.rs profile
+    # a link to a profile on this site
     Markdowner.to_html(self.about, { :disable_profile_links => true })
   end
 
diff --git a/app/views/comments/index.rss b/app/views/comments/index.rss
index e262c1e..d124d1f 100644
--- a/app/views/comments/index.rss
+++ b/app/views/comments/index.rss
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 <% coder = HTMLEntities.new %>
 <rss version="2.0">
   <channel>
-    <title>lobste.rs<%= @title.present? ? ": " + h(@title) : "" %></title>
+    <title><%= Rails.application.name %><%= @title.present? ?
+      ": " + h(@title) : "" %></title>
     <description><%= @title %></description>
     <link><%= root_url %>comments</link>
 
diff --git a/app/views/home/rss.erb b/app/views/home/rss.erb
index 287539d..7d65b52 100644
--- a/app/views/home/rss.erb
+++ b/app/views/home/rss.erb
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 <% coder = HTMLEntities.new %>
 <rss version="2.0">
   <channel>
-    <title>lobste.rs<%= @title.present? ? ": " + h(@title) : "" %></title>
+    <title><%= Rails.application.name %><%= @title.present? ?
+      ": " + h(@title) : "" %></title>
     <description><%= @title %></description>
     <link><%= root_url + (@newest ? "newest" : "") %></link>
 
diff --git a/app/views/invitation_mailer/invitation.text.erb b/app/views/invitation_mailer/invitation.text.erb
index 16f764d..5612f53 100644
--- a/app/views/invitation_mailer/invitation.text.erb
+++ b/app/views/invitation_mailer/invitation.text.erb
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 Hello <%= @invitation.email %>,
 
-The user <%= @invitation.user.username %> has invited you to the website Lobsters<%= @invitation.memo.present? ? raw(":\n\n   #{@invitation.memo}") : "." %>
+The user <%= @invitation.user.username %> has invited you to the website <%= Rails.application.name %><%= @invitation.memo.present? ? raw(":\n\n   #{@invitation.memo}") : "." %>
 
 To create an account, visit the URL below:
 
diff --git a/app/views/layouts/application.html.erb b/app/views/layouts/application.html.erb
index 4af486b..d26fd12 100644
--- a/app/views/layouts/application.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/layouts/application.html.erb
@@ -14,7 +14,8 @@
     <link rev="canonical" rel="self alternate shorter shorturl shortlink"
       href="<%= @short_url %>" />
   <% end %>
-  <title><%= @title.present? ? "#{@title} | Lobsters" : "Lobsters" %></title>
+  <title><%= @title.present? ? "#{@title} | " : "" %><%=
+    Rails.application.name %></title>
   <%= stylesheet_link_tag    "application", :media => "all" %>
   <%= javascript_include_tag "application" %>
   <%= csrf_meta_tags %>
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@
       <div id="headerleft">
         <a id="l_holder" style="background-color: #<%= sprintf("%02x%02x%02x",
         [ 255, (@traffic * 7).floor + 50.0 ].min, 0, 0) %>;" href="/"
-        title="Lobsters (<%= @traffic.to_i %>)"></a>
+        title="<%= Rails.application.name %> (<%= @traffic.to_i %>)"></a>
 
         <% links = {
           "/" => "Home",
diff --git a/app/views/password_reset/password_reset_link.text.erb b/app/views/password_reset/password_reset_link.text.erb
index 985d829..e3ea49b 100644
--- a/app/views/password_reset/password_reset_link.text.erb
+++ b/app/views/password_reset/password_reset_link.text.erb
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 Hello <%= @user.email %>,
 
 Someone at <%= @ip %> requested to reset your account password
-on lobste.rs.  If you submitted this request, visit the link below to
+on <%= Rails.application.name %>.  If you submitted this request, visit the link below to
 set a new password.  If not, you can disregard this e-mail.
 
 <%= root_url %>login/set_new_password?token=<%= @user.password_reset_token %>
diff --git a/app/views/settings/index.html.erb b/app/views/settings/index.html.erb
index 9ec5a8c..52447e6 100644
--- a/app/views/settings/index.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/settings/index.html.erb
@@ -152,7 +152,8 @@
       <%= f.label :pushover_messages, "List Address:",
         :class => "required" %>
       <span>
-      <tt>lobsters-<%= @edit_user.mailing_list_token %>@lobste.rs</tt>
+      <tt><%= Rails.application.shortname %>-<%=
+        @edit_user.mailing_list_token %>@<%= Rails.application.domain %></tt>
       </span>
     </div>
 
diff --git a/app/views/stories/new.html.erb b/app/views/stories/new.html.erb
index 4141f9e..9de2bb7 100644
--- a/app/views/stories/new.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/stories/new.html.erb
@@ -21,16 +21,16 @@
             <a href="javascript:window.location=%22<%= root_url %>stories/new?url=%22+encodeURIComponent(document.location)+%22&title=%22+encodeURIComponent(document.title)"
             style="border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 0.5em; background-color:
             #f8f8f8; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1em;">Submit to
-            Lobsters</a>
+            <%= Rails.application.name %></a>
             </div>
             <ul>
 
             <li>
             <p>
             To be able to easily submit a page you're viewing in your browser
-            to Lobsters, drag the bookmarklet to the right to your bookmark
-            bar.  You'll be taken to this page with the viewed page's URL and
-            title.
+            to <%= Rails.application.name %>, drag the bookmarklet to the right
+            to your bookmark bar.  You'll be taken to this page with the viewed
+            page's URL and title.
             </p>
 
             <li><p>
diff --git a/config/application.rb b/config/application.rb
index bb3f863..d6fc54a 100644
--- a/config/application.rb
+++ b/config/application.rb
@@ -55,15 +55,33 @@ module Lobsters
 
     # Version of your assets, change this if you want to expire all your assets
     config.assets.version = '1.0'
-  
+
     config.cache_store = :memory_store
   end
 end
 
+# disable yaml/xml/whatever input parsing
 silence_warnings do
   ActionDispatch::ParamsParser::DEFAULT_PARSERS = {}
 end
 
-Rails.application.routes.default_url_options[:host] = "lobste.rs"
+# define site name and domain to be used globally, can be overridden in
+# config/initializers/production.rb
+class << Rails.application
+  def domain
+    "lobste.rs"
+  end
+
+  def name
+    "Lobsters"
+  end
+
+  # used as mailing list prefix and countinual prefix, cannot have spaces
+  def shortname
+    name.downcase.gsub(/[^a-z]/, "")
+  end
+end
+
+Rails.application.routes.default_url_options[:host] = Rails.application.domain
 
 require "#{Rails.root}/lib/monkey"
diff --git a/config/environments/development.rb b/config/environments/development.rb
index 9733c26..430e967 100644
--- a/config/environments/development.rb
+++ b/config/environments/development.rb
@@ -35,5 +35,3 @@ Lobsters::Application.configure do
   # Expands the lines which load the assets
   config.assets.debug = true
 end
-
-Rails.application.routes.default_url_options[:host] = "lobsters.localhost:3000"
diff --git a/config/initializers/email.rb b/config/initializers/email.rb
index cb6312f..d71e250 100644
--- a/config/initializers/email.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/email.rb
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ActionMailer::Base.smtp_settings = {
   :address => "127.0.0.1",
   :port => 25,
-  :domain => "lobste.rs",
+  :domain => Rails.application.domain,
   :enable_starttls_auto => false,
 }
diff --git a/script/mail_new_activity b/script/mail_new_activity
index e85b7f5..732541c 100755
--- a/script/mail_new_activity
+++ b/script/mail_new_activity
@@ -43,20 +43,26 @@ last_story_id = (Keystore.value_for(LAST_STORY_KEY) || Story.last.id).to_i
 Story.where("id > ?", last_story_id).order(:id).each do |s|
   s.fetch_story_cache!
   s.save
- 
+
   mailing_list_users.each do |u|
     if (s.tags.map{|t| t.id } & u.tag_filters.map{|t| t.tag_id }).any?
       next
     end
 
-    IO.popen([ {}, "/usr/sbin/sendmail", "-i", "-f", "nobody@lobste.rs",
-    u.email ], "w") do |mail|
-      mail.puts "From: #{s.user.username} <#{s.user.username}@lobste.rs>"
-      mail.puts "Reply-To: lobsters-#{u.mailing_list_token}@lobste.rs"
-      mail.puts "To: lobsters-#{u.mailing_list_token}@lobste.rs"
-      mail.puts "X-BeenThere: lobsters-#{u.mailing_list_token}.lobste.rs"
-      mail.puts "List-Id: Lobsters <lobsters-#{u.mailing_list_token}.lobste.rs>"
-      mail.puts "List-Unsubscribe: <https://lobste.rs/settings>"
+    domain = Rails.application.domain
+    list = "#{Rails.application.shortname}-#{u.mailing_list_token}@" <<
+      Rails.application.domain
+
+    IO.popen([ {}, "/usr/sbin/sendmail", "-i", "-f",
+    "nobody@#{Rails.application.domain}", u.email ], "w") do |mail|
+      mail.puts "From: #{s.user.username} <#{s.user.username}@" <<
+        "#{Rails.application.domain}>"
+      mail.puts "Reply-To: #{list}"
+      mail.puts "To: #{list}"
+      mail.puts "X-BeenThere: #{list}"
+      mail.puts "List-Id: #{Rails.application.name} <#{list}>"
+      mail.puts "List-Unsubscribe: <" <<
+        "#{Rails.application.routes.url_helpers.root_url}settings>"
       mail.puts "Precedence: list"
       mail.puts "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=\"us-ascii\""
       mail.puts "Message-ID: <#{s.mailing_list_message_id}>"
@@ -105,13 +111,18 @@ Comment.where("id > ?", last_comment_id).order(:id).each do |c|
       next
     end
 
-    IO.popen([ {}, "/usr/sbin/sendmail", "-i", "-f", "nobody@lobste.rs",
-    u.email ], "w") do |mail|
-      mail.puts "From: #{c.user.username} <#{c.user.username}@lobste.rs>"
-      mail.puts "Reply-To: lobsters-#{u.mailing_list_token}@lobste.rs"
-      mail.puts "To: lobsters-#{u.mailing_list_token}@lobste.rs"
-      mail.puts "List-Id: Lobsters <lobsters-#{u.mailing_list_token}.lobste.rs>"
-      mail.puts "List-Unsubscribe: <https://lobste.rs/settings>"
+    domain = Rails.application.domain
+    list = "#{Rails.application.shortname}-#{u.mailing_list_token}@" <<
+      Rails.application.domain
+
+    IO.popen([ {}, "/usr/sbin/sendmail", "-i", "-f",
+    "nobody@#{domain}", u.email ], "w") do |mail|
+      mail.puts "From: #{c.user.username} <#{c.user.username}@#{domain}>"
+      mail.puts "Reply-To: #{list}"
+      mail.puts "To: #{list}"
+      mail.puts "List-Id: #{Rails.application.name} <#{list}>"
+      mail.puts "List-Unsubscribe: <" <<
+        "#{Rails.application.routes.url_helpers.root_url}settings>"
       mail.puts "Precedence: list"
       mail.puts "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=\"us-ascii\""
       mail.puts "Message-ID: <#{c.mailing_list_message_id}>"
diff --git a/script/parse_inbound_mail b/script/parse_inbound_mail
index e3a535f..2560fdb 100755
--- a/script/parse_inbound_mail
+++ b/script/parse_inbound_mail
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env ruby
 #
 # postfix main.cf:
-#   relay_domains = lobste.rs
+#   relay_domains = example.com
 #   transport_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/transport
 #   defer_transports =
 #
 # postfix transports:
-#   lobste.rs   lobsters:
+#   example.com   lobsters:
 #
 # postfix master.cf:
 #   lobsters  unix  -       n       n       -       2       pipe
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@ EX_TEMPFAIL = 75
 EX_UNAVAILABLE = 69
 
 recipient = ARGV[0]
-user_token = recipient.gsub(/^lobsters-/, "").gsub(/@.*/, "")
+user_token = recipient.gsub(/^#{Rails.application.shortname}-/, "").
+  gsub(/@.*/, "")
 sender = ARGV[1]
 message = ""
 email = nil
@@ -34,7 +35,7 @@ while !STDIN.eof?
   message += STDIN.gets.to_s
 end
 
-if message.match(/^X-BeenThere: lobsters-/i)
+if message.match(/^X-BeenThere: #{Rails.application.shortname}-/i)
   # avoid looping
   exit
 end
@@ -47,7 +48,7 @@ if !sending_user
 
   # if this looks like a user token but invalid, generate a bounce to be
   # helpful.  otherwise supress it to avoid talking back to spammers
-  exit(recipient.match(/^lobsters-/) ? EX_NOUSER : 0)
+  exit(recipient.match(/^#{Rails.application.shortname}-/) ? EX_NOUSER : 0)
 end
 
 # the mail gem stupidly spams STDERR while parsing e-mail, so silence that