diff --git a/.vscode/settings.json b/.vscode/settings.json
index 166be53..94b8107 100644
--- a/.vscode/settings.json
+++ b/.vscode/settings.json
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 {
   "liveServer.settings.root": "front-end/",
-  "python.defaultInterpreterPath": "backend/.venv/bin/python"
+  "python.defaultInterpreterPath": "backend/.venv/bin/python",
+  "python-envs.defaultEnvManager": "ms-python.python:system"
 }
diff --git a/backend/.gitignore b/backend/.gitignore
index 30a3427..ac6bb9d 100644
--- a/backend/.gitignore
+++ b/backend/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 /.env
-/.venv/
+/venv/
 *.pyc
diff --git a/backend/data/blooms.py b/backend/data/blooms.py
index 7e280cf..b2bc26b 100644
--- a/backend/data/blooms.py
+++ b/backend/data/blooms.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 from data.connection import db_cursor
 from data.users import User
 
+MAX_BLOOM_LENGTH = 280
 
 @dataclass
 class Bloom:
@@ -16,9 +17,13 @@ class Bloom:
 
 
 def add_bloom(*, sender: User, content: str) -> Bloom:
+    # reject any new posts that are longer than 280 characters
+    if len(content) > MAX_BLOOM_LENGTH:
+        raise ValueError("Bloom content cannot exceed 280 characters.")
+    
     hashtags = [word[1:] for word in content.split(" ") if word.startswith("#")]
 
-    now = datetime.datetime.now(tz=datetime.UTC)
+    now = datetime.datetime.now(tz=datetime.timezone.utc)
     bloom_id = int(now.timestamp() * 1000000)
     with db_cursor() as cur:
         cur.execute(
@@ -27,7 +32,7 @@ def add_bloom(*, sender: User, content: str) -> Bloom:
                 bloom_id=bloom_id,
                 sender_id=sender.id,
                 content=content,
-                timestamp=datetime.datetime.now(datetime.UTC),
+                timestamp=datetime.datetime.now(datetime.timezone.utc),
             ),
         )
         for hashtag in hashtags:
diff --git a/front-end/components/bloom-form.mjs b/front-end/components/bloom-form.mjs
index e047f9a..93561d9 100644
--- a/front-end/components/bloom-form.mjs
+++ b/front-end/components/bloom-form.mjs
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import {apiService} from "../index.mjs";
-
+import { MAX_BLOOM_LENGTH } from "./bloom.mjs";
 /**
  * Create a bloom form component
  * @param {string} template - The ID of the template to clone
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ function handleTyping(event) {
   const counter = textarea
     .closest("[data-form]")
     ?.querySelector("[data-counter]");
-  const maxLength = parseInt(textarea.getAttribute("maxlength"), 10);
+  const maxLength = parseInt(textarea.getAttribute("maxlength"), 10) || MAX_BLOOM_LENGTH;
   counter.textContent = `${textarea.value.length} / ${maxLength}`;
 }
 
diff --git a/front-end/components/bloom.mjs b/front-end/components/bloom.mjs
index 0b4166c..acde223 100644
--- a/front-end/components/bloom.mjs
+++ b/front-end/components/bloom.mjs
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
  * "sent_timestamp": "datetime as ISO 8601 formatted string"}
 
  */
+export const MAX_BLOOM_LENGTH = 280;
 const createBloom = (template, bloom) => {
   if (!bloom) return;
   const bloomFrag = document.getElementById(template).content.cloneNode(true);
@@ -26,6 +27,11 @@ const createBloom = (template, bloom) => {
   bloomUsername.textContent = bloom.sender;
   bloomTime.textContent = _formatTimestamp(bloom.sent_timestamp);
   bloomTimeLink.setAttribute("href", `/bloom/${bloom.id}`);
+  // FIX: If a bloom from the database is over 280 characters, cut it short
+  let displayContent = bloom.content || "";
+  if (displayContent.length > MAX_BLOOM_LENGTH) {
+    displayContent = displayContent.slice(0, MAX_BLOOM_LENGTH - 3) + "...";
+  }
   bloomContent.replaceChildren(
     ...bloomParser.parseFromString(_formatHashtags(bloom.content), "text/html")
       .body.childNodes
@@ -36,10 +42,10 @@ const createBloom = (template, bloom) => {
 
 function _formatHashtags(text) {
   if (!text) return text;
-  return text.replace(
-    /\B#[^#]+/g,
-    (match) => `<a href="/hashtag/${match.slice(1)}">${match}</a>`
-  );
+  return text.replace(/(^|\s)(#[A-Za-z0-9_]+)/g, (full, prefix, tag) => {
+    const encoded = encodeURIComponent(tag.slice(1));
+    return `${prefix}<a href="/hashtag/${encoded}">${tag}</a>`;
+  });
 }
 
 function _formatTimestamp(timestamp) {
diff --git a/front-end/components/login.mjs b/front-end/components/login.mjs
index 165b16a..93911b5 100644
--- a/front-end/components/login.mjs
+++ b/front-end/components/login.mjs
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ async function handleLogin(event) {
     const password = formData.get("password");
 
     await apiService.login(username, password);
+    //the browser refreshes on that exact same URL
+    window.location.reload();
   } catch (error) {
     throw error;
   } finally {
diff --git a/front-end/components/logout.mjs b/front-end/components/logout.mjs
index 2c5ebe9..fd395d2 100644
--- a/front-end/components/logout.mjs
+++ b/front-end/components/logout.mjs
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ function createLogout(template, isLoggedIn) {
 async function handleLogout(event) {
   try {
     apiService.logout();
+    window.location.href = "/";
   } catch (error) {
     throw error;
   }
diff --git a/front-end/views/hashtag.mjs b/front-end/views/hashtag.mjs
index 7b7e996..d5dec39 100644
--- a/front-end/views/hashtag.mjs
+++ b/front-end/views/hashtag.mjs
@@ -14,10 +14,13 @@ import {createHeading} from "../components/heading.mjs";
 
 // Hashtag view: show all tweets containing this tag
 
-function hashtagView(hashtag) {
+async function hashtagView(hashtag) {
   destroy();
 
-  apiService.getBloomsByHashtag(hashtag);
+  const normalizedHashtag = hashtag.startsWith("#") ? hashtag : `#${hashtag}`;
+  if (state.currentHashtag !== normalizedHashtag) {
+    await apiService.getBloomsByHashtag(hashtag);
+  }
 
   renderOne(
     state.isLoggedIn,