diff --git a/worldedit/primitives.lua b/worldedit/primitives.lua
index b4b7bc7..cdb6e0f 100644
--- a/worldedit/primitives.lua
+++ b/worldedit/primitives.lua
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ worldedit.hollow_dome = function(pos, radius, nodename)
 end
 
 --adds a dome centered at `pos` with radius `radius`, composed of `nodename`, returning the number of nodes added
-worldedit.dome = function(pos, radius, nodename) --wip: use bresenham sphere for maximum speed
+worldedit.dome = function(pos, radius, nodename)
 	--set up voxel manipulator
 	local manip = minetest.get_voxel_manip()
 	local pos1 = {x=pos.x - radius, y=pos.y, z=pos.z - radius}
@@ -361,9 +361,8 @@ worldedit.pyramid = function(pos, height, nodename, env)
 end
 
 --adds a spiral centered at `pos` with width `width`, height `height`, space between walls `spacer`, composed of `nodename`, returning the number of nodes added
-worldedit.spiral = function(pos, width, height, spacer, nodename, env) --wip: clean this up
+worldedit.spiral = function(pos, width, height, spacer, nodename, env) --wip: rewrite this whole thing, nobody can understand it anyways
 	-- spiral matrix - http://rosettacode.org/wiki/Spiral_matrix#Lua
-	--wip: rewrite this whole thing, nobody can understand it anyways
 	av, sn = math.abs, function(s) return s~=0 and s/av(s) or 0 end
 	local function sindex(z, x) -- returns the value at (x, z) in a spiral that starts at 1 and goes outwards
 		if z == -x and z >= x then return (2*z+1)^2 end
diff --git a/worldedit/serialization.lua b/worldedit/serialization.lua
index e0d960d..5fbc16c 100644
--- a/worldedit/serialization.lua
+++ b/worldedit/serialization.lua
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ worldedit.valueversion = function(value)
 end
 
 --converts the region defined by positions `pos1` and `pos2` into a single string, returning the serialized data and the number of nodes serialized
-worldedit.serialize = function(pos1, pos2) --wip: check for ItemStacks and whether they can be serialized
+worldedit.serialize = function(pos1, pos2)
 	--make area stay loaded
 	local manip = minetest.get_voxel_manip()
 	manip:read_from_map(pos1, pos2)
diff --git a/worldedit/visualization.lua b/worldedit/visualization.lua
index d654146..7b600d5 100644
--- a/worldedit/visualization.lua
+++ b/worldedit/visualization.lua
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ worldedit.hide = function(pos1, pos2)
 
 	local pos1, pos2 = worldedit.sort_pos(pos1, pos2)
 	local pos = {x=pos1.x, y=0, z=0}
-	local placeholder = {name="worldedit:placeholder", param1=0, param2=0}
 	local get_node, get_meta, add_node = minetest.get_node, minetest.get_meta, minetest.add_node
 	while pos.x <= pos2.x do
 		pos.y = pos1.y
@@ -47,12 +46,13 @@ worldedit.hide = function(pos1, pos2)
 			pos.z = pos1.z
 			while pos.z <= pos2.z do
 				local node = get_node(pos)
-				placeholder.param1, placeholder.param2 = node.param1, node.param2 --copy node's param1 and param2
-				local data = get_meta(pos):to_table() --obtain metadata of original node
-				add_node(pos, placeholder) --add placeholder node
-				local meta = get_meta(pos) --obtain placeholder meta
-				meta:from_table(data) --set placeholder metadata to the original node's metadata
-				meta:set_string("worldedit_placeholder", node.name)  --add the node's name
+				if node.name ~= "worldedit:placeholder" then
+					local data = get_meta(pos):to_table() --obtain metadata of original node
+					data.fields.worldedit_placeholder = node.name --add the node's name
+					node.name = "worldedit:placeholder" --set node name
+					add_node(pos, node) --add placeholder node
+					get_meta(pos):from_table(data) --set placeholder metadata to the original node's metadata
+				end
 				pos.z = pos.z + 1
 			end
 			pos.y = pos.y + 1
@@ -64,22 +64,25 @@ end
 
 --suppresses all instances of `nodename` in a region defined by positions `pos1` and `pos2` by non-destructively replacing them with invisible nodes, returning the number of nodes suppressed
 worldedit.suppress = function(pos1, pos2, nodename)
+	--ignore placeholder supression
+	if nodename == "worldedit:placeholder" then
+		return 0
+	end
+
 	--make area stay loaded
 	local manip = minetest.get_voxel_manip()
 	manip:read_from_map(pos1, pos2)
 
 	local pos1, pos2 = worldedit.sort_pos(pos1, pos2)
-	local placeholder = {name="worldedit:placeholder", param1=0, param2=0}
 	local nodes = minetest.find_nodes_in_area(pos1, pos2, nodename)
 	local get_node, get_meta, add_node = minetest.get_node, minetest.get_meta, minetest.add_node
 	for _, pos in ipairs(nodes) do
 		local node = get_node(pos)
-		placeholder.param1, placeholder.param2 = node.param1, node.param2 --copy node's param1 and param2
 		local data = get_meta(pos):to_table() --obtain metadata of original node
-		add_node(pos, placeholder) --add placeholder node
-		local meta = get_meta(pos) --obtain placeholder meta
-		meta:from_table(data) --set placeholder metadata to the original node's metadata
-		meta:set_string("worldedit_placeholder", nodename)  --add the node's name
+		data.fields.worldedit_placeholder = node.name --add the node's name
+		node.name = "worldedit:placeholder" --set node name
+		add_node(pos, node) --add placeholder node
+		get_meta(pos):from_table(data) --set placeholder metadata to the original node's metadata
 	end
 	return #nodes
 end
@@ -92,7 +95,6 @@ worldedit.highlight = function(pos1, pos2, nodename) --wip: speed this up with v
 
 	local pos1, pos2 = worldedit.sort_pos(pos1, pos2)
 	local pos = {x=pos1.x, y=0, z=0}
-	local placeholder = {name="worldedit:placeholder", param1=0, param2=0}
 	local get_node, get_meta, add_node = minetest.get_node, minetest.get_meta, minetest.add_node
 	local count = 0
 	while pos.x <= pos2.x do
@@ -103,13 +105,12 @@ worldedit.highlight = function(pos1, pos2, nodename) --wip: speed this up with v
 				local node = get_node(pos)
 				if node.name == nodename then --node found
 					count = count + 1
-				else --hide other nodes
-					placeholder.param1, placeholder.param2 = node.param1, node.param2 --copy node's param1 and param2
+				elseif node.name ~= "worldedit:placeholder" then --hide other nodes
 					local data = get_meta(pos):to_table() --obtain metadata of original node
-					add_node(pos, placeholder) --add placeholder node
-					local meta = get_meta(pos) --obtain placeholder meta
-					meta:from_table(data) --set placeholder metadata to the original node's metadata
-					meta:set_string("worldedit_placeholder", node.name)  --add the node's name
+					data.fields.worldedit_placeholder = node.name --add the node's name
+					node.name = "worldedit:placeholder" --set node name
+					add_node(pos, node) --add placeholder node
+					get_meta(pos):from_table(data) --set placeholder metadata to the original node's metadata
 				end
 				pos.z = pos.z + 1
 			end
@@ -127,16 +128,14 @@ worldedit.restore = function(pos1, pos2)
 	manip:read_from_map(pos1, pos2)
 
 	local pos1, pos2 = worldedit.sort_pos(pos1, pos2)
-	local node = {name="", param1=0, param2=0}
 	local nodes = minetest.find_nodes_in_area(pos1, pos2, "worldedit:placeholder")
 	local get_node, get_meta, add_node = minetest.get_node, minetest.get_meta, minetest.add_node
 	for _, pos in ipairs(nodes) do
-		local currentnode = get_node(pos)
-		node.param1, node.param2 = currentnode.param1, currentnode.param2 --copy node's param1 and param2
+		local node = get_node(pos)
 		local data = get_meta(pos):to_table() --obtain node metadata
 		node.name = data.fields.worldedit_placeholder --set node name
 		data.fields.worldedit_placeholder = nil --delete old nodename
-		add_node(pos, placeholder) --add original node
+		add_node(pos, node) --add original node
 		get_meta(pos):from_table(data) --set original node metadata
 	end
 	return #nodes
diff --git a/worldedit_commands/init.lua b/worldedit_commands/init.lua
index 40f8ffc..0ecd093 100644
--- a/worldedit_commands/init.lua
+++ b/worldedit_commands/init.lua
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ minetest.register_chatcommand("/fixedpos", {
 			worldedit.player_notify(name, "invalid usage: " .. param)
 			return
 		end
-		local pos = {x=x, y=y, z=z}
+		local pos = {x=tonumber(x), y=tonumber(y), z=tonumber(z)}
 		if flag == "set1" then
 			worldedit.pos1[name] = pos
 			worldedit.mark_pos1(name)
@@ -887,11 +887,7 @@ minetest.register_chatcommand("/hide", {
 			return
 		end
 
-		local tenv = minetest.env
-		if worldedit.ENABLE_QUEUE then
-			tenv = worldedit.queue_aliasenv
-		end
-		local count = worldedit.hide(pos1, pos2, tenv)
+		local count = worldedit.hide(pos1, pos2)
 		worldedit.player_notify(name, count .. " nodes hidden")
 	end,
 })
@@ -907,7 +903,7 @@ minetest.register_chatcommand("/suppress", {
 			return
 		end
 
-		local node = worldedit.node_is_valid(param)
+		local node = worldedit.normalize_nodename(param)
 		if param == "" or not node then
 			worldedit.player_notify(name, "invalid node name: " .. param)
 			return
@@ -933,7 +929,7 @@ minetest.register_chatcommand("/highlight", {
 			return
 		end
 
-		local node = worldedit.node_is_valid(param)
+		local node = worldedit.normalize_nodename(param)
 		if param == "" or not node then
 			worldedit.player_notify(name, "invalid node name: " .. param)
 			return