diff --git a/cloudbot.py b/cloudbot.py
index 50ed779..f567315 100755
--- a/cloudbot.py
+++ b/cloudbot.py
@@ -32,8 +32,8 @@ def exit_gracefully(signum, frame):
 original_sigint = signal.getsignal(signal.SIGINT)
 signal.signal(signal.SIGINT, exit_gracefully)
 
-# create a bot thread and start it
-cloudbot = bot.Bot()
+# create a bot master and start it
+cloudbot = bot.CloudBot()
 cloudbot.start()
 
 # watch to see if the bot stops running or needs a restart
diff --git a/core/bot.py b/core/bot.py
index 5730efc..95d0dfe 100644
--- a/core/bot.py
+++ b/core/bot.py
@@ -46,30 +46,30 @@ def get_logger():
     return logger
 
 
-class Bot(threading.Thread):
+class CloudBot(threading.Thread):
     def __init__(self):
         # basic variables
         self.start_time = time.time()
         self.running = True
         self.do_restart = False
-        self.connections = []
+
+        # stores each instance of the
+        self.instances = []
 
         # set up config and logging
         self.setup()
         self.logger.debug("Bot setup completed.")
 
-        # start IRC connections
-        self.connect()
-        print(self.connections)
+        # start bot instances
+        self.create()
 
-        for conn in self.connections:
-            conn.permissions = PermissionManager(self, conn)
-            print(conn)
+        for instance in self.instances:
+            instance.permissions = PermissionManager(self, instance)
 
         # run plugin loader
         self.plugins = collections.defaultdict(list)
 
-        """ plugins format
+        """ self.plugins format
         {'PLUGIN_TYPE': [(<COMPILED_PLUGIN_FUNTION>,
                           {PLUGIN_ARGS}),
                          (<COMPILED_PLUGIN_FUNTION>,
@@ -89,19 +89,19 @@ class Bot(threading.Thread):
         """recieves input from the IRC engine and processes it"""
         self.logger.info("Starting main thread.")
         while self.running:
-            for conn in self.connections:
+            for instance in self.instances:
                 try:
-                    incoming = conn.parsed_queue.get_nowait()
+                    incoming = instance.parsed_queue.get_nowait()
                     if incoming == StopIteration:
                         print("StopIteration")
                         # IRC engine has signalled timeout, so reconnect (ugly)
-                        conn.connection.reconnect()
-                    main.main(self, conn, incoming)
+                        instance.connection.reconnect()
+                    main.main(self, instance, incoming)
                 except queue.Empty:
                     pass
 
             # if no messages are in the incoming queue, sleep
-            while self.running and all(c.parsed_queue.empty() for c in self.connections):
+            while self.running and all(i.parsed_queue.empty() for i in self.instances):
                 time.sleep(.1)
 
     def setup(self):
@@ -126,26 +126,23 @@ class Bot(threading.Thread):
         self.db_session = scoped_session(db_factory)
         self.logger.debug("Database system initalised.")
 
-    def connect(self):
-        """connect to all the networks defined in the bot config"""
-        for conf in self.config['connections']:
+    def create(self):
+        """ Create a BotInstance for all the networks defined in the config """
+        for conf in self.config['instances']:
+
             # strip all spaces and capitalization from the connection name
             name = clean_name(conf['name'])
             nick = conf['nick']
             server = conf['connection']['server']
             port = conf['connection'].get('port', 6667)
 
-            self.logger.debug("({}) Creating connection to {}.".format(name, server))
+            self.logger.debug("Creating BotInstance for {}.".format(name))
+
+            self.instances.append(irc.BotInstance(name, server, nick, config=conf,
+                                  port=port, logger=self.logger, channels=conf['channels'],
+                                  ssl=conf['connection'].get('ssl', False)))
+            self.logger.debug("({}) Created connection.".format(name))
 
-            if conf['connection'].get('ssl'):
-                self.connections.append(irc.SSLIRC(name, server, nick, config=conf,
-                                        port=port, logger=self.logger, channels=conf['channels'],
-                                        ignore_certificate_errors=conf['connection'].get('ignore_cert', True)))
-                self.logger.debug("({}) Created SSL connection.".format(name))   
-            else:
-                self.connections.append(irc.IRC(name, server, nick, config=conf,
-                                                port=port, logger=self.logger, channels=conf['channels']))
-                self.logger.debug("({}) Created connection.".format(name)) 
 
     def stop(self, reason=None):
         """quits all networks and shuts the bot down"""
diff --git a/core/config.py b/core/config.py
index d4ad6a0..9d8d010 100644
--- a/core/config.py
+++ b/core/config.py
@@ -38,9 +38,9 @@ class Config(dict):
             self.logger.info("Config loaded from file.")
 
         # reload permissions
-        if self.bot.connections:
-            for conn in self.bot.connections:
-                conn.permissions.reload()
+        if self.bot.instances:
+            for instance in self.bot.instances:
+                instance.permissions.reload()
 
     def save_config(self):
         """saves the contents of the config dict to the config file"""
diff --git a/core/irc.py b/core/irc.py
index 32044dc..88357d5 100644
--- a/core/irc.py
+++ b/core/irc.py
@@ -202,13 +202,14 @@ class SSLIRCConnection(IRCConnection):
                            CERT_REQUIRED)
 
 
-class IRC(object):
-    """handles the IRC protocol"""
+class BotInstance(object):
+    """ A BotInstance represents each connection the bot makes to an IRC server """
 
-    def __init__(self, name, server, nick, port=6667, logger=None, channels=[], config={}):
+    def __init__(self, name, server, nick, port=6667, ssl=False, logger=None, channels=[], config={}):
         self.name = name
         self.channels = channels
         self.config = config
+        self.ssl = ssl
         self.server = server
         self.port = port
         self.logger = logger
@@ -240,8 +241,12 @@ class IRC(object):
         self.parse_thread.start()
 
     def create_connection(self):
-        return IRCConnection(self.name, self.server, self.port,
-                             self.input_queue, self.output_queue)
+        if self.ssl:
+            return SSLIRCConnection(self.name, self.server, self.port, self.input_queue,
+                                    self.output_queue, True)
+        else:
+            return IRCConnection(self.name, self.server, self.port,
+                                 self.input_queue, self.output_queue)
 
     def stop(self):
         self.connection.stop()
@@ -287,15 +292,4 @@ class IRC(object):
         except:
             # if this doesn't work, no big deal
             pass
-        self.output_queue.put(string)
-
-
-class SSLIRC(IRC):
-    def __init__(self, name, server, nick, port=6667, logger=None, channels=[], config={},
-                 ignore_certificate_errors=True):
-        self.ignore_cert_errors = ignore_certificate_errors
-        IRC.__init__(self, name, server, nick, port, logger, channels, config)
-
-    def create_connection(self):
-        return SSLIRCConnection(self.name, self.server, self.port, self.input_queue,
-                                self.output_queue, self.ignore_cert_errors)
+        self.output_queue.put(string)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/core/loader.py b/core/loader.py
index c934cda..2374041 100644
--- a/core/loader.py
+++ b/core/loader.py
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ class PluginLoader(object):
         self.observer.start()
 
         self.load_all()
-        pprint(bot.plugins)
 
     def stop(self):
         """shuts down the plugin reloader"""
@@ -88,7 +87,6 @@ class PluginLoader(object):
             if hasattr(obj, '_hook'):  # check for magic
                 if obj._thread:
                     self.bot.threads[obj] = main.Handler(self.bot, obj)
-
                 for plug_type, data in obj._hook:
                     # add plugin to the plugin list
                     self.bot.plugins[plug_type] += [data]
diff --git a/core/main.py b/core/main.py
index 4bdc300..da120ce 100644
--- a/core/main.py
+++ b/core/main.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ from sqlalchemy.orm import scoped_session
 _thread.stack_size(1024 * 512)  # reduce vm size
 
 
+#TODO: redesign this messy thing
 class Input(dict):
     def __init__(self, bot, conn, raw, prefix, command, params,
                  nick, user, host, mask, paraml, msg):
@@ -54,47 +55,27 @@ class Input(dict):
 
 
 def run(bot, func, input):
-    args = func._args
+    uses_db = True
+    # TODO: change to bot.get_db_session()
+    print(input)
+    if 'text' not in input:
+        input.text = input.paraml
 
-    uses_db = 'db' in args and 'db' not in input
+    if uses_db:
+        # create SQLAlchemy session
+        bot.logger.debug("Opened DB session for: {}".format(func._filename))
+        input.db = input.bot.db_session()
 
-    if 'inp' not in input:
-        input.inp = input.paraml
-
-    if args:
+    try:
+        out = func(input, input.conn)
+    except:
+        bot.logger.exception("Error in plugin {}:".format(func._filename))
+        return
+    finally:
         if uses_db:
-            # create SQLAlchemy session
-            bot.logger.debug("Opened DB session for: {}".format(func._filename))
-            input.db = input.bot.db_session()
-        if 'input' in args:
-            input.input = input
-        if 0 in args:
-            try:
-                out = func(input.inp, **input)
-            except:
-                bot.logger.exception("Error in plugin {}:".format(func._filename))
-                return
-            finally:
-                if uses_db:
-                    print("Close")
-                    input.db.close()
-        else:
-            kw = dict((key, input[key]) for key in args if key in input)
-            try:
-                out = func(input.inp, **kw)
-            except:
-                bot.logger.exception("Error in plugin {}:".format(func._filename))
-                return
-            finally:
-                if uses_db:
-                    bot.logger.debug("Closed DB session for: {}".format(func._filename))
-                    input.db.close()
-    else:
-        try:
-            out = func(input.inp)
-        except:
-            bot.logger.exception("Error in plugin {}:".format(func._filename))
-            return
+            bot.logger.debug("Closed DB session for: {}".format(func._filename))
+            input.db.close()
+
     if out is not None:
         input.reply(str(out))
 
@@ -117,25 +98,15 @@ class Handler(object):
         _thread.start_new_thread(self.start, ())
 
     def start(self):
-        uses_db = 'db' in self.func._args
+        uses_db = True
         while True:
             input = self.input_queue.get()
 
             if input == StopIteration:
                 break
 
-            if uses_db:
-                # self.bot.logger.debug("Opened ST DB session for: {}".format(self.func._filename))
-                input.db = input.bot.db_session()
+            run(self.bot, self.func, input)
 
-            try:
-                run(self.bot, self.func, input)
-            except:
-                self.bot.logger.exception("Error in plugin {}:".format(self.func._filename))
-            finally:
-                if uses_db:
-                    # self.bot.logger.debug("Closed ST DB session for: {}".format(self.func._filename))
-                    input.db.close()
 
     def stop(self):
         self.input_queue.put(StopIteration)
@@ -203,8 +174,8 @@ def main(bot, conn, out):
             elif command in bot.commands:
                 input = Input(bot, conn, *out)
                 input.trigger = trigger
-                input.inp_unstripped = m.group(2)
-                input.inp = input.inp_unstripped.strip()
+                input.text_unstripped = m.group(2)
+                input.text = input.text_unstripped.strip()
 
                 func, args = bot.commands[command]
                 dispatch(bot, input, "command", func, args, autohelp=True)
@@ -214,6 +185,6 @@ def main(bot, conn, out):
             m = args['re'].search(inp.lastparam)
             if m:
                 input = Input(bot, conn, *out)
-                input.inp = m
+                input.text = m
 
                 dispatch(bot, input, "regex", func, args)
diff --git a/plugins/eightball.py b/plugins/eightball.py
index 1b8f5c1..4730bc4 100644
--- a/plugins/eightball.py
+++ b/plugins/eightball.py
@@ -14,10 +14,10 @@ with open("./data/8ball_responses.txt") as f:
                  f.readlines() if not line.startswith("//")]
 
 
-@hook.command('8ball')
-def eightball(inp, action=None):
+@hook.command()
+def eightball(input, conn):
     """8ball <question> -- The all knowing magic eight ball,
     in electronic form. Ask and it shall be answered!"""
 
     magic = text.multiword_replace(random.choice(responses), color_codes)
-    action("shakes the magic 8 ball... {}".format(magic))
+    input.action("shakes the magic 8 ball... {}".format(magic))
diff --git a/plugins/namegen.py b/plugins/namegen.py
index 7a1f0e6..5f5a169 100644
--- a/plugins/namegen.py
+++ b/plugins/namegen.py
@@ -14,12 +14,12 @@ def get_generator(_json):
 
 
 @hook.command(autohelp=False)
-def namegen(inp, notice=None):
+def namegen(input, instance, bot):
     """namegen [generator] -- Generates some names using the chosen generator.
     'namegen list' will display a list of all generators."""
 
     # clean up the input
-    inp = inp.strip().lower()
+    inp = input.text.strip().lower()
 
     # get a list of available name generators
     files = os.listdir(GEN_DIR)
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ def namegen(inp, notice=None):
     if inp == "list":
         message = "Available generators: "
         message += text.get_text_list(all_modules, 'and')
-        notice(message)
+        input.notice(message)
         return
 
     if inp:
diff --git a/util/hook.py b/util/hook.py
index 98c65db..31e069b 100644
--- a/util/hook.py
+++ b/util/hook.py
@@ -10,30 +10,6 @@ def _hook_add(func, add, name=''):
     if not hasattr(func, '_filename'):
         func._filename = func.__code__.co_filename
 
-    if not hasattr(func, '_args'):
-        argspec = inspect.getargspec(func)
-        if name:
-            n_args = len(argspec.args)
-            if argspec.defaults:
-                n_args -= len(argspec.defaults)
-            if argspec.keywords:
-                n_args -= 1
-            if argspec.varargs:
-                n_args -= 1
-            if n_args != 1:
-                err = '%ss must take 1 non-keyword argument (%s)' % (name,
-                                                                     func.__name__)
-                raise ValueError(err)
-
-        args = []
-        if argspec.defaults:
-            end = bool(argspec.keywords) + bool(argspec.varargs)
-            args.extend(argspec.args[-len(argspec.defaults):
-            end if end else None])
-        if argspec.keywords:
-            args.append(0)  # means kwargs present
-        func._args = args
-
     if not hasattr(func, '_thread'):  # does function run in its own thread?
         func._thread = False