diff --git a/client/views/admin/settings.html b/client/views/admin/settings.html
index 410915d77..afb876be5 100644
--- a/client/views/admin/settings.html
+++ b/client/views/admin/settings.html
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
     {{#if this.hasSettings}}
       {{> quickForm collection="Settings" id="updateSettingsForm" type="update" doc=this.settings label-class="control-label" input-col-class="controls" template="test"}}
     {{else}}
-      {{> quickForm collection="Settings" id="updateSettingsForm" type="insert" template="bootstrap3-horizontal" label-class="control-label" input-col-class="controls"}}
+      {{> quickForm collection="Settings" id="updateSettingsForm" type="insert" template="test" label-class="control-label" input-col-class="controls"}}
     {{/if}}
   </div>
 </template>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/client/views/settings/quickFormTest.html b/client/views/settings/quickFormTest.html
index b691de870..8639640aa 100644
--- a/client/views/settings/quickFormTest.html
+++ b/client/views/settings/quickFormTest.html
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
     {{#each afFieldsets}}
       <fieldset>
         <h3 class="fieldset-heading">{{this}}</h3>
-        {{> afQuickFields fields=fieldsForFieldset omitFields=../atts.omitFields template="bootstrap3-horizontal" input-col-class=inputClass label-class=labelClass}}
+        {{> afQuickFields fields=fieldsForFieldset omitFields=../atts.omitFields template="test" input-col-class=inputClass label-class=labelClass}}
       </fieldset>
     {{/each}}
     
@@ -14,9 +14,9 @@
         <div class="{{inputClass}}">
           <button {{submitButtonAtts}}>
           {{#with ../atts.buttonContent}}
-          {{this}}
+            {{this}}
           {{else}}
-          Submit
+            Submit
           {{/with}}
           </button>
         </div>
@@ -36,6 +36,9 @@
     {{/if}}
     <div class="{{rightColumnClass}}">
       {{> afFieldInput afFieldInputAtts}}
+      {{#if afFieldInstructions}}
+        <span class="instructions-block">{{afFieldInstructions}}</span>
+      {{/if}}
       <span class="help-block">{{{afFieldMessage name=this.atts.name}}}</span>
     </div>
   </div>
diff --git a/client/views/settings/quickFormTest.js b/client/views/settings/quickFormTest.js
index 8d3e8033e..7369518ec 100644
--- a/client/views/settings/quickFormTest.js
+++ b/client/views/settings/quickFormTest.js
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ Template[getTemplate('quickForm_test')].helpers({
   },
   fieldsForFieldset: function () {
     var fieldset = this.toLowerCase();
-    var schema = Template.parentData(1)._af.ss._schema;
+    var schema = AutoForm.find().ss._schema;
 
     // decorate schema with key names
     schema = _.map(schema, function (field, key) {
@@ -101,6 +101,10 @@ Template["afFormGroup_test"].rightColumnClass = function () {
   return atts['input-col-class'] || "";
 };
 
+Template["afFormGroup_test"].afFieldInstructions = function () {
+  return this.afFieldInputAtts.instructions;
+};
+
 Template["afObjectField_test"].rightColumnClass = function () {
   var atts = this.atts || {};
   return atts['input-col-class'] || "";
diff --git a/collections/comments.js b/collections/comments.js
index cb56662d4..f203ea66c 100644
--- a/collections/comments.js
+++ b/collections/comments.js
@@ -1,73 +1,73 @@
 CommentSchema = new SimpleSchema({
-    _id: {
-        type: String,
-        optional: true
-    },
-    parentCommentId: {
-        type: String,
-        optional: true
-    },
-    createdAt: {
-        type: Date,
-        optional: true
-    },
-    postedAt: { // for now, comments are always created and posted at the same time
-        type: Date,
-        optional: true
-    },
-    body: {
-        type: String
-    },
-    htmlBody: {
-        type: String,
-        optional: true
-    },
-    baseScore: {
-        type: Number,
-        decimal: true,
-        optional: true
-    },
-    score: {
-        type: Number,
-        decimal: true,
-        optional: true
-    },
-    upvotes: {
-        type: Number,
-        optional: true
-    },
-    upvoters: {
-        type: [String], // XXX
-        optional: true
-    },
-    downvotes: {
-        type: Number,
-        optional: true
-    },
-    downvoters: {
-        type: [String], // XXX
-        optional: true
-    },
-    author: {
-        type: String,
-        optional: true
-    },
-    inactive: {
-        type: Boolean,
-        optional: true
-    },
-    postId: {
-        type: String, // XXX
-        optional: true
-    },
-    userId: {
-        type: String, // XXX
-        optional: true
-    },
-    isDeleted: {
-        type: Boolean,
-        optional: true
-    }
+  _id: {
+      type: String,
+      optional: true
+  },
+  parentCommentId: {
+      type: String,
+      optional: true
+  },
+  createdAt: {
+      type: Date,
+      optional: true
+  },
+  postedAt: { // for now, comments are always created and posted at the same time
+      type: Date,
+      optional: true
+  },
+  body: {
+      type: String
+  },
+  htmlBody: {
+      type: String,
+      optional: true
+  },
+  baseScore: {
+      type: Number,
+      decimal: true,
+      optional: true
+  },
+  score: {
+      type: Number,
+      decimal: true,
+      optional: true
+  },
+  upvotes: {
+      type: Number,
+      optional: true
+  },
+  upvoters: {
+      type: [String], // XXX
+      optional: true
+  },
+  downvotes: {
+      type: Number,
+      optional: true
+  },
+  downvoters: {
+      type: [String], // XXX
+      optional: true
+  },
+  author: {
+      type: String,
+      optional: true
+  },
+  inactive: {
+      type: Boolean,
+      optional: true
+  },
+  postId: {
+      type: String, // XXX
+      optional: true
+  },
+  userId: {
+      type: String, // XXX
+      optional: true
+  },
+  isDeleted: {
+      type: Boolean,
+      optional: true
+  }
 });
 
 Comments = new Meteor.Collection("comments");
diff --git a/collections/settings.js b/collections/settings.js
index 8af0a9801..56211f952 100644
--- a/collections/settings.js
+++ b/collections/settings.js
@@ -10,9 +10,10 @@ settingsSchemaObject = {
   siteUrl: {
     type: String,
     optional: true,
-    label: 'Site URL (with trailing "/")',
+    label: 'Site URL',
     autoform: {
-      group: 'general'
+      group: 'general',
+      instructions: 'Your site\'s URL (with trailing "/"). Will default to Meteor.absoluteUrl()'
     }
   },
   tagline: {
@@ -28,7 +29,7 @@ settingsSchemaObject = {
     label: "Require invite to view",
     optional: true,
     autoform: {
-      group: 'access'
+      group: 'invites'
     }
   },
   requirePostInvite: {
@@ -36,7 +37,7 @@ settingsSchemaObject = {
     label: "Require invite to post",
     optional: true,
     autoform: {
-      group: 'access'
+      group: 'invites'
     }
   },
   requirePostsApproval: {
@@ -47,42 +48,37 @@ settingsSchemaObject = {
       group: 'access'
     }
   },
-  emailNotifications: {
-    type: Boolean,
-    label: "Enable email notifications",
-    optional: true,
-    autoform: {
-      group: 'email'
-    }
-  },
-  nestedComments: {
-    type: Boolean,
-    label: "Enable nested comments",
-    optional: true,
-    autoform: {
-      group: 'comments'
-    }
-  },
-  redistributeKarma: {
-    type: Boolean,
-    label: "Enable redistributed karma",
-    optional: true,
-    autoform: {
-      group: 'general'
-    }
-  },
+  // nestedComments: {
+  //   type: Boolean,
+  //   label: "Enable nested comments",
+  //   optional: true,
+  //   autoform: {
+  //     group: 'comments'
+  //   }
+  // },
+  // redistributeKarma: {
+  //   type: Boolean,
+  //   label: "Enable redistributed karma",
+  //   optional: true,
+  //   autoform: {
+  //     group: 'general'
+  //   }
+  // },
   defaultEmail: {
     type: String,
     optional: true,
     autoform: {
-      group: 'email'
+      group: 'email',
+      instructions: 'The address all outgoing emails will be sent from.'
     }
   },
   scoreUpdateInterval: {
     type: Number,
     optional: true,
+    defaultValue: 30,
     autoform: {
-      group: 'scoring'
+      group: 'scoring',
+      instructions: 'How often to recalculate scores, in seconds (default to 30)'
     }
   },
   defaultView: {
@@ -101,22 +97,28 @@ settingsSchemaObject = {
   postInterval: {
     type: Number,
     optional: true,
+    defaultValue: 30,
     autoform: {
-      group: 'posts'
+      group: 'posts',
+      instructions: 'Minimum time between posts, in seconds (defaults to 30)'
     }
   },
   commentInterval: {
     type: Number,
     optional: true,
+    defaultValue: 15,
     autoform: {
-      group: 'comments'
+      group: 'comments',
+      instructions: 'Minimum time between comments, in seconds (defaults to 15)'
     }
   },
   maxPostsPerDay: {
     type: Number,
     optional: true,
+    defaultValue: 30,
     autoform: {
-      group: 'posts'
+      group: 'posts',
+      instructions: 'Maximum number of posts a user can post in a day (default to 30).'
     }
   },
   startInvitesCount: {
@@ -124,7 +126,7 @@ settingsSchemaObject = {
     defaultValue: 3,
     optional: true,
     autoform: {
-      group: 'general'
+      group: 'invites'
     }
   },
   postsPerPage: {
@@ -161,15 +163,16 @@ settingsSchemaObject = {
     defaultValue: 'en',
     optional: true,
     autoform: {
-      group: 'general'
+      group: 'internationalization'
     }
   },
   backgroundCSS: {
     type: String,
     optional: true,
-    label: "Background CSS: color, image, etc.",
+    label: "Background CSS",
     autoform: {
-      group: 'extras'
+      group: 'extras',
+      instructions: 'CSS code for the &lt;body&gt;\'s "background" property'
     }
   },
   // secondaryColor: {
@@ -236,28 +239,32 @@ settingsSchemaObject = {
     type: String,
     optional: true,
     autoform: {
-      group: 'extras'
+      group: 'extras',
+      instructions: 'Footer content (accepts HTML).'
     }
   },
   extraCode: {
     type: String,
     optional: true,
     autoform: {
-      group: 'extras'
+      group: 'extras',
+      instructions: 'Any extra HTML code you want to include on every page.'
     }
   },
   emailFooter: {
     type: String,
     optional: true,
     autoform: {
-      group: 'email'
+      group: 'email',
+      instructions: 'Content that will appear at the bottom of outgoing emails (accepts HTML).'
     }
   },
   notes: {
     type: String,
     optional: true,
     autoform: {
-      group: 'extras'
+      group: 'extras',
+      instructions: 'You can store any notes or extra information here.'
     }
   },
 };
diff --git a/packages/telescope-newsletter/lib/newsletter.js b/packages/telescope-newsletter/lib/newsletter.js
index d14ff05a3..338a6e1b5 100644
--- a/packages/telescope-newsletter/lib/newsletter.js
+++ b/packages/telescope-newsletter/lib/newsletter.js
@@ -50,7 +50,8 @@ var showBanner = {
     optional: true,
     label: 'Show newsletter sign-up banner',
     autoform: {
-      group: 'newsletter'
+      group: 'newsletter',
+      instructions: 'Show newsletter sign-up form on the front page.'
     }
   }
 }
@@ -74,7 +75,8 @@ var mailChimpListId = {
     type: String,
     optional: true,
     autoform: {
-      group: 'newsletter'
+      group: 'newsletter',
+      instructions: 'The ID of the list you want to send to.'
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/telescope-notifications/lib/notifications.js b/packages/telescope-notifications/lib/notifications.js
index fbac625d5..7461ff06c 100644
--- a/packages/telescope-notifications/lib/notifications.js
+++ b/packages/telescope-notifications/lib/notifications.js
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ Meteor.methods({
 
 // add new post notification callback on post submit
 postAfterSubmitMethodCallbacks.push(function (post) {
-  if(Meteor.isServer && !!getSetting('emailNotifications', false)){
+  if(Meteor.isServer && !!getSetting('emailNotifications', true)){
     // we don't want emails to hold up the post submission, so we make the whole thing async with setTimeout
     Meteor.setTimeout(function () {
       newPostNotification(post, [post.userId])
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ postAfterSubmitMethodCallbacks.push(function (post) {
 
 // add new comment notification callback on comment submit
 commentAfterSubmitMethodCallbacks.push(function (comment) {
-  if(Meteor.isServer){
+  if(Meteor.isServer && !!getSetting('emailNotifications', true)){
 
     var parentCommentId = comment.parentCommentId;
     var user = Meteor.user();
@@ -150,4 +150,18 @@ commentAfterSubmitMethodCallbacks.push(function (comment) {
   }
 
   return comment;
-});
\ No newline at end of file
+});
+
+var emailNotifications = {
+  propertyName: 'emailNotifications',
+  propertySchema: {
+    type: Boolean,
+    optional: true,
+    defaultValue: true,
+    autoform: {
+      group: 'notifications',
+      instructions: 'Enable email notifications for new posts and new comments.'
+    }
+  }
+}
+addToSettingsSchema.push(emailNotifications);
diff --git a/packages/telescope-theme-base/lib/client/css/screen.css b/packages/telescope-theme-base/lib/client/css/screen.css
index 458c1a1ac..1432a955d 100644
--- a/packages/telescope-theme-base/lib/client/css/screen.css
+++ b/packages/telescope-theme-base/lib/client/css/screen.css
@@ -322,6 +322,13 @@ input[type="search"] {
 fieldset {
   margin-bottom: 30px; }
 
+/* line 181, ../scss/global/_forms.scss */
+.instructions-block {
+  margin-top: 5px;
+  display: block;
+  font-size: 80%;
+  color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6); }
+
 /* line 1, ../scss/global/_links.scss */
 a {
   text-decoration: none; }
diff --git a/packages/telescope-theme-base/lib/client/scss/global/_forms.scss b/packages/telescope-theme-base/lib/client/scss/global/_forms.scss
index 18311f57c..8133a488d 100644
--- a/packages/telescope-theme-base/lib/client/scss/global/_forms.scss
+++ b/packages/telescope-theme-base/lib/client/scss/global/_forms.scss
@@ -177,4 +177,10 @@ input[type="search"]{
 }
 fieldset{
   margin-bottom: 30px;
+}
+.instructions-block{
+  margin-top: 5px;
+  display: block;
+  font-size: 80%;
+  color: black(0.6);
 }
\ No newline at end of file