diff --git a/configs/main.js.example b/configs/main.js.example
index 99b4aa2d..b396189d 100644
--- a/configs/main.js.example
+++ b/configs/main.js.example
@@ -26,15 +26,18 @@ module.exports = {
 	refererCheck: true,
 	refererRegex: '^https?:\\/\\/(?:www\\.)?domain\\.com\\/',
 
-	//data used in opengraph meta tags
+	//data used in opengraph meta tags. used to generate link previews in e.g. discord, twitter, etc
 	meta: {
 		siteName: 'imageboard',
 		url: 'https://domain.com'
 	},
 
-	//cache templates in memory
+	//cache templates in memory. disable only if editing templates and doing dev work
 	cacheTemplates: true,
 
+	//max wait time in ms for obtaining locks for saving files
+	lockWait: 3000,
+
 	//prune modlogs older than 30 days. pruning occurs when new modlog entries are generated
 	pruneModlogs: true,
 
@@ -44,7 +47,7 @@ module.exports = {
 	//extension for thumbnails. png is larger but allows transparency
 	thumbExtension: '.png',
 
-	//max thumb dimensions
+	//max thumb dimensions (square) in px
 	thumbSize: 200,
 
 	//default ban duration in ms if ban duration field is left blank
@@ -56,7 +59,7 @@ module.exports = {
 	//options for code block highlighting in posts
 	highlightOptions: {
 
-		//subset of languages to allow
+		//subset of languages to allow.
 		languageSubset: [
 			'javascript',
 			'js',
diff --git a/helpers/render.js b/helpers/render.js
index 61924aef..683e441c 100644
--- a/helpers/render.js
+++ b/helpers/render.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 'use strict';
 
-const { globalLimits, boardDefaults, cacheTemplates, meta } = require(__dirname+'/../configs/main.js')
+const { lockWait, globalLimits, boardDefaults, cacheTemplates, meta } = require(__dirname+'/../configs/main.js')
 	, { outputFile } = require('fs-extra')
 	, pug = require('pug')
 	, path = require('path')
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ module.exports = async (htmlName, templateName, options, json=null) => {
 		defaultCodeTheme: boardDefaults.codeTheme,
 		globalLimits,
 	});
-	const lock = await redlock.lock(`locks:${htmlName}`, 3000); //what is a reasonable ttl?
+	const lock = await redlock.lock(`locks:${htmlName}`, lockWait);
 	const htmlPromise = outputFile(`${uploadDirectory}/html/${htmlName}`, html);
 	let jsonPromise;
 	if (json !== null) {
diff --git a/helpers/tasks.js b/helpers/tasks.js
index 7e8df589..942fc2c5 100644
--- a/helpers/tasks.js
+++ b/helpers/tasks.js
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ module.exports = {
 	buildBanners: async (options) => {
 		const label = `/${options.board._id}/banners.html`;
 		const start = process.hrtime();
-		const html = render(label, 'banners.pug', options, {
+		const html = await render(label, 'banners.pug', options, {
 			'name': `/${options.board._id}/banners.json`,
 			'data': options.board.banners
 		});
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ module.exports = {
 			options.board = await Boards.findOne(options.board);
 		}
 		const threads = await Posts.getCatalog(options.board._id);
-		const html = render(label, 'catalog.pug', {
+		const html = await render(label, 'catalog.pug', {
 			...options,
 			threads,
 		}, {
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ module.exports = {
 		if (!thread) {
 			return; //this thread may have been an OP that was deleted
 		}
-		const html = render(label, 'thread.pug', {
+		const html = await render(label, 'thread.pug', {
 			...options,
 			thread,
 		}, {
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ module.exports = {
 		if (!options.maxPage) {
 			options.maxPage = Math.min(Math.ceil((await Posts.getPages(options.board._id)) / 10), Math.ceil(options.board.settings.threadLimit/10));
 		}
-		const html = render(label, 'board.pug', {
+		const html = await render(label, 'board.pug', {
 			...options,
 			threads,
 		}, {
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ module.exports = {
 		const label = '/news.html';
 		const start = process.hrtime();
 		const news = await News.find();
-		const html = render('news.html', 'news.pug', {
+		const html = await render('news.html', 'news.pug', {
 			news
 		});
 		const end = process.hrtime(start);
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ module.exports = {
 		if (!options.logs) {
 			options.logs = await Modlogs.findBetweenDate(options.board, options.startDate, options.endDate);
 		}
-		const html = render(label, 'modlog.pug', {
+		const html = await render(label, 'modlog.pug', {
 			...options
 		});
 		const end = process.hrtime(start);
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ module.exports = {
 				await Modlogs.deleteOld(options.board, monthAgo);
 			}
 		}
-		const html = render(label, 'modloglist.pug', {
+		const html = await render(label, 'modloglist.pug', {
 			board: options.board,
 			dates
 		});
@@ -198,7 +198,7 @@ module.exports = {
 			Boards.boardSort(0, 20), //top 20 boards sorted by users, pph, total posts
 			Files.activeContent() //size ans number of files
 		]);
-		const html = render('index.html', 'home.pug', {
+		const html = await render('index.html', 'home.pug', {
 			totalStats,
 			boards,
 			fileStats,