diff --git a/main.cc b/main.cc
index f1d3cb0..654270d 100644
--- a/main.cc
+++ b/main.cc
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 #include <pthread.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
-#include <string>
 #include <sys/socket.h>
 #include <sys/time.h>
 #include <sys/types.h>
@@ -13,6 +12,7 @@
 #include <sys/wait.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
 
+#include <string>
 #include <vector> //try to make the program work without this without doing anything awful but do it later
 
 #include "client.h"
@@ -30,7 +30,8 @@ const int DEFAULT_CUR_X = 2; // the x position of the preferred default cursor
 const int DEFAULT_CUR_Y = 12; // the x position of the preferred default cursor
 			      // position for message entry
 
-int mode = 0;		    // what mode is this program in. 0 = nothing. 1 = server. 2 = client
+chatmode_t mode = NO_MODE; // what mode is this program in. 0 = nothing. 1 = server. 2 = client
+
 int serverSocketDescriptor; // a global variable for storing the server socket
 			    // descriptor.
 int clientSocketDescriptor;
@@ -60,14 +61,12 @@ struct waitClientArgs {
 int
 main(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
-	if (argc > 1 && argv[1][0] == 'c') {
-		// client mode
+	if (argc > 1 && (!strncmp(argv[1], "client", 6))) {
 		logFileName = "client.txt";
-		mode = 2;
+		mode = CLIENT_MODE;
 	} else {
-		// server mode
 		logFileName = "server.txt";
-		mode = 1;
+		mode = SERVER_MODE;
 	}
 
 	// putting this lower down to circumvent the terminal brick when the
@@ -87,13 +86,20 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	char *userInput = new char[1024];
 	bool exit = false;
 
-	if (mode == 2) {
+	switch (mode) {
+	case CLIENT_MODE:
 		writeToFile(logFileName, "CLIENT MODE");
 		setupClient();
-	} else if (mode == 1) {
+		linePos++;
+		break;
+	case SERVER_MODE:
 		writeToFile(logFileName, "SERVER MODE");
 		setupServer(PORT_NUM);
-		linePos++; /* No idea why, but this needs to be here. */
+		linePos++;
+		break;
+	default:
+		goto leave;
+		break;
 	}
 
 	while (!exit) {
@@ -107,8 +113,8 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		/* clear message box / reset cursor */
 		move(12, 0);
 		printw(">\t\t\t");
-		move(12,2);
-		
+		move(12, 2);
+
 		getstr(userInput);
 		writeToFile(logFileName, userInput);
 
@@ -121,13 +127,23 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 			send(clientSocketDescriptor, (char *)userInput, strlen(userInput), 0);
 	}
 
+leave:
 	endwin();
-	//closeServer();
+	// closeServer();
 
-	if (mode == 1)
+	switch (mode) {
+	case SERVER_MODE:
 		closeServer();
-	else if (mode == 2)
-		closeClient();
+		break;
+	case CLIENT_MODE:
+		closeServer();
+		break;
+	default:
+		puts("Warn: program appears to have successfully finished without ever setting "
+		     "mode.");
+		return 1;
+		break;
+	}
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/public.h b/public.h
index fabef54..5e8b510 100644
--- a/public.h
+++ b/public.h
@@ -5,11 +5,13 @@
 
 using namespace std;
 
+typedef enum { NO_MODE = 0, SERVER_MODE = 1, CLIENT_MODE = 2 } chatmode_t;
+
+extern chatmode_t mode;
 extern const int PORT_NUM;
 extern string IP_ADDRESS;
 extern const int DEFAULT_CUR_X;
 extern const int DEFAULT_CUR_Y;
-extern int mode;
 extern int serverSocketDescriptor;
 extern int clientSocketDescriptor;
 extern struct timeval start1, end1;