diff --git a/extras/markdowner.rb b/extras/markdowner.rb
index 82b750f..597ba70 100644
--- a/extras/markdowner.rb
+++ b/extras/markdowner.rb
@@ -13,35 +13,38 @@ class Markdowner
       args.push :no_image
     end
 
-    html = RDiscount.new(text.to_s, *args).to_html
+    ng = Nokogiri::HTML(RDiscount.new(text.to_s, *args).to_html)
 
-    # change <h1> headings to just emphasis tags
-    html.gsub!(/<(\/)?h(\d)>/) {|_| "<#{$1}strong>" }
-
-    # fix links that got the trailing punctuation appended to move it outside
-    # the link
-    html.gsub!(/<a ([^>]+)([\.\!\,])">([^>]+)([\.\!\,])<\/a>/) {|_|
-      if $2.to_s == $4.to_s
-        "<a #{$1}\">#{$3}</a>#{$2}"
-      else
-        _
-      end
-    }
+    # change <h1>, <h2>, etc. headings to just bold tags
+    ng.css("h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6").each do |h|
+      h.name = "strong"
+    end
 
     # make links have rel=nofollow
-    html.gsub!(/<a href/, "<a rel=\"nofollow\" href")
+    ng.css("a").each do |h|
+      h[:rel] = "nofollow"
+    end
 
-    if !opts[:disable_profile_links]
+    unless opts[:disable_profile_links]
       # make @username link to that user's profile
-      html.gsub!(/\B\@([\w\-]+)/) do |u|
-        if User.exists?(:username => u[1 .. -1])
-          "<a href=\"/u/#{u[1 .. -1]}\">#{u}</a>"
-        else
-          u
+      ng.search("//text()").each do |t|
+        if t.parent && t.parent.name.downcase == "a"
+          # don't replace inside <a>s
+          next
         end
+
+        tx = t.text.gsub(/\B\@([\w\-]+)/) do |u|
+          if User.exists?(:username => u[1 .. -1])
+            "<a href=\"/u/#{u[1 .. -1]}\">#{u}</a>"
+          else
+            u
+          end
+        end
+
+        t.replace(tx)
       end
     end
 
-    html
+    ng.at_css("body").inner_html
   end
 end
diff --git a/spec/models/markdowner_spec.rb b/spec/models/markdowner_spec.rb
index 3408520..96d66b8 100644
--- a/spec/models/markdowner_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/markdowner_spec.rb
@@ -3,30 +3,24 @@ require "spec_helper"
 describe Markdowner do
   it "parses simple markdown" do
     Markdowner.to_html("hello there *italics* and **bold**!").should ==
-      "<p>hello there <em>italics</em> and <strong>bold</strong>!</p>\n"
+      "<p>hello there <em>italics</em> and <strong>bold</strong>!</p>"
   end
 
   it "turns @username into a link if @username exists" do
     User.make!(:username => "blahblah")
 
     Markdowner.to_html("hi @blahblah test").should ==
-      "<p>hi <a href=\"/u/blahblah\">@blahblah</a> test</p>\n"
+      "<p>hi <a href=\"/u/blahblah\">@blahblah</a> test</p>"
 
     Markdowner.to_html("hi @flimflam test").should ==
-      "<p>hi @flimflam test</p>\n"
-  end
-
-  it "moves punctuation outside of auto-generated links" do
-    Markdowner.to_html("hi http://example.com/a! test").should ==
-      "<p>hi <a rel=\"nofollow\" " <<
-        "href=\"http://example.com/a\">http://example.com/a</a>! test</p>\n"
+      "<p>hi @flimflam test</p>"
   end
 
   # bug#209
   it "keeps punctuation inside of auto-generated links when using brackets" do
     Markdowner.to_html("hi <http://example.com/a.> test").should ==
-      "<p>hi <a rel=\"nofollow\" " <<
-        "href=\"http://example.com/a.\">http://example.com/a.</a> test</p>\n"
+      "<p>hi <a href=\"http://example.com/a.\" rel=\"nofollow\">" <<
+        "http://example.com/a.</a> test</p>"
   end
 
   # bug#242
@@ -34,11 +28,11 @@ describe Markdowner do
     User.make!(:username => "blahblah")
 
     Markdowner.to_html("hi http://example.com/@blahblah/ test").should ==
-      "<p>hi <a rel=\"nofollow\" " <<
-        "href=\"http://example.com/@blahblah/\">http://example.com/@blahblah</a></p>\n"
+      "<p>hi <a href=\"http://example.com/@blahblah/\" rel=\"nofollow\">" <<
+        "http://example.com/@blahblah/</a> test</p>"
 
     Markdowner.to_html("hi [test](http://example.com/@blahblah/)").should ==
-      "<p>hi <a rel=\"nofollow\" " <<
-        "href=\"http://example.com/@blahblah/\">test</a></p>\n"
+      "<p>hi <a href=\"http://example.com/@blahblah/\" rel=\"nofollow\">" <<
+        "test</a></p>"
   end
 end