diff --git a/actions/avatar.php b/actions/avatar.php
index b91dd794ce..61d7e770d3 100644
--- a/actions/avatar.php
+++ b/actions/avatar.php
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ class AvatarAction extends SettingsAction {
 
 		$user = common_current_user();
 		$profile = $user->getProfile();
-		$original = $profile->getOriginal();
+		$original = $profile->getOriginalAvatar();
 
 		if ($original) {
 			common_element('img', array('src' => $original->url,
diff --git a/actions/login.php b/actions/login.php
index 1a69bd9c40..5544fd8786 100644
--- a/actions/login.php
+++ b/actions/login.php
@@ -66,8 +66,7 @@ class LoginAction extends Action {
 		} else {
 			common_element('div', 'instructions', 
 						   _t('Login with your username and password. ' .
-							  'Don\'t have a username yet? Choose register above. ' .
-							  '(Forgot your password? No way to get it back... yet. It\'s on the TODO list!)'));
+							  'Don\'t have a username yet? Choose register above. '));
 		}
 		common_element_start('form', array('method' => 'POST',
 										   'id' => 'login',
diff --git a/actions/password.php b/actions/password.php
index ee61c3e978..603ae58eaf 100644
--- a/actions/password.php
+++ b/actions/password.php
@@ -36,8 +36,10 @@ class PasswordAction extends SettingsAction {
 										   'action' =>
 										   common_local_url('password')));
 		common_password('oldpassword', _t('Old password'));
-		common_password('newpassword', _t('New password'));
-		common_password('confirm', _t('Confirm'));
+		common_password('newpassword', _t('New password'),
+						_t('6 or more characters'));
+		common_password('confirm', _t('Confirm'),
+						_t('same as password above'));
 		common_submit('submit', _t('Change'));
 		common_element_end('form');
 		common_show_footer();
diff --git a/actions/profilesettings.php b/actions/profilesettings.php
index 755c293c70..22a7fbac19 100644
--- a/actions/profilesettings.php
+++ b/actions/profilesettings.php
@@ -31,10 +31,9 @@ class ProfilesettingsAction extends SettingsAction {
 		if ($msg) {
 			$this->message($msg, $success);
 		} else {
-			common_element('div', 'instructions', 
-						   _t('You can update your personal profile info here so people know more about you. ' .
-							  'Nickname must be 1-64 lowercase letters or numbers -- no punctuation or spaces. ' .
-							  'Full name, bio, and location can be whatever you want. Email address should be valid.'));
+			common_element('div', 'instructions',
+						   _t('You can update your personal profile info here '.
+							  'so people know more about you. '));
 		}
 		common_element_start('form', array('method' => 'POST',
 										   'id' => 'profilesettings',
@@ -42,17 +41,22 @@ class ProfilesettingsAction extends SettingsAction {
 										   common_local_url('profilesettings')));
 		# too much common patterns here... abstractable?
 		common_input('nickname', _t('Nickname'),
-					 ($this->arg('nickname')) ? $this->arg('nickname') : $profile->nickname);
+					 ($this->arg('nickname')) ? $this->arg('nickname') : $profile->nickname,
+					 _t('1-64 lowercase letters or numbers, no punctuation or spaces'));
 		common_input('fullname', _t('Full name'),
 					 ($this->arg('fullname')) ? $this->arg('fullname') : $profile->fullname);
 		common_input('email', _t('Email address'),
-					 ($this->arg('email')) ? $this->arg('email') : $user->email);
+					 ($this->arg('email')) ? $this->arg('email') : $user->email,
+					 _t('Used only for updates, announcements, and password recovery'));
 		common_input('homepage', _t('Homepage'),
-					 ($this->arg('homepage')) ? $this->arg('homepage') : $profile->homepage);
+					 ($this->arg('homepage')) ? $this->arg('homepage') : $profile->homepage,
+					 _t('URL of your homepage, blog, or profile on another site'));
 		common_textarea('bio', _t('Bio'),
-						($this->arg('bio')) ? $this->arg('bio') : $profile->bio);
+						($this->arg('bio')) ? $this->arg('bio') : $profile->bio,
+						_t('Describe yourself and your interests in 140 chars'));
 		common_input('location', _t('Location'),
-					 ($this->arg('location')) ? $this->arg('location') : $profile->location);
+					 ($this->arg('location')) ? $this->arg('location') : $profile->location,
+					 _t('Where you are, like "City, State (or Region), Country"'));
 		common_submit('submit', _t('Save'));
 		common_element_end('form');
 		common_show_footer();
diff --git a/actions/register.php b/actions/register.php
index e192d52965..d2c87f7bb3 100644
--- a/actions/register.php
+++ b/actions/register.php
@@ -123,17 +123,19 @@ class RegisterAction extends Action {
 			common_element('div', 'error', $error);
 		} else {
 			common_element('div', 'instructions', 
-						   _t('You can create a new account with the following form. ' .
-							  'Your user name must be 1-64 characters, only lowercase letters or numbers. ' .
-							  'Passwords have to match, and your email address should be valid.'));
+						   _t('You can create a new account to start posting notices. '));
 		}
 		common_element_start('form', array('method' => 'POST',
 										   'id' => 'login',
 										   'action' => common_local_url('register')));
-		common_input('nickname', _t('Nickname'));
-		common_password('password', _t('Password'));
-		common_password('confirm', _t('Confirm'));
-		common_input('email', _t('Email'));
+		common_input('nickname', _t('Nickname'), NULL,
+					 _t('1-64 lowercase letters or numbers, no punctuation or spaces'));
+		common_password('password', _t('Password'),						
+						_t('6 or more characters'));
+		common_password('confirm', _t('Confirm'),
+						_t('Same as password above'));
+		common_input('email', _t('Email'), NULL,
+					 _t('Used only for updates, announcements, and password recovery'));
 		common_element_start('p');
 		common_element('input', array('type' => 'checkbox',
 									  'id' => 'license',
diff --git a/actions/remotesubscribe.php b/actions/remotesubscribe.php
index d00d48f9e4..739c92eea5 100644
--- a/actions/remotesubscribe.php
+++ b/actions/remotesubscribe.php
@@ -41,14 +41,17 @@ class RemotesubscribeAction extends Action {
 
 	function show_form($err=NULL) {
 		$nickname = $this->trimmed('nickname');
+		$profile = $this->trimmed('profile');
 		common_show_header(_t('Remote subscribe'));
 		if ($err) {
 			common_element('div', 'error', $err);
 		}
 		common_element_start('form', array('id' => 'remotesubscribe', 'method' => 'POST',
 										   'action' => common_local_url('remotesubscribe')));
-		common_input('nickname', _t('User nickname'), $nickname);
-		common_input('profile', _t('Profile URL'));
+		common_input('nickname', _t('User nickname'), $nickname,
+					 _t('Nickname of the user you want to follow'));
+		common_input('profile', _t('Profile URL'), $profile,
+					 _t('URL of your profile on another compatible microblogging service'));
 		common_submit('submit', _t('Subscribe'));
 		common_element_end('form');
 		common_show_footer();
diff --git a/lib/util.php b/lib/util.php
index 5c55fcda98..c64cd59794 100644
--- a/lib/util.php
+++ b/lib/util.php
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ function common_menu_item($url, $text, $title=NULL, $is_selected=false) {
 	common_element_end('li');
 }
 
-function common_input($id, $label, $value=NULL) {
+function common_input($id, $label, $value=NULL,$instructions=NULL) {
 	common_element_start('p');
 	common_element('label', array('for' => $id), $label);
 	$attrs = array('name' => $id,
@@ -271,6 +271,9 @@ function common_input($id, $label, $value=NULL) {
 		$attrs['value'] = htmlspecialchars($value);
 	}
 	common_element('input', $attrs);
+	if ($instructions) {
+		common_element('span', 'input_instructions', $instructions);
+	}
 	common_element_end('p');
 }
 
@@ -281,13 +284,16 @@ function common_hidden($id, $value) {
 								  'value' => $value));
 }
 
-function common_password($id, $label) {
+function common_password($id, $label, $instructions=NULL) {
 	common_element_start('p');
 	common_element('label', array('for' => $id), $label);
 	$attrs = array('name' => $id,
 				   'type' => 'password',
 				   'id' => $id);
 	common_element('input', $attrs);
+	if ($instructions) {
+		common_element('span', 'input_instructions', $instructions);
+	}
 	common_element_end('p');
 }
 
@@ -301,7 +307,7 @@ function common_submit($id, $label) {
 	common_element_end('p');
 }
 
-function common_textarea($id, $label, $content=NULL) {
+function common_textarea($id, $label, $content=NULL, $instructions=NULL) {
 	common_element_start('p');
 	common_element('label', array('for' => $id), $label);
 	common_element('textarea', array('rows' => 3,
@@ -309,6 +315,9 @@ function common_textarea($id, $label, $content=NULL) {
 									 'name' => $id,
 									 'id' => $id),
 				   ($content) ? $content : ' ');
+	if ($instructions) {
+		common_element('span', 'input_instructions', $instructions);
+	}
 	common_element_end('p');
 }