diff --git a/config.template.yaml b/config.template.yaml
index 6796f134..00a3bc36 100644
--- a/config.template.yaml
+++ b/config.template.yaml
@@ -76,3 +76,19 @@ aliases:
 
 # Workaround for Vimeo blocking my domain
 vimeo-workaround: false
+
+# Regular expressions for defining reserved user and channel names and page titles
+# The list of regular expressions will be joined with an OR, and compared without
+# case sensitivity.
+#
+# Default: reserve any name containing "admin[istrator]" or "owner" as a word
+# but only if it is separated by a dash or underscore (e.g. dadmin is not reserved
+# but d-admin is)
+reserved-names:
+  usernames:
+    - '^(.*?[-_])?admin(istrator)?([-_].*)?$'
+    - '^(.*?[-_])?owner([-_].*)?$'
+  channels:
+    - '^(.*?[-_])?admin(istrator)?([-_].*)?$'
+    - '^(.*?[-_])?owner([-_].*)?$'
+  pagetitles: []
diff --git a/lib/channel.js b/lib/channel.js
index 4cc2b2d2..a05bf265 100644
--- a/lib/channel.js
+++ b/lib/channel.js
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ var InfoGetter = require("./get-info");
 var ChatCommand = require("./chatcommand");
 var XSS = require("./xss");
 var Media = require("./media").Media;
+var Config = require("./config");
 
 var fs = require("fs");
 var path = require("path");
@@ -2451,7 +2452,15 @@ Channel.prototype.handleUpdateOptions = function (user, data) {
     }
 
     if ("pagetitle" in data && user.rank >= 3) {
-        this.opts.pagetitle = (""+data.pagetitle).substring(0, 100);
+        var title = (""+data.pagetitle).substring(0, 100);
+        if (!title.trim().match(Config.get("reserved-names.pagetitles"))) {
+            this.opts.pagetitle = (""+data.pagetitle).substring(0, 100);
+        } else {
+            user.socket.emit("errorMsg", {
+                msg: "That pagetitle is reserved",
+                alert: true
+            });
+        }
     }
 
     if ("maxlength" in data) {
diff --git a/lib/config.js b/lib/config.js
index 10d45fa7..1175bf44 100644
--- a/lib/config.js
+++ b/lib/config.js
@@ -60,8 +60,12 @@ var defaults = {
         "max-age": 2592000000
     },
     "html-template": {
-        title: "CyTube Beta",
-        description: "Free, open source synchtube"
+        title: "CyTube Beta", description: "Free, open source synchtube"
+    },
+    "reserved-names": {
+        usernames: ["^(.*?[-_])?admin(istrator)?([-_].*)?$", "^(.*?[-_])?owner([-_].*)?$"],
+        channels: ["^(.*?[-_])?admin(istrator)?([-_].*)?$", "^(.*?[-_])?owner([-_].*)?$"],
+        pagetitles: []
     }
 };
 
@@ -134,6 +138,15 @@ exports.load = function (file) {
 
     cfg.http.domain = cfg.http.domain.replace(/\/*$/, "");
     cfg.https.domain = cfg.https.domain.replace(/\/*$/, "");
+    
+    var reserved = cfg["reserved-names"];
+    for (var key in reserved) {
+        if (reserved[key] && reserved[key].length > 0) {
+            reserved[key] = new RegExp(reserved[key].join("|"), "i");
+        } else {
+            reserved[key] = false;
+        }
+    }
 
     Logger.syslog.log("Loaded configuration from " + file);
 };
diff --git a/lib/web/account.js b/lib/web/account.js
index 9c664678..a7d49e6d 100644
--- a/lib/web/account.js
+++ b/lib/web/account.js
@@ -251,6 +251,18 @@ function handleNewChannel(req, res) {
             return;
         }
 
+        if (name.match(Config.get("reserved-names.channels"))) {
+            db.channels.listUserChannels(loginName, function (err2, channels) {
+                sendJade(res, "account-channels", {
+                    loggedIn: true,
+                    loginName: loginName,
+                    channels: err2 ? [] : channels,
+                    newChannelError: "That channel name is reserved"
+                });
+            });
+            return;
+        }
+
         db.channels.register(name, user.name, function (err, channel) {
             if (!err) {
                 Logger.eventlog.log("[channel] " + user.name + "@" +
diff --git a/lib/web/auth.js b/lib/web/auth.js
index 0917e60c..aaa4bafa 100644
--- a/lib/web/auth.js
+++ b/lib/web/auth.js
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ var sendJade = require("./jade").sendJade;
 var Logger = require("../logger");
 var $util = require("../utilities");
 var db = require("../database");
+var Config = require("../config");
 
 /**
  * Processes a login request.  Sets a cookie upon successful authentication
@@ -168,6 +169,13 @@ function handleRegister(req, res) {
         return;
     }
 
+    if (name.match(Config.get("reserved-names.usernames"))) {
+        sendJade(res, "register", {
+            registerError: "That username is reserved"
+        });
+        return;
+    }
+
     if (password.length === 0) {
         sendJade(res, "register", {
             registerError: "Password must not be empty"
diff --git a/www/assets/js/callbacks.js b/www/assets/js/callbacks.js
index 269603a5..f41ea91d 100644
--- a/www/assets/js/callbacks.js
+++ b/www/assets/js/callbacks.js
@@ -49,7 +49,11 @@ Callbacks = {
     },
 
     errorMsg: function(data) {
-        errDialog(data.msg);
+        if (data.alert) {
+            alert(data.msg);
+        } else {
+            errDialog(data.msg);
+        }
     },
 
     costanza: function (data) {