diff --git a/.env b/.env
deleted file mode 100644
index f9ecbe9..0000000
--- a/.env
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-ETHERPAD_API_KEY=9xLdxQJ8XoTUy3q7W4ZgpvKYqX16yqirdESk9i54FVm6PiJ1paRd8JOI1MT4pywm
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index e69de29..4c49bd7 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+.env
diff --git a/mod/web/bigbluebutton.properties b/mod/web/bigbluebutton.properties
index 44f94f9..62a186e 100644
--- a/mod/web/bigbluebutton.properties
+++ b/mod/web/bigbluebutton.properties
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ defaultGuestPolicy=ALWAYS_ACCEPT
 #
 # native2ascii -encoding UTF8 bigbluebutton.properties bigbluebutton.properties
 #
-defaultWelcomeMessage={{ .Env.WELCOME_MESSAGE }}
+defaultWelcomeMessage=Welcome to <b>%%CONFNAME%%</b>!<br><br>For help on using BigBlueButton see these (short) <a href="event:http://www.bigbluebutton.org/html5"><u>tutorial videos</u></a>.<br><br>To join the audio bridge click the phone button.  Use a headset to avoid causing background noise for others.
 defaultWelcomeMessageFooter={{ .Env.WELCOME_FOOTER }}
 
 # Default maximum number of users a meeting can have.
diff --git a/sample.env b/sample.env
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6f2661d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sample.env
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+# important! change these to random values
+ETHERPAD_API_KEY=NEQKi2eFXSBce4kyGjwAzMn2jeF66peNYQmyFVRr
+SHARED_SECRET=w6y7nycPafjPhVz3gZdBpQhR4H4MvEQzcZzia5LT
+
+
+DOMAIN=bbb.example.com
+
+EXTERNAL_IP=144.76.97.10
+
+# stun.freeswitch.org
+STUN_IP=216.93.246.18
+STUN_PORT=3478
+
+SCREENSHARE_EXTENSION_KEY=akgoaoikmbmhcopjgakkcepdgdgkjfbc
+SCREENSHARE_EXTENSION_LINK=https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/bigbluebutton-screenshare/akgoaoikmbmhcopjgakkcepdgdgkjfbc
+
+CLIENT_TITLE=BigBlueButton
+
+WELCOME_FOOTER=This server is running <a href="http://docs.bigbluebutton.org/" target="_blank"><u>BigBlueButton</u></a>.