diff --git a/controllers/hls.go b/controllers/hls.go
index 1cdb4e837..62251a9d9 100644
--- a/controllers/hls.go
+++ b/controllers/hls.go
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/owncast/owncast/config"
-	"github.com/owncast/owncast/core"
 	"github.com/owncast/owncast/core/data"
 	"github.com/owncast/owncast/router/middleware"
 	"github.com/owncast/owncast/utils"
@@ -39,8 +38,7 @@ func HandleHLSRequest(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		middleware.DisableCache(w)
 
 		// Use this as an opportunity to mark this viewer as active.
-		id := utils.GenerateClientIDFromRequest(r)
-		core.SetViewerIDActive(id)
+		Ping(w, r)
 	} else {
 		cacheTime := utils.GetCacheDurationSecondsForPath(relativePath)
 		w.Header().Set("Cache-Control", "public, max-age="+strconv.Itoa(cacheTime))
diff --git a/core/chat/chatclient.go b/core/chat/chatclient.go
index c0635989d..7cfb7349d 100644
--- a/core/chat/chatclient.go
+++ b/core/chat/chatclient.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package chat
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"encoding/json"
+	"sync"
 	"time"
 
 	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@ type Client struct {
 	MessageCount int               `json:"messageCount"`
 	UserAgent    string            `json:"userAgent"`
 	ConnectedAt  time.Time         `json:"connectedAt"`
+	mu           sync.Mutex
 }
 
 type chatClientEvent struct {
@@ -173,10 +175,18 @@ func (c *Client) handleEvent(data []byte) {
 }
 
 func (c *Client) close() {
+	defer func() {
+		if a := recover(); a != nil {
+			log.Println("RECOVER", a)
+		}
+	}()
+
 	log.Traceln("client closed:", c.User.DisplayName, c.id, c.ipAddress)
 
 	_ = c.conn.Close()
 	c.server.unregister <- c.id
+	c.mu.Lock()
+	defer c.mu.Unlock()
 	if c.send != nil {
 		close(c.send)
 		c.send = nil
@@ -212,6 +222,8 @@ func (c *Client) sendPayload(payload events.EventPayload) {
 		return
 	}
 
+	c.mu.Lock()
+	defer c.mu.Unlock()
 	if c.send != nil {
 		c.send <- data
 	}
diff --git a/core/chat/persistence.go b/core/chat/persistence.go
index 082ffc4f8..563b8db0a 100644
--- a/core/chat/persistence.go
+++ b/core/chat/persistence.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package chat
 
 import (
+	"database/sql"
 	"fmt"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -42,9 +43,6 @@ func saveEvent(id string, userID string, body string, eventType string, hidden *
 		_historyCache = nil
 	}()
 
-	_datastore.DbLock.Lock()
-	defer _datastore.DbLock.Unlock()
-
 	tx, err := _datastore.DB.Begin()
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Errorln("error saving", eventType, err)
@@ -71,9 +69,9 @@ func saveEvent(id string, userID string, body string, eventType string, hidden *
 	}
 }
 
-func getChat(query string) []events.UserMessageEvent {
+func getChat(query *sql.Stmt) []events.UserMessageEvent {
 	history := make([]events.UserMessageEvent, 0)
-	rows, err := _datastore.DB.Query(query)
+	rows, err := query.Query()
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Errorln("error fetching chat history", err)
 		return history
@@ -154,6 +152,8 @@ func getChat(query string) []events.UserMessageEvent {
 
 var _historyCache *[]events.UserMessageEvent
 
+var _chatModerationHistoryQuery *sql.Stmt
+
 // GetChatModerationHistory will return all the chat messages suitable for moderation purposes.
 func GetChatModerationHistory() []events.UserMessageEvent {
 	if _historyCache != nil {
@@ -161,19 +161,38 @@ func GetChatModerationHistory() []events.UserMessageEvent {
 	}
 
 	// Get all messages regardless of visibility
-	var query = "SELECT messages.id, user_id, body, eventType, hidden_at, timestamp, display_name, display_color, created_at, disabled_at, previous_names, namechanged_at FROM messages INNER JOIN users ON messages.user_id = users.id ORDER BY timestamp DESC"
-	result := getChat(query)
+	if _chatModerationHistoryQuery == nil {
+		var query = "SELECT messages.id, user_id, body, eventType, hidden_at, timestamp, display_name, display_color, created_at, disabled_at, previous_names, namechanged_at FROM messages INNER JOIN users ON messages.user_id = users.id ORDER BY timestamp DESC"
+		q, err := _datastore.DB.Prepare(query)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Errorln(err)
+			return []events.UserMessageEvent{}
+		}
+		_chatModerationHistoryQuery = q
+	}
+	result := getChat(_chatModerationHistoryQuery)
 
 	_historyCache = &result
 
 	return result
 }
 
+var _getChatHistoryQuery *sql.Stmt
+
 // GetChatHistory will return all the chat messages suitable for returning as user-facing chat history.
 func GetChatHistory() []events.UserMessageEvent {
+	if _getChatHistoryQuery == nil {
+		var query = fmt.Sprintf("SELECT messages.id, user_id, body, eventType, hidden_at, timestamp, display_name, display_color, created_at, disabled_at, previous_names, namechanged_at FROM messages, users WHERE messages.user_id = users.id AND hidden_at IS NULL AND disabled_at IS NULL ORDER BY timestamp DESC LIMIT %d", maxBacklogNumber)
+		q, err := _datastore.DB.Prepare(query)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Errorln(err)
+			return []events.UserMessageEvent{}
+		}
+		_getChatHistoryQuery = q
+	}
+
 	// Get all visible messages
-	var query = fmt.Sprintf("SELECT messages.id, user_id, body, eventType, hidden_at, timestamp, display_name, display_color, created_at, disabled_at, previous_names, namechanged_at FROM messages, users WHERE messages.user_id = users.id AND hidden_at IS NULL AND disabled_at IS NULL ORDER BY timestamp DESC LIMIT %d", maxBacklogNumber)
-	m := getChat(query)
+	m := getChat(_getChatHistoryQuery)
 
 	// Invert order of messages
 	for i, j := 0, len(m)-1; i < j; i, j = i+1, j-1 {
@@ -192,7 +211,10 @@ func SetMessageVisibilityForUserID(userID string, visible bool) error {
 
 	// Get a list of IDs from this user within the 5hr window to send to the connected clients to hide
 	ids := make([]string, 0)
-	query := fmt.Sprintf("SELECT messages.id, user_id, body, eventType, hidden_at, timestamp, display_name, display_color, created_at, disabled_at,  previous_names, namechanged_at FROM messages INNER JOIN users ON messages.user_id = users.id WHERE user_id IS '%s'", userID)
+	query, err := _datastore.DB.Prepare(fmt.Sprintf("SELECT messages.id, user_id, body, eventType, hidden_at, timestamp, display_name, display_color, created_at, disabled_at,  previous_names, namechanged_at FROM messages INNER JOIN users ON messages.user_id = users.id WHERE user_id IS '%s'", userID))
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 	messages := getChat(query)
 
 	if len(messages) == 0 {
@@ -212,9 +234,6 @@ func saveMessageVisibility(messageIDs []string, visible bool) error {
 		_historyCache = nil
 	}()
 
-	_datastore.DbLock.Lock()
-	defer _datastore.DbLock.Unlock()
-
 	tx, err := _datastore.DB.Begin()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -290,9 +309,6 @@ func getMessageByID(messageID string) (*events.UserMessageEvent, error) {
 // Only keep recent messages so we don't keep more chat data than needed
 // for privacy and efficiency reasons.
 func runPruner() {
-	_datastore.DbLock.Lock()
-	defer _datastore.DbLock.Unlock()
-
 	log.Traceln("Removing chat messages older than", maxBacklogHours, "hours")
 
 	deleteStatement := `DELETE FROM messages WHERE timestamp <= datetime('now', 'localtime', ?)`
diff --git a/core/data/cache.go b/core/data/cache.go
index 2af34ab42..7065bc25a 100644
--- a/core/data/cache.go
+++ b/core/data/cache.go
@@ -2,19 +2,13 @@ package data
 
 import (
 	"errors"
-	"sync"
 )
 
-var _cacheLock = sync.Mutex{}
-
 // GetCachedValue will return a value for key from the cache.
 func (ds *Datastore) GetCachedValue(key string) ([]byte, error) {
-	_cacheLock.Lock()
-	defer _cacheLock.Unlock()
-
 	// Check for a cached value
-	if val, ok := ds.cache[key]; ok {
-		return val, nil
+	if val, ok := ds.cache.Load(key); ok {
+		return val.([]byte), nil
 	}
 
 	return nil, errors.New(key + " not found in cache")
@@ -22,8 +16,5 @@ func (ds *Datastore) GetCachedValue(key string) ([]byte, error) {
 
 // SetCachedValue will set a value for key in the cache.
 func (ds *Datastore) SetCachedValue(key string, b []byte) {
-	_cacheLock.Lock()
-	defer _cacheLock.Unlock()
-
-	ds.cache[key] = b
+	ds.cache.Store(key, b)
 }
diff --git a/core/data/data.go b/core/data/data.go
index 7ca010800..68f834c59 100644
--- a/core/data/data.go
+++ b/core/data/data.go
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ func SetupPersistence(file string) error {
 
 	// Some SQLite optimizations
 	_, _ = db.Exec("pragma journal_mode = WAL")
-	_, _ = db.Exec("pragma synchronous = normal")
+	_, _ = db.Exec("pragma synchronous = NORMAL")
 	_, _ = db.Exec("pragma temp_store = memory")
 	_, _ = db.Exec("pragma wal_checkpoint(full)")
 
diff --git a/core/data/messages.go b/core/data/messages.go
index efb9d49e9..5fb8941fb 100644
--- a/core/data/messages.go
+++ b/core/data/messages.go
@@ -16,11 +16,12 @@ func CreateMessagesTable(db *sql.DB) {
 		"hidden_at" DATETIME,
 		"timestamp" DATETIME,
 		PRIMARY KEY (id)
-	);CREATE INDEX index ON messages (id, user_id, hidden_at, timestamp);
+	);CREATE UNIQUE INDEX index ON messages (id, user_id, hidden_at, timestamp);
 	CREATE INDEX id ON messages (id);
 	CREATE INDEX user_id ON messages (user_id);
 	CREATE INDEX hidden_at ON messages (hidden_at);
-	CREATE INDEX timestamp ON messages (timestamp);`
+	CREATE INDEX timestamp ON messages (timestamp);
+	CREATE UNIQUE INDEX userid_hidden ON messages (user_id, hidden_at);`
 
 	stmt, err := db.Prepare(createTableSQL)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/core/data/persistence.go b/core/data/persistence.go
index d1a6c9432..aaac63451 100644
--- a/core/data/persistence.go
+++ b/core/data/persistence.go
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@ import (
 
 // Datastore is the global key/value store for configuration values.
 type Datastore struct {
-	DB     *sql.DB
-	cache  map[string][]byte
-	DbLock *sync.Mutex
+	DB *sql.DB
+	//cache map[string][]byte
+	cache sync.Map
 }
 
 func (ds *Datastore) warmCache() {
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ func (ds *Datastore) warmCache() {
 		if err := res.Scan(&rowKey, &rowValue); err != nil {
 			log.Errorln("error pre-caching config row", err)
 		}
-		ds.cache[rowKey] = rowValue
+		ds.cache.Store(rowKey, rowValue)
 	}
 }
 
@@ -65,9 +65,6 @@ func (ds *Datastore) Get(key string) (ConfigEntry, error) {
 
 // Save will save the ConfigEntry to the database.
 func (ds *Datastore) Save(e ConfigEntry) error {
-	ds.DbLock.Lock()
-	defer ds.DbLock.Unlock()
-
 	var dataGob bytes.Buffer
 	enc := gob.NewEncoder(&dataGob)
 	if err := enc.Encode(e.Value); err != nil {
@@ -101,9 +98,7 @@ func (ds *Datastore) Save(e ConfigEntry) error {
 
 // Setup will create the datastore table and perform initial initialization.
 func (ds *Datastore) Setup() {
-	ds.cache = make(map[string][]byte)
 	ds.DB = GetDatabase()
-	ds.DbLock = &sync.Mutex{}
 
 	createTableSQL := `CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS datastore (
 		"key" string NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
diff --git a/core/user/externalAPIUser.go b/core/user/externalAPIUser.go
index 20f3732b8..62b8a0760 100644
--- a/core/user/externalAPIUser.go
+++ b/core/user/externalAPIUser.go
@@ -44,9 +44,6 @@ var validAccessTokenScopes = []string{
 func InsertExternalAPIUser(token string, name string, color int, scopes []string) error {
 	log.Traceln("Adding new API user:", name)
 
-	_datastore.DbLock.Lock()
-	defer _datastore.DbLock.Unlock()
-
 	scopesString := strings.Join(scopes, ",")
 	id := shortid.MustGenerate()
 
@@ -76,9 +73,6 @@ func InsertExternalAPIUser(token string, name string, color int, scopes []string
 func DeleteExternalAPIUser(token string) error {
 	log.Traceln("Deleting access token:", token)
 
-	_datastore.DbLock.Lock()
-	defer _datastore.DbLock.Unlock()
-
 	tx, err := _datastore.DB.Begin()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
diff --git a/core/user/user.go b/core/user/user.go
index 62f92740a..50150bb86 100644
--- a/core/user/user.go
+++ b/core/user/user.go
@@ -71,9 +71,6 @@ func CreateAnonymousUser(username string) (*User, error) {
 
 // ChangeUsername will change the user associated to userID from one display name to another.
 func ChangeUsername(userID string, username string) {
-	_datastore.DbLock.Lock()
-	defer _datastore.DbLock.Unlock()
-
 	tx, err := _datastore.DB.Begin()
 
 	if err != nil {
@@ -103,9 +100,6 @@ func ChangeUsername(userID string, username string) {
 }
 
 func create(user *User) error {
-	_datastore.DbLock.Lock()
-	defer _datastore.DbLock.Unlock()
-
 	tx, err := _datastore.DB.Begin()
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Debugln(err)
@@ -131,9 +125,6 @@ func create(user *User) error {
 
 // SetEnabled will will set the enabled flag on a single user assigned to userID.
 func SetEnabled(userID string, enabled bool) error {
-	_datastore.DbLock.Lock()
-	defer _datastore.DbLock.Unlock()
-
 	tx, err := _datastore.DB.Begin()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -161,24 +152,39 @@ func SetEnabled(userID string, enabled bool) error {
 	return tx.Commit()
 }
 
+var _getUserByTokenQuery *sql.Stmt
+
 // GetUserByToken will return a user by an access token.
 func GetUserByToken(token string) *User {
-	_datastore.DbLock.Lock()
-	defer _datastore.DbLock.Unlock()
+	if _getUserByTokenQuery == nil {
+		query := "SELECT id, display_name, display_color, created_at, disabled_at, previous_names, namechanged_at FROM users WHERE access_token = ?"
+		q, err := _datastore.DB.Prepare(query)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil
+		}
+		_getUserByTokenQuery = q
+	}
 
-	query := "SELECT id, display_name, display_color, created_at, disabled_at, previous_names, namechanged_at FROM users WHERE access_token = ?"
-	row := _datastore.DB.QueryRow(query, token)
+	row := _getUserByTokenQuery.QueryRow(token)
 
-	return getUserFromRow(row)
+	u := getUserFromRow(row)
+
+	return u
 }
 
+var _getUserByIdQuery *sql.Stmt
+
 // GetUserByID will return a user by a user ID.
 func GetUserByID(id string) *User {
-	_datastore.DbLock.Lock()
-	defer _datastore.DbLock.Unlock()
-
-	query := "SELECT id, display_name, display_color, created_at, disabled_at, previous_names, namechanged_at FROM users WHERE id = ?"
-	row := _datastore.DB.QueryRow(query, id)
+	if _getUserByIdQuery == nil {
+		query := "SELECT id, display_name, display_color, created_at, disabled_at, previous_names, namechanged_at FROM users WHERE id = ?"
+		q, err := _datastore.DB.Prepare(query)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil
+		}
+		_getUserByIdQuery = q
+	}
+	row := _getUserByIdQuery.QueryRow(id)
 	if row == nil {
 		log.Errorln(row)
 		return nil
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index bca85956e..b33e219cc 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -38,6 +38,6 @@ require (
 	github.com/tklauser/go-sysconf v0.3.5 // indirect
 	github.com/tklauser/numcpus v0.2.2 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/net v0.0.0-20210614182718-04defd469f4e // indirect
-	golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20210514084401-e8d321eab015 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20210902050250-f475640dd07b // indirect
 	gopkg.in/yaml.v2 v2.4.0 // indirect
 )
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 1363c832e..682ee0e50 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -90,8 +90,8 @@ golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20191224085550-c709ea063b76/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7w
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20201119102817-f84b799fce68/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7wpKNCjG9DtNlClVuFLEZdDNbEs=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20210316164454-77fc1eacc6aa/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7wpKNCjG9DtNlClVuFLEZdDNbEs=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20210423082822-04245dca01da/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7wpKNCjG9DtNlClVuFLEZdDNbEs=
-golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20210514084401-e8d321eab015 h1:hZR0X1kPW+nwyJ9xRxqZk1vx5RUObAPBdKVvXPDUH/E=
-golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20210514084401-e8d321eab015/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20210902050250-f475640dd07b h1:S7hKs0Flbq0bbc9xgYt4stIEG1zNDFqyrPwAX2Wj/sE=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20210902050250-f475640dd07b/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20201126162022-7de9c90e9dd1/go.mod h1:bj7SfCRtBDWHUb9snDiAeCFNEtKQo2Wmx5Cou7ajbmo=
 golang.org/x/text v0.3.0/go.mod h1:NqM8EUOU14njkJ3fqMW+pc6Ldnwhi/IjpwHt7yyuwOQ=
 golang.org/x/text v0.3.6 h1:aRYxNxv6iGQlyVaZmk6ZgYEDa+Jg18DxebPSrd6bg1M=