diff --git a/web/src/configuration.rs b/web/src/configuration.rs
index 44e38f0..b301a0a 100644
--- a/web/src/configuration.rs
+++ b/web/src/configuration.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+use pronouns_today::PronounList;
 use pronouns_today::UserPreferences;
 use std::fs::OpenOptions;
 use std::fs::File;
@@ -68,6 +69,12 @@ pub struct Run {
 	/// default pronoun probabilites (formatted as a prefstring, like the ones in the
 	/// used in the custom URLs, e.g. "acaqeawdym")
 	pub default_prefstr: Option<UserPreferences>,
+
+	#[argh(option)]
+	/// the pronouns to be supported by the server.  see configuration file documentation
+	/// for warnings when changing this value.  formatted as a list of comma seperated
+	/// five-form pronouns, e.g. she/her/her/hers/herself,he/him/his/his/himself
+	pub pronouns: Option<PronounList>,
 }
 
 impl Run {
@@ -76,7 +83,7 @@ impl Run {
 	/// If `--no-read-cfg` was passed, no config file is present, and there aren't
 	/// enough args to populate the configuration, returns an [`Err`] with a list of
 	/// arguments that were missing.
-	pub fn load_config(&self) -> Result<Conf, ConfigError> {
+	pub fn load_config(self) -> Result<Conf, ConfigError> {
 		if !self.no_read_cfg {
 			match File::open(&self.config) {
 				Ok(raw_cfg) => {
@@ -100,7 +107,7 @@ impl Run {
 			}
 		} else {
             Ok(Conf::default())
-		}.map(|config| config.update_with(&self))
+		}.map(|config| config.update_with(self))
 	}
 }
 
@@ -117,8 +124,9 @@ pub struct Conf {
 }
 
 impl Conf {
-	fn update_with(mut self, args: &Run) -> Conf {
+	fn update_with(mut self, args: Run) -> Conf {
 		self.port = args.port.unwrap_or(self.port);
+		self.instance_settings.pronoun_list = args.pronouns.map(Into::into).unwrap_or(self.instance_settings.pronoun_list);
 		self
 	}
 }