diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 6444373..a12d58e 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -3,12 +3,12 @@ cmd/launcher/launcher
 cmd/request/request
 cmd/contrib/contrib
 cmd/visit/visit
-cmd/signup/signup
 cmd/review/review
-cmd/welcome/welcome
-cmd/createkeyfile/createkeyfile
-cmd/registeruser/registeruser
 cmd/stats/stats
-cmd/appendkeyfile/appendkeyfile
-cmd/help/help
-cmd/emailtouser/emailtouser
+external/cmd/signup/signup
+external/cmd/welcome/welcome
+external/cmd/help/help
+external/cmd/helpers/emailtouser/emailtouser
+external/cmd/helpers/createkeyfile/createkeyfile
+external/cmd/helpers/registeruser/registeruser
+external/cmd/helpers/appendkeyfile/appendkeyfile
diff --git a/external/cmd/help/help b/external/cmd/help/help
deleted file mode 100755
index 9912b03..0000000
Binary files a/external/cmd/help/help and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/external/cmd/help/main.go b/external/cmd/help/main.go
index 72789df..ff8b63f 100644
--- a/external/cmd/help/main.go
+++ b/external/cmd/help/main.go
@@ -10,9 +10,9 @@ import (
 	"os/exec"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
-	"time"
 
 	"git.tilde.town/tildetown/town/codes"
+	"git.tilde.town/tildetown/town/external/lockingwriter"
 	"git.tilde.town/tildetown/town/sshkey"
 	"github.com/charmbracelet/lipgloss"
 	_ "github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3"
@@ -124,10 +124,8 @@ func (p *Prompter) Select(prompt string, opts []string) (int, error) {
 }
 
 func _main(cs colorScheme) error {
-	logFilename := fmt.Sprintf("/town/var/log/help/%d", time.Now().Unix())
-	logFile, err := os.OpenFile(logFilename, os.O_WRONLY|os.O_CREATE|os.O_EXCL, 0600)
-	l := log.New(logFile, "", log.Ldate|log.Ltime|log.LUTC|log.Lshortfile)
-	defer logFile.Close()
+	lw := lockingwriter.New()
+	l := log.New(lw, "help", log.Ldate|log.Ltime|log.LUTC|log.Lshortfile|log.Lmsgprefix)
 
 	db, err := connectDB()
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/external/cmd/helpers/appendkeyfile/appendkeyfile b/external/cmd/helpers/appendkeyfile/appendkeyfile
deleted file mode 100755
index 926d4d3..0000000
Binary files a/external/cmd/helpers/appendkeyfile/appendkeyfile and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/external/cmd/helpers/createkeyfile/createkeyfile b/external/cmd/helpers/createkeyfile/createkeyfile
deleted file mode 100755
index d5fdbf5..0000000
Binary files a/external/cmd/helpers/createkeyfile/createkeyfile and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/external/cmd/helpers/emailtouser/emailtouser b/external/cmd/helpers/emailtouser/emailtouser
deleted file mode 100755
index 9d243ce..0000000
Binary files a/external/cmd/helpers/emailtouser/emailtouser and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/external/cmd/helpers/registeruser/registeruser b/external/cmd/helpers/registeruser/registeruser
deleted file mode 100755
index b23402a..0000000
Binary files a/external/cmd/helpers/registeruser/registeruser and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/external/cmd/signup/main.go b/external/cmd/signup/main.go
index 2629bad..67e3caa 100644
--- a/external/cmd/signup/main.go
+++ b/external/cmd/signup/main.go
@@ -134,7 +134,6 @@ func main() {
 }
 
 func _main(l *log.Logger, db *sql.DB) error {
-	l.Println("starting a session")
 	pages := tview.NewPages()
 	mainFlex := tview.NewFlex()
 	input := tview.NewTextArea()
@@ -305,7 +304,6 @@ func _main(l *log.Logger, db *sql.DB) error {
     /nod
     and pressing enter will cause you to nod. some other verbs: /quit /look`))
 			case "quit":
-				l.Println("got /quit")
 				app.Stop()
 			case "look":
 				fmt.Fprintln(msgScroll, "")
@@ -314,8 +312,6 @@ func _main(l *log.Logger, db *sql.DB) error {
 				if !sm.Advance() {
 					fmt.Fprintln(msgScroll, "you nod, but nothing happens.")
 					fmt.Fprintln(msgScroll)
-				} else {
-					l.Println("advancing scene")
 				}
 			}
 			return
@@ -334,10 +330,7 @@ func _main(l *log.Logger, db *sql.DB) error {
 		msgScroll.ScrollToEnd()
 	}
 
-	defer func() {
-		l.Println("exiting")
-		db.Close()
-	}()
+	defer db.Close()
 
 	app.SetInputCapture(func(event *tcell.EventKey) *tcell.EventKey {
 		switch event.Key() {
diff --git a/external/cmd/signup/signup b/external/cmd/signup/signup
deleted file mode 100755
index 2fdfd3b..0000000
Binary files a/external/cmd/signup/signup and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/external/cmd/welcome/main.go b/external/cmd/welcome/main.go
index e6db972..87a483c 100644
--- a/external/cmd/welcome/main.go
+++ b/external/cmd/welcome/main.go
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ func createUser(data newUserData) (err error) {
 
 func keyfileText(data newUserData) string {
 	header := `########## GREETINGS! ##########
-# Hi! This file was automatically generated by tilde.town when
+# This file was automatically generated by tilde.town when
 # your account was created. You can edit it if you want, but we
 # recommend adding stuff to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys instead.`
 
diff --git a/external/cmd/welcome/welcome b/external/cmd/welcome/welcome
deleted file mode 100755
index e031aa4..0000000
Binary files a/external/cmd/welcome/welcome and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/external/lockingwriter/logger.go b/external/lockingwriter/lockingwriter.go
similarity index 80%
rename from external/lockingwriter/logger.go
rename to external/lockingwriter/lockingwriter.go
index ee87559..a02c3fb 100644
--- a/external/lockingwriter/logger.go
+++ b/external/lockingwriter/lockingwriter.go
@@ -13,10 +13,13 @@ type LockingWriter struct {
 	path string
 }
 
-const fp = "/town/var/log/external.log"
+const (
+	fp = "/town/var/log/external.log"
+	lp = "/town/var/log/log.lock"
+)
 
-func NewLockingWriter() *LockingWriter {
-	f, err := os.Create(fp)
+func New() *LockingWriter {
+	f, err := os.OpenFile(fp, os.O_EXCL|os.O_CREATE|os.O_WRONLY, 0660)
 	if err != nil {
 		panic(err)
 	}
@@ -28,7 +31,7 @@ func NewLockingWriter() *LockingWriter {
 }
 
 func (l *LockingWriter) Write(p []byte) (n int, err error) {
-	fl := flock.New(l.path)
+	fl := flock.New(lp)
 
 	var locked bool
 	for !locked {
@@ -38,6 +41,7 @@ func (l *LockingWriter) Write(p []byte) (n int, err error) {
 		}
 		time.Sleep(time.Second)
 	}
+
 	var f *os.File
 	f, err = os.OpenFile(l.path, os.O_APPEND|os.O_WRONLY, 0600)
 	if err != nil {