diff --git a/src/Model/User.php b/src/Model/User.php
index 398cd19b42..72e3aea939 100644
--- a/src/Model/User.php
+++ b/src/Model/User.php
@@ -7,14 +7,23 @@
 
 namespace Friendica\Model;
 
+use Friendica\Core\Config;
 use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\Core\Worker;
 use Friendica\Database\DBM;
+use Friendica\Object\Contact;
+use Friendica\Object\Photo;
 use dba;
 
 require_once 'boot.php';
+require_once 'include/crypto.php';
+require_once 'include/enotify.php';
+require_once 'include/group.php';
+require_once 'include/network.php';
+require_once 'library/openid.php';
+require_once 'include/pgettext.php';
 require_once 'include/plugin.php';
-
+require_once 'include/text.php';
 /**
  * @brief This class handles User related functions
  */
@@ -79,6 +88,424 @@ class User
 		return $user['uid'];
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * @brief Catch-all user creation function
+	 *
+	 * Creates a user from the provided data array, either form fields or OpenID.
+	 * Required: { username, nickname, email } or { openid_url }
+	 *
+	 * Performs the following:
+	 * - Sends to the OpenId auth URL (if relevant)
+	 * - Creates new key pairs for crypto
+	 * - Create self-contact
+	 * - Create profile image
+	 *
+	 * @param array $data
+	 * @return string
+	 */
+	public static function create(array $data)
+	{
+		$a = get_app();
+		$result = array('success' => false, 'user' => null, 'password' => '', 'message' => '');
+
+		$using_invites = Config::get('system', 'invitation_only');
+		$num_invites   = Config::get('system', 'number_invites');
+
+		$invite_id  = x($data, 'invite_id')  ? notags(trim($data['invite_id']))  : '';
+		$username   = x($data, 'username')   ? notags(trim($data['username']))   : '';
+		$nickname   = x($data, 'nickname')   ? notags(trim($data['nickname']))   : '';
+		$email      = x($data, 'email')      ? notags(trim($data['email']))      : '';
+		$openid_url = x($data, 'openid_url') ? notags(trim($data['openid_url'])) : '';
+		$photo      = x($data, 'photo')      ? notags(trim($data['photo']))      : '';
+		$password   = x($data, 'password')   ? trim($data['password'])           : '';
+		$password1  = x($data, 'password1')  ? trim($data['password1'])          : '';
+		$confirm    = x($data, 'confirm')    ? trim($data['confirm'])            : '';
+		$blocked    = x($data, 'blocked')    ? intval($data['blocked'])          : 0;
+		$verified   = x($data, 'verified')   ? intval($data['verified'])         : 0;
+
+		$publish = x($data, 'profile_publish_reg') && intval($data['profile_publish_reg']) ? 1 : 0;
+		$netpublish = strlen(Config::get('system', 'directory')) ? $publish : 0;
+
+		if ($password1 != $confirm) {
+			$result['message'] .= t('Passwords do not match. Password unchanged.') . EOL;
+			return $result;
+		} elseif ($password1 != "") {
+			$password = $password1;
+		}
+
+		$tmp_str = $openid_url;
+
+		if ($using_invites) {
+			if (!$invite_id) {
+				$result['message'] .= t('An invitation is required.') . EOL;
+				return $result;
+			}
+			$r = q("SELECT * FROM `register` WHERE `hash` = '%s' LIMIT 1", dbesc($invite_id));
+			if (!results($r)) {
+				$result['message'] .= t('Invitation could not be verified.') . EOL;
+				return $result;
+			}
+		}
+
+		if (!x($username) || !x($email) || !x($nickname)) {
+			if ($openid_url) {
+				if (!validate_url($tmp_str)) {
+					$result['message'] .= t('Invalid OpenID url') . EOL;
+					return $result;
+				}
+				$_SESSION['register'] = 1;
+				$_SESSION['openid'] = $openid_url;
+
+				$openid = new LightOpenID;
+				$openid->identity = $openid_url;
+				$openid->returnUrl = System::baseUrl() . '/openid';
+				$openid->required = array('namePerson/friendly', 'contact/email', 'namePerson');
+				$openid->optional = array('namePerson/first', 'media/image/aspect11', 'media/image/default');
+				try {
+					$authurl = $openid->authUrl();
+				} catch (Exception $e) {
+					$result['message'] .= t("We encountered a problem while logging in with the OpenID you provided. Please check the correct spelling of the ID.") . EOL . EOL . t("The error message was:") . $e->getMessage() . EOL;
+					return $result;
+				}
+				goaway($authurl);
+				// NOTREACHED
+			}
+
+			notice(t('Please enter the required information.') . EOL);
+			return;
+		}
+
+		if (!validate_url($tmp_str)) {
+			$openid_url = '';
+		}
+
+		$err = '';
+
+		// collapse multiple spaces in name
+		$username = preg_replace('/ +/', ' ', $username);
+
+		if (mb_strlen($username) > 48) {
+			$result['message'] .= t('Please use a shorter name.') . EOL;
+		}
+		if (mb_strlen($username) < 3) {
+			$result['message'] .= t('Name too short.') . EOL;
+		}
+
+		// So now we are just looking for a space in the full name.
+
+		$loose_reg = Config::get('system', 'no_regfullname');
+		if (!$loose_reg) {
+			$username = mb_convert_case($username, MB_CASE_TITLE, 'UTF-8');
+			if (!strpos($username, ' ')) {
+				$result['message'] .= t("That doesn't appear to be your full \x28First Last\x29 name.") . EOL;
+			}
+		}
+
+
+		if (!allowed_email($email)) {
+			$result['message'] .= t('Your email domain is not among those allowed on this site.') . EOL;
+		}
+
+		if (!valid_email($email) || !validate_email($email)) {
+			$result['message'] .= t('Not a valid email address.') . EOL;
+		}
+
+		// Disallow somebody creating an account using openid that uses the admin email address,
+		// since openid bypasses email verification. We'll allow it if there is not yet an admin account.
+
+		$adminlist = explode(",", str_replace(" ", "", strtolower($a->config['admin_email'])));
+
+		//if((x($a->config,'admin_email')) && (strcasecmp($email,$a->config['admin_email']) == 0) && strlen($openid_url)) {
+		if (x($a->config, 'admin_email') && in_array(strtolower($email), $adminlist) && strlen($openid_url)) {
+			$r = q("SELECT * FROM `user` WHERE `email` = '%s' LIMIT 1",
+				dbesc($email)
+			);
+			if (DBM::is_result($r)) {
+				$result['message'] .= t('Cannot use that email.') . EOL;
+			}
+		}
+
+		$nickname = $data['nickname'] = strtolower($nickname);
+
+		if (!preg_match("/^[a-z0-9][a-z0-9\_]*$/", $nickname)) {
+			$result['message'] .= t('Your "nickname" can only contain "a-z", "0-9" and "_".') . EOL;
+		}
+
+		$r = q("SELECT `uid` FROM `user`
+			WHERE `nickname` = '%s' LIMIT 1",
+			dbesc($nickname)
+		);
+		if (DBM::is_result($r)) {
+			$result['message'] .= t('Nickname is already registered. Please choose another.') . EOL;
+		}
+
+		// Check deleted accounts that had this nickname. Doesn't matter to us,
+		// but could be a security issue for federated platforms.
+
+		$r = q("SELECT * FROM `userd`
+			WHERE `username` = '%s' LIMIT 1",
+			dbesc($nickname)
+		);
+		if (DBM::is_result($r)) {
+			$result['message'] .= t('Nickname was once registered here and may not be re-used. Please choose another.') . EOL;
+		}
+
+		if (strlen($result['message'])) {
+			return $result;
+		}
+
+		$new_password = strlen($password) ? $password : autoname(6) . mt_rand(100, 9999);
+		$new_password_encoded = hash('whirlpool', $new_password);
+
+		$result['password'] = $new_password;
+
+		$keys = new_keypair(4096);
+
+		if ($keys === false) {
+			$result['message'] .= t('SERIOUS ERROR: Generation of security keys failed.') . EOL;
+			return $result;
+		}
+
+		$prvkey = $keys['prvkey'];
+		$pubkey = $keys['pubkey'];
+
+		// Create another keypair for signing/verifying salmon protocol messages.
+		$sres = new_keypair(512);
+		$sprvkey = $sres['prvkey'];
+		$spubkey = $sres['pubkey'];
+
+		$r = q("INSERT INTO `user` (`guid`, `username`, `password`, `email`, `openid`, `nickname`,
+			`pubkey`, `prvkey`, `spubkey`, `sprvkey`, `register_date`, `verified`, `blocked`, `timezone`, `default-location`)
+			VALUES ('%s', '%s', '%s', '%s', '%s', '%s', '%s', '%s', '%s', '%s', '%s', %d, %d, 'UTC', '')",
+			dbesc(generate_user_guid()),
+			dbesc($username),
+			dbesc($new_password_encoded),
+			dbesc($email),
+			dbesc($openid_url),
+			dbesc($nickname),
+			dbesc($pubkey),
+			dbesc($prvkey),
+			dbesc($spubkey),
+			dbesc($sprvkey),
+			dbesc(datetime_convert()),
+			intval($verified),
+			intval($blocked)
+		);
+
+		if ($r) {
+			$r = q("SELECT * FROM `user`
+				WHERE `username` = '%s' AND `password` = '%s' LIMIT 1",
+				dbesc($username),
+				dbesc($new_password_encoded)
+			);
+			if (DBM::is_result($r)) {
+				$u = $r[0];
+				$newuid = intval($r[0]['uid']);
+			}
+		} else {
+			$result['message'] .= t('An error occurred during registration. Please try again.') . EOL;
+			return $result;
+		}
+
+		/**
+		 * if somebody clicked submit twice very quickly, they could end up with two accounts
+		 * due to race condition. Remove this one.
+		 */
+		$r = q("SELECT `uid` FROM `user`
+			WHERE `nickname` = '%s' ",
+			dbesc($nickname)
+		);
+		if (DBM::is_result($r) && count($r) > 1 && $newuid) {
+			$result['message'] .= t('Nickname is already registered. Please choose another.') . EOL;
+			dba::delete('user', array('uid' => $newuid));
+			return $result;
+		}
+
+		if (x($newuid) !== false) {
+			$r = q("INSERT INTO `profile` ( `uid`, `profile-name`, `is-default`, `name`, `photo`, `thumb`, `publish`, `net-publish` )
+				VALUES ( %d, '%s', %d, '%s', '%s', '%s', %d, %d ) ",
+				intval($newuid),
+				t('default'),
+				1,
+				dbesc($username),
+				dbesc(System::baseUrl() . "/photo/profile/{$newuid}.jpg"),
+				dbesc(System::baseUrl() . "/photo/avatar/{$newuid}.jpg"),
+				intval($publish),
+				intval($netpublish)
+			);
+			if ($r === false) {
+				$result['message'] .= t('An error occurred creating your default profile. Please try again.') . EOL;
+				// Start fresh next time.
+				dba::delete('user', array('uid' => $newuid));
+				return $result;
+			}
+
+			// Create the self contact
+			Contact::createSelfFromUserId($newuid);
+
+			// Create a group with no members. This allows somebody to use it
+			// right away as a default group for new contacts.
+
+			group_add($newuid, t('Friends'));
+
+			$r = q("SELECT `id` FROM `group` WHERE `uid` = %d AND `name` = '%s'",
+				intval($newuid),
+				dbesc(t('Friends'))
+			);
+			if (DBM::is_result($r)) {
+				$def_gid = $r[0]['id'];
+
+				q("UPDATE `user` SET `def_gid` = %d WHERE `uid` = %d",
+					intval($r[0]['id']),
+					intval($newuid)
+				);
+			}
+
+			if (Config::get('system', 'newuser_private') && $def_gid) {
+				q("UPDATE `user` SET `allow_gid` = '%s' WHERE `uid` = %d",
+					dbesc("<" . $def_gid . ">"),
+					intval($newuid)
+				);
+			}
+		}
+
+		// if we have no OpenID photo try to look up an avatar
+		if (!strlen($photo)) {
+			$photo = avatar_img($email);
+		}
+
+		// unless there is no avatar-plugin loaded
+		if (strlen($photo)) {
+			$photo_failure = false;
+
+			$filename = basename($photo);
+			$img_str = fetch_url($photo, true);
+			// guess mimetype from headers or filename
+			$type = Photo::guessImageType($photo, true);
+
+
+			$img = new Photo($img_str, $type);
+			if ($img->isValid()) {
+				$img->scaleImageSquare(175);
+
+				$hash = photo_new_resource();
+
+				$r = $img->store($newuid, 0, $hash, $filename, t('Profile Photos'), 4);
+
+				if ($r === false) {
+					$photo_failure = true;
+				}
+
+				$img->scaleImage(80);
+
+				$r = $img->store($newuid, 0, $hash, $filename, t('Profile Photos'), 5);
+
+				if ($r === false) {
+					$photo_failure = true;
+				}
+
+				$img->scaleImage(48);
+
+				$r = $img->store($newuid, 0, $hash, $filename, t('Profile Photos'), 6);
+
+				if ($r === false) {
+					$photo_failure = true;
+				}
+
+				if (!$photo_failure) {
+					q("UPDATE `photo` SET `profile` = 1 WHERE `resource-id` = '%s' ",
+						dbesc($hash)
+					);
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		call_hooks('register_account', $newuid);
+
+		$result['success'] = true;
+		$result['user'] = $u;
+		return $result;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @brief Sends pending registration confiŕmation email
+	 *
+	 * @param string $email
+	 * @param string $sitename
+	 * @param string $username
+	 * @return NULL|boolean from notification() and email() inherited
+	 */
+	public static function sendRegisterPendingEmail($email, $sitename, $username)
+	{
+		$body = deindent(t('
+			Dear %1$s,
+				Thank you for registering at %2$s. Your account is pending for approval by the administrator.
+		'));
+
+		$body = sprintf($body, $username, $sitename);
+
+		return notification(array(
+			'type' => SYSTEM_EMAIL,
+			'to_email' => $email,
+			'subject'=> sprintf( t('Registration at %s'), $sitename),
+			'body' => $body));
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @brief Sends registration confirmation
+	 *
+	 * It's here as a function because the mail is sent from different parts
+	 *
+	 * @param string $email
+	 * @param string $sitename
+	 * @param string $siteurl
+	 * @param string $username
+	 * @param string $password
+	 * @return NULL|boolean from notification() and email() inherited
+	 */
+	public static function sendRegisterOpenEmail($email, $sitename, $siteurl, $username, $password)
+	{
+		$preamble = deindent(t('
+			Dear %1$s,
+				Thank you for registering at %2$s. Your account has been created.
+		'));
+		$body = deindent(t('
+			The login details are as follows:
+				Site Location:	%3$s
+				Login Name:	%1$s
+				Password:	%5$s
+
+			You may change your password from your account "Settings" page after logging
+			in.
+
+			Please take a few moments to review the other account settings on that page.
+
+			You may also wish to add some basic information to your default profile
+			(on the "Profiles" page) so that other people can easily find you.
+
+			We recommend setting your full name, adding a profile photo,
+			adding some profile "keywords" (very useful in making new friends) - and
+			perhaps what country you live in; if you do not wish to be more specific
+			than that.
+
+			We fully respect your right to privacy, and none of these items are necessary.
+			If you are new and do not know anybody here, they may help
+			you to make some new and interesting friends.
+
+
+			Thank you and welcome to %2$s.'));
+
+		$preamble = sprintf($preamble, $username, $sitename);
+		$body = sprintf($body, $email, $sitename, $siteurl, $username, $password);
+
+		return notification(array(
+			'type' => SYSTEM_EMAIL,
+			'to_email' => $email,
+			'subject'=> sprintf( t('Registration details for %s'), $sitename),
+			'preamble'=> $preamble,
+			'body' => $body));
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * @param object $uid user to remove
 	 * @return void
diff --git a/src/Object/Contact.php b/src/Object/Contact.php
index 34519401cb..fc1b26aba6 100644
--- a/src/Object/Contact.php
+++ b/src/Object/Contact.php
@@ -28,6 +28,52 @@ require_once 'include/text.php';
  */
 class Contact extends BaseObject
 {
+	/**
+	 * Creates the self-contact for the provided user id
+	 *
+	 * @param int $uid
+	 * @return bool Operation success
+	 */
+	public static function createSelfFromUserId($uid)
+	{
+		// Only create the entry if it doesn't exist yet
+		if (dba::exists('contact', ['uid' => intval($uid), 'self'])) {
+			return true;
+		}
+
+		$user = dba::select('user', ['uid', 'username', 'nickname'], ['uid' => intval($uid)], ['limit' => 1]);
+		if (!DBM::is_result($user)) {
+			return false;
+		}
+
+		$return = dba::insert('contact', [
+			'uid'         => $user['uid'],
+			'created'     => datetime_convert(),
+			'self'        => 1,
+			'name'        => $user['username'],
+			'nick'        => $user['nickname'],
+			'photo'       => System::baseUrl() . '/photo/profile/' . $user['uid'] . '.jpg',
+			'thumb'       => System::baseUrl() . '/photo/avatar/'  . $user['uid'] . '.jpg',
+			'micro'       => System::baseUrl() . '/photo/micro/'   . $user['uid'] . '.jpg',
+			'blocked'     => 0,
+			'pending'     => 0,
+			'url'         => System::baseUrl() . '/profile/' . $user['nickname'],
+			'nurl'        => normalise_link(System::baseUrl() . '/profile/' . $user['nickname']),
+			'addr'        => $user['nickname'] . '@' . substr(System::baseUrl(), strpos(System::baseUrl(), '://') + 3),
+			'request'     => System::baseUrl() . '/dfrn_request/' . $user['nickname'],
+			'notify'      => System::baseUrl() . '/dfrn_notify/'  . $user['nickname'],
+			'poll'        => System::baseUrl() . '/dfrn_poll/'    . $user['nickname'],
+			'confirm'     => System::baseUrl() . '/dfrn_confirm/' . $user['nickname'],
+			'poco'        => System::baseUrl() . '/poco/'         . $user['nickname'],
+			'name-date'   => datetime_convert(),
+			'uri-date'    => datetime_convert(),
+			'avatar-date' => datetime_convert(),
+			'closeness'   => 0
+		]);
+
+		return $return;
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * @brief Marks a contact for removal
 	 *