diff --git a/tildes/requirements-dev.txt b/tildes/requirements-dev.txt
index 635086c..9c01b6f 100644
--- a/tildes/requirements-dev.txt
+++ b/tildes/requirements-dev.txt
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ urllib3==1.25.10          # via requests, sentry-sdk
 venusian==3.0.0           # via cornice, pyramid
 waitress==1.4.4           # via webtest
 wcwidth==0.2.5            # via prompt-toolkit
-webargs==5.5.3
+webargs==6.1.0
 webassets==2.0            # via pyramid-webassets
 webencodings==0.5.1       # via bleach, html5lib
 webob==1.8.6              # via pyramid, webtest
diff --git a/tildes/requirements.in b/tildes/requirements.in
index 9dbd14d..88e2784 100644
--- a/tildes/requirements.in
+++ b/tildes/requirements.in
@@ -34,6 +34,6 @@ SQLAlchemy
 SQLAlchemy-Utils
 stripe
 titlecase
-webargs==5.5.3
+webargs
 wrapt
 zope.sqlalchemy
diff --git a/tildes/requirements.txt b/tildes/requirements.txt
index ea75034..f7fa916 100644
--- a/tildes/requirements.txt
+++ b/tildes/requirements.txt
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ translationstring==1.4    # via pyramid
 urllib3==1.25.10          # via requests, sentry-sdk
 venusian==3.0.0           # via cornice, pyramid
 wcwidth==0.2.5            # via prompt-toolkit
-webargs==5.5.3
+webargs==6.1.0
 webassets==2.0            # via pyramid-webassets
 webencodings==0.5.1       # via bleach, html5lib
 webob==1.8.6              # via pyramid
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/resources/comment.py b/tildes/tildes/resources/comment.py
index a89fccc..45aefa6 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/resources/comment.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/resources/comment.py
@@ -5,15 +5,15 @@
 
 from pyramid.httpexceptions import HTTPForbidden, HTTPNotFound
 from pyramid.request import Request
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.lib.id import id36_to_id
 from tildes.models.comment import Comment, CommentNotification
 from tildes.resources import get_resource
 from tildes.schemas.comment import CommentSchema
+from tildes.views.decorators import use_kwargs
 
 
-@use_kwargs(CommentSchema(only=("comment_id36",)), locations=("matchdict",))
+@use_kwargs(CommentSchema(only=("comment_id36",)), location="matchdict")
 def comment_by_id36(request: Request, comment_id36: str) -> Comment:
     """Get a comment specified by {comment_id36} in the route (or 404)."""
     query = (
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ def comment_by_id36(request: Request, comment_id36: str) -> Comment:
         raise HTTPNotFound("Comment not found (or it was deleted)")
 
 
-@use_kwargs(CommentSchema(only=("comment_id36",)), locations=("matchdict",))
+@use_kwargs(CommentSchema(only=("comment_id36",)), location="matchdict")
 def notification_by_comment_id36(
     request: Request, comment_id36: str
 ) -> CommentNotification:
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/resources/group.py b/tildes/tildes/resources/group.py
index 13b2698..b95f964 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/resources/group.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/resources/group.py
@@ -7,16 +7,16 @@ from marshmallow.fields import String
 from pyramid.httpexceptions import HTTPMovedPermanently, HTTPNotFound
 from pyramid.request import Request
 from sqlalchemy_utils import Ltree
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.models.group import Group, GroupWikiPage
 from tildes.resources import get_resource
 from tildes.schemas.group import GroupSchema
+from tildes.views.decorators import use_kwargs
 
 
 @use_kwargs(
     GroupSchema(only=("path",), context={"fix_path_capitalization": True}),
-    locations=("matchdict",),
+    location="matchdict",
 )
 def group_by_path(request: Request, path: str) -> Group:
     """Get a group specified by {path} in the route (or 404)."""
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ def group_by_path(request: Request, path: str) -> Group:
     return get_resource(request, query)
 
 
-@use_kwargs({"wiki_page_path": String()}, locations=("matchdict",))
+@use_kwargs({"wiki_page_path": String()}, location="matchdict")
 def group_wiki_page_by_path(request: Request, wiki_page_path: str) -> GroupWikiPage:
     """Get a group's wiki page by its path (or 404)."""
     group = group_by_path(request)  # pylint: disable=no-value-for-parameter
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/resources/message.py b/tildes/tildes/resources/message.py
index 25c30db..a4ff203 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/resources/message.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/resources/message.py
@@ -4,16 +4,16 @@
 """Root factories for messages."""
 
 from pyramid.request import Request
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.lib.id import id36_to_id
 from tildes.models.message import MessageConversation
 from tildes.resources import get_resource
 from tildes.schemas.message import MessageConversationSchema
+from tildes.views.decorators import use_kwargs
 
 
 @use_kwargs(
-    MessageConversationSchema(only=("conversation_id36",)), locations=("matchdict",)
+    MessageConversationSchema(only=("conversation_id36",)), location="matchdict"
 )
 def message_conversation_by_id36(
     request: Request, conversation_id36: str
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/resources/topic.py b/tildes/tildes/resources/topic.py
index 541ba10..e5e7ac7 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/resources/topic.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/resources/topic.py
@@ -5,15 +5,15 @@
 
 from pyramid.httpexceptions import HTTPFound, HTTPNotFound
 from pyramid.request import Request
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.lib.id import id36_to_id
 from tildes.models.topic import Topic
 from tildes.resources import get_resource
 from tildes.schemas.topic import TopicSchema
+from tildes.views.decorators import use_kwargs
 
 
-@use_kwargs(TopicSchema(only=("topic_id36",)), locations=("matchdict",))
+@use_kwargs(TopicSchema(only=("topic_id36",)), location="matchdict")
 def topic_by_id36(request: Request, topic_id36: str) -> Topic:
     """Get a topic specified by {topic_id36} in the route (or 404)."""
     try:
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/resources/user.py b/tildes/tildes/resources/user.py
index 79b65ab..f80b735 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/resources/user.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/resources/user.py
@@ -4,14 +4,14 @@
 """Root factories for users."""
 
 from pyramid.request import Request
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.models.user import User
 from tildes.resources import get_resource
 from tildes.schemas.user import UserSchema
+from tildes.views.decorators import use_kwargs
 
 
-@use_kwargs(UserSchema(only=("username",)), locations=("matchdict",))
+@use_kwargs(UserSchema(only=("username",)), location="matchdict")
 def user_by_username(request: Request, username: str) -> User:
     """Get a user specified by {username} in the route or 404 if not found."""
     query = request.query(User).include_deleted().filter(User.username == username)
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/schemas/group.py b/tildes/tildes/schemas/group.py
index 2b51824..1659cb8 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/schemas/group.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/schemas/group.py
@@ -47,10 +47,14 @@ class GroupSchema(Schema):
         if not self.context.get("fix_path_capitalization"):
             return data
 
-        if "path" in data and isinstance(data["path"], str):
-            data["path"] = data["path"].lower()
+        if "path" not in data or not isinstance(data["path"], str):
+            return data
 
-        return data
+        new_data = data.copy()
+
+        new_data["path"] = new_data["path"].lower()
+
+        return new_data
 
     @validates("path")
     def validate_path(self, value: sqlalchemy_utils.Ltree) -> None:
@@ -71,11 +75,13 @@ class GroupSchema(Schema):
         if "sidebar_markdown" not in data:
             return data
 
-        # if the value is empty, convert it to None
-        if not data["sidebar_markdown"] or data["sidebar_markdown"].isspace():
-            data["sidebar_markdown"] = None
+        new_data = data.copy()
 
-        return data
+        # if the value is empty, convert it to None
+        if not new_data["sidebar_markdown"] or new_data["sidebar_markdown"].isspace():
+            new_data["sidebar_markdown"] = None
+
+        return new_data
 
 
 def is_valid_group_path(path: str) -> bool:
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/schemas/listing.py b/tildes/tildes/schemas/listing.py
index 5a797e0..c11508f 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/schemas/listing.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/schemas/listing.py
@@ -46,10 +46,12 @@ class TopicListingSchema(PaginatedListingSchema):
         if "rank_start" not in self.fields:
             return data
 
-        if not (data.get("before") or data.get("after")):
-            data["n"] = 1
+        new_data = data.copy()
 
-        return data
+        if not (new_data.get("before") or new_data.get("after")):
+            new_data["n"] = 1
+
+        return new_data
 
 
 class MixedListingSchema(PaginatedListingSchema):
@@ -71,10 +73,12 @@ class MixedListingSchema(PaginatedListingSchema):
         to the topic with ID36 "123". "c-123" also works, for comments.
         """
         # pylint: disable=unused-argument
+        new_data = data.copy()
+
         keys = ("after", "before")
 
         for key in keys:
-            value = data.get(key)
+            value = new_data.get(key)
             if not value:
                 continue
 
@@ -83,12 +87,12 @@ class MixedListingSchema(PaginatedListingSchema):
                 continue
 
             if type_char == "c":
-                data["anchor_type"] = "comment"
+                new_data["anchor_type"] = "comment"
             elif type_char == "t":
-                data["anchor_type"] = "topic"
+                new_data["anchor_type"] = "topic"
             else:
                 continue
 
-            data[key] = id36
+            new_data[key] = id36
 
-        return data
+        return new_data
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/schemas/topic.py b/tildes/tildes/schemas/topic.py
index c52aa2c..dc76272 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/schemas/topic.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/schemas/topic.py
@@ -43,10 +43,12 @@ class TopicSchema(Schema):
         if "title" not in data:
             return data
 
-        # strip any trailing periods
-        data["title"] = data["title"].rstrip(".")
+        new_data = data.copy()
 
-        return data
+        # strip any trailing periods
+        new_data["title"] = new_data["title"].rstrip(".")
+
+        return new_data
 
     @pre_load
     def prepare_tags(self, data: dict, many: bool, partial: Any) -> dict:
@@ -55,9 +57,11 @@ class TopicSchema(Schema):
         if "tags" not in data:
             return data
 
+        new_data = data.copy()
+
         tags: typing.List[str] = []
 
-        for tag in data["tags"]:
+        for tag in new_data["tags"]:
             tag = tag.lower()
 
             # replace underscores with spaces
@@ -84,9 +88,9 @@ class TopicSchema(Schema):
 
             tags.append(tag)
 
-        data["tags"] = tags
+        new_data["tags"] = tags
 
-        return data
+        return new_data
 
     @validates("tags")
     def validate_tags(self, value: typing.List[str]) -> None:
@@ -112,11 +116,13 @@ class TopicSchema(Schema):
         if "markdown" not in data:
             return data
 
-        # if the value is empty, convert it to None
-        if not data["markdown"] or data["markdown"].isspace():
-            data["markdown"] = None
+        new_data = data.copy()
 
-        return data
+        # if the value is empty, convert it to None
+        if not new_data["markdown"] or new_data["markdown"].isspace():
+            new_data["markdown"] = None
+
+        return new_data
 
     @pre_load
     def prepare_link(self, data: dict, many: bool, partial: Any) -> dict:
@@ -125,23 +131,25 @@ class TopicSchema(Schema):
         if "link" not in data:
             return data
 
+        new_data = data.copy()
+
         # remove leading/trailing whitespace
-        data["link"] = data["link"].strip()
+        new_data["link"] = new_data["link"].strip()
 
         # if the value is empty, convert it to None
-        if not data["link"]:
-            data["link"] = None
-            return data
+        if not new_data["link"]:
+            new_data["link"] = None
+            return new_data
 
         # prepend http:// to the link if it doesn't have a scheme
-        parsed = urlparse(data["link"])
+        parsed = urlparse(new_data["link"])
         if not parsed.scheme:
-            data["link"] = "http://" + data["link"]
+            new_data["link"] = "http://" + new_data["link"]
 
         # run the link through the url-transformation process
-        data["link"] = apply_url_transformations(data["link"])
+        new_data["link"] = apply_url_transformations(new_data["link"])
 
-        return data
+        return new_data
 
     @validates_schema
     def link_or_markdown(self, data: dict, many: bool, partial: Any) -> None:
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/schemas/user.py b/tildes/tildes/schemas/user.py
index ffe0686..44bf55f 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/schemas/user.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/schemas/user.py
@@ -63,10 +63,17 @@ class UserSchema(Schema):
     def anonymize_username(self, data: dict, many: bool) -> dict:
         """Hide the username if the dumping context specifies to do so."""
         # pylint: disable=unused-argument
-        if "username" in data and self.context.get("hide_username"):
-            data["username"] = "<unknown>"
+        if not self.context.get("hide_username"):
+            return data
 
-        return data
+        if "username" not in data:
+            return data
+
+        new_data = data.copy()
+
+        new_data["username"] = "<unknown>"
+
+        return new_data
 
     @validates_schema
     def username_pass_not_substrings(
@@ -116,9 +123,11 @@ class UserSchema(Schema):
         if "username" not in data:
             return data
 
-        data["username"] = data["username"].strip()
+        new_data = data.copy()
 
-        return data
+        new_data["username"] = new_data["username"].strip()
+
+        return new_data
 
     @pre_load
     def prepare_email_address(self, data: dict, many: bool, partial: Any) -> dict:
@@ -127,14 +136,16 @@ class UserSchema(Schema):
         if "email_address" not in data:
             return data
 
+        new_data = data.copy()
+
         # remove any leading/trailing whitespace
-        data["email_address"] = data["email_address"].strip()
+        new_data["email_address"] = new_data["email_address"].strip()
 
         # if the value is empty, convert it to None
-        if not data["email_address"] or data["email_address"].isspace():
-            data["email_address"] = None
+        if not new_data["email_address"] or new_data["email_address"].isspace():
+            new_data["email_address"] = None
 
-        return data
+        return new_data
 
     @pre_load
     def prepare_bio_markdown(self, data: dict, many: bool, partial: Any) -> dict:
@@ -143,11 +154,13 @@ class UserSchema(Schema):
         if "bio_markdown" not in data:
             return data
 
-        # if the value is empty, convert it to None
-        if not data["bio_markdown"] or data["bio_markdown"].isspace():
-            data["bio_markdown"] = None
+        new_data = data.copy()
 
-        return data
+        # if the value is empty, convert it to None
+        if not new_data["bio_markdown"] or new_data["bio_markdown"].isspace():
+            new_data["bio_markdown"] = None
+
+        return new_data
 
 
 def is_valid_username(username: str) -> bool:
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/comment.py b/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/comment.py
index 7b4dead..f5b1e74 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/comment.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/comment.py
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ from pyramid.request import Request
 from pyramid.response import Response
 from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError
 from sqlalchemy.orm.exc import FlushError
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.enums import CommentLabelOption, CommentNotificationType, LogEventType
 from tildes.models.comment import (
@@ -22,7 +21,7 @@ from tildes.models.comment import (
 from tildes.models.log import LogComment
 from tildes.schemas.comment import CommentLabelSchema, CommentSchema
 from tildes.views import IC_NOOP
-from tildes.views.decorators import ic_view_config, rate_limit_view
+from tildes.views.decorators import ic_view_config, rate_limit_view, use_kwargs
 
 
 def _mark_comment_read_from_interaction(request: Request, comment: Comment) -> None:
@@ -47,7 +46,7 @@ def _mark_comment_read_from_interaction(request: Request, comment: Comment) -> N
     renderer="single_comment.jinja2",
     permission="comment",
 )
-@use_kwargs(CommentSchema(only=("markdown",)))
+@use_kwargs(CommentSchema(only=("markdown",)), location="form")
 @rate_limit_view("comment_post")
 def post_toplevel_comment(request: Request, markdown: str) -> dict:
     """Post a new top-level comment on a topic with Intercooler."""
@@ -83,7 +82,7 @@ def post_toplevel_comment(request: Request, markdown: str) -> dict:
     renderer="single_comment.jinja2",
     permission="reply",
 )
-@use_kwargs(CommentSchema(only=("markdown",)))
+@use_kwargs(CommentSchema(only=("markdown",)), location="form")
 @rate_limit_view("comment_post")
 def post_comment_reply(request: Request, markdown: str) -> dict:
     """Post a reply to a comment with Intercooler."""
@@ -159,7 +158,7 @@ def get_comment_edit(request: Request) -> dict:
     renderer="comment_contents.jinja2",
     permission="edit",
 )
-@use_kwargs(CommentSchema(only=("markdown",)))
+@use_kwargs(CommentSchema(only=("markdown",)), location="form")
 def patch_comment(request: Request, markdown: str) -> dict:
     """Update a comment with Intercooler."""
     comment = request.context
@@ -260,9 +259,8 @@ def delete_vote_comment(request: Request) -> dict:
     permission="label",
     renderer="comment_contents.jinja2",
 )
-@use_kwargs(CommentLabelSchema(only=("name",)), locations=("matchdict",))
-# need to specify only "form" location for reason, or it will crash by looking for JSON
-@use_kwargs(CommentLabelSchema(only=("reason",)), locations=("form",))
+@use_kwargs(CommentLabelSchema(only=("name",)), location="matchdict")
+@use_kwargs(CommentLabelSchema(only=("reason",)), location="form")
 def put_label_comment(
     request: Request, name: CommentLabelOption, reason: str
 ) -> Response:
@@ -308,7 +306,7 @@ def put_label_comment(
     permission="label",
     renderer="comment_contents.jinja2",
 )
-@use_kwargs(CommentLabelSchema(only=("name",)), locations=("matchdict",))
+@use_kwargs(CommentLabelSchema(only=("name",)), location="matchdict")
 def delete_label_comment(request: Request, name: CommentLabelOption) -> Response:
     """Remove a label (that the user previously added) from a comment."""
     comment = request.context
@@ -337,7 +335,7 @@ def delete_label_comment(request: Request, name: CommentLabelOption) -> Response
 @ic_view_config(
     route_name="comment_mark_read", request_method="PUT", permission="mark_read"
 )
-@use_kwargs({"mark_all_previous": Boolean(missing=False)}, locations=("query",))
+@use_kwargs({"mark_all_previous": Boolean(missing=False)}, location="query")
 def put_mark_comments_read(request: Request, mark_all_previous: bool) -> Response:
     """Mark comment(s) read, clearing notifications.
 
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/group.py b/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/group.py
index 20f16c4..ccb90ab 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/group.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/group.py
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ from typing import Optional
 from pyramid.request import Request
 from sqlalchemy.dialects.postgresql import insert
 from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 from zope.sqlalchemy import mark_changed
 
 from tildes.enums import TopicSortOption
@@ -17,7 +16,7 @@ from tildes.models.group import Group, GroupSubscription
 from tildes.models.user import UserGroupSettings
 from tildes.schemas.fields import Enum, ShortTimePeriod
 from tildes.views import IC_NOOP
-from tildes.views.decorators import ic_view_config
+from tildes.views.decorators import ic_view_config, use_kwargs
 
 
 @ic_view_config(
@@ -89,7 +88,7 @@ def delete_subscribe_group(request: Request) -> dict:
         "order": Enum(TopicSortOption),
         "period": ShortTimePeriod(allow_none=True, missing=None),
     },
-    locations=("form",),  # will crash due to trying to find JSON data without this
+    location="form",
 )
 def patch_group_user_settings(
     request: Request, order: TopicSortOption, period: Optional[SimpleHoursPeriod]
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/markdown_preview.py b/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/markdown_preview.py
index 52b15f5..66b7f49 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/markdown_preview.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/markdown_preview.py
@@ -4,11 +4,10 @@
 """Web API endpoint for previewing Markdown."""
 
 from pyramid.request import Request
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.lib.markdown import convert_markdown_to_safe_html
 from tildes.schemas.group_wiki_page import GroupWikiPageSchema
-from tildes.views.decorators import ic_view_config
+from tildes.views.decorators import ic_view_config, use_kwargs
 
 
 @ic_view_config(
@@ -17,7 +16,7 @@ from tildes.views.decorators import ic_view_config
     renderer="markdown_preview.jinja2",
 )
 # uses GroupWikiPageSchema because it should always have the highest max_length
-@use_kwargs(GroupWikiPageSchema(only=("markdown",)))
+@use_kwargs(GroupWikiPageSchema(only=("markdown",)), location="form")
 def markdown_preview(request: Request, markdown: str) -> dict:
     """Render the provided text as Markdown."""
     # pylint: disable=unused-argument
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/message.py b/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/message.py
index 82e1d52..8a324b9 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/message.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/message.py
@@ -4,11 +4,10 @@
 """Web API endpoints related to messages."""
 
 from pyramid.request import Request
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.models.message import MessageReply
 from tildes.schemas.message import MessageReplySchema
-from tildes.views.decorators import ic_view_config
+from tildes.views.decorators import ic_view_config, use_kwargs
 
 
 @ic_view_config(
@@ -17,7 +16,7 @@ from tildes.views.decorators import ic_view_config
     renderer="single_message.jinja2",
     permission="reply",
 )
-@use_kwargs(MessageReplySchema(only=("markdown",)))
+@use_kwargs(MessageReplySchema(only=("markdown",)), location="form")
 def post_message_reply(request: Request, markdown: str) -> dict:
     """Post a reply to a message conversation with Intercooler."""
     conversation = request.context
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/topic.py b/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/topic.py
index 64f4138..2269c62 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/topic.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/topic.py
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ from pyramid.httpexceptions import HTTPNotFound
 from pyramid.request import Request
 from pyramid.response import Response
 from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.enums import LogEventType
 from tildes.models.group import Group
@@ -18,7 +17,7 @@ from tildes.models.topic import Topic, TopicBookmark, TopicIgnore, TopicVote
 from tildes.schemas.group import GroupSchema
 from tildes.schemas.topic import TopicSchema
 from tildes.views import IC_NOOP
-from tildes.views.decorators import ic_view_config
+from tildes.views.decorators import ic_view_config, use_kwargs
 
 
 @ic_view_config(
@@ -50,7 +49,7 @@ def get_topic_contents(request: Request) -> dict:
     renderer="topic_contents.jinja2",
     permission="edit",
 )
-@use_kwargs(TopicSchema(only=("markdown",)))
+@use_kwargs(TopicSchema(only=("markdown",)), location="form")
 def patch_topic(request: Request, markdown: str) -> dict:
     """Update a topic with Intercooler."""
     topic = request.context
@@ -158,7 +157,9 @@ def get_topic_tags(request: Request) -> dict:
     renderer="topic_tags.jinja2",
     permission="tag",
 )
-@use_kwargs({"tags": String(missing=""), "conflict_check": String(missing="")})
+@use_kwargs(
+    {"tags": String(missing=""), "conflict_check": String(missing="")}, location="form"
+)
 def put_tag_topic(request: Request, tags: str, conflict_check: str) -> dict:
     """Apply tags to a topic with Intercooler."""
     topic = request.context
@@ -225,7 +226,7 @@ def get_topic_group(request: Request) -> dict:
     request_method="PATCH",
     permission="move",
 )
-@use_kwargs(GroupSchema(only=("path",)))
+@use_kwargs(GroupSchema(only=("path",)), location="form")
 def patch_move_topic(request: Request, path: str) -> dict:
     """Move a topic to a different group with Intercooler."""
     topic = request.context
@@ -334,7 +335,7 @@ def get_topic_title(request: Request) -> dict:
     request_method="PATCH",
     permission="edit_title",
 )
-@use_kwargs(TopicSchema(only=("title",)))
+@use_kwargs(TopicSchema(only=("title",)), location="form")
 def patch_topic_title(request: Request, title: str) -> dict:
     """Edit a topic's title with Intercooler."""
     topic = request.context
@@ -373,7 +374,7 @@ def get_topic_link(request: Request) -> dict:
     request_method="PATCH",
     permission="edit_link",
 )
-@use_kwargs(TopicSchema(only=("link",)))
+@use_kwargs(TopicSchema(only=("link",)), location="form")
 def patch_topic_link(request: Request, link: str) -> dict:
     """Edit a topic's link with Intercooler."""
     topic = request.context
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/user.py b/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/user.py
index 536127c..a0bc23c 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/user.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/api/web/user.py
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ from pyramid.httpexceptions import (
 from pyramid.request import Request
 from pyramid.response import Response
 from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.enums import LogEventType, TopicSortOption
 from tildes.lib.datetime import SimpleHoursPeriod
@@ -28,7 +27,7 @@ from tildes.schemas.fields import Enum, ShortTimePeriod
 from tildes.schemas.topic import TopicSchema
 from tildes.schemas.user import UserSchema
 from tildes.views import IC_NOOP
-from tildes.views.decorators import ic_view_config
+from tildes.views.decorators import ic_view_config, use_kwargs
 
 
 PASSWORD_FIELD = UserSchema(only=("password",)).fields["password"]
@@ -45,7 +44,8 @@ PASSWORD_FIELD = UserSchema(only=("password",)).fields["password"]
         "old_password": PASSWORD_FIELD,
         "new_password": PASSWORD_FIELD,
         "new_password_confirm": PASSWORD_FIELD,
-    }
+    },
+    location="form",
 )
 def patch_change_password(
     request: Request, old_password: str, new_password: str, new_password_confirm: str
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ def patch_change_password(
     request_param="ic-trigger-name=account-recovery-email",
     permission="change_settings",
 )
-@use_kwargs(UserSchema(only=("email_address", "email_address_note")))
+@use_kwargs(UserSchema(only=("email_address", "email_address_note")), location="form")
 def patch_change_email_address(
     request: Request, email_address: str, email_address_note: str
 ) -> Response:
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ def patch_change_email_address(
     renderer="two_factor_enabled.jinja2",
     permission="change_settings",
 )
-@use_kwargs({"code": String()})
+@use_kwargs({"code": String()}, location="form")
 def post_enable_two_factor(request: Request, code: str) -> dict:
     """Enable two-factor authentication for the user."""
     user = request.context
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ def post_enable_two_factor(request: Request, code: str) -> dict:
     renderer="two_factor_disabled.jinja2",
     permission="change_settings",
 )
-@use_kwargs({"code": String()})
+@use_kwargs({"code": String()}, location="form")
 def post_disable_two_factor(request: Request, code: str) -> Response:
     """Disable two-factor authentication for the user."""
     if not request.user.is_correct_two_factor_code(code):
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ def post_disable_two_factor(request: Request, code: str) -> Response:
     renderer="two_factor_backup_codes.jinja2",
     permission="change_settings",
 )
-@use_kwargs({"code": String()})
+@use_kwargs({"code": String()}, location="form")
 def post_view_two_factor_backup_codes(request: Request, code: str) -> Response:
     """Show the user their two-factor authentication backup codes."""
     user = request.context
@@ -294,7 +294,7 @@ def patch_change_account_default_theme(request: Request) -> Response:
     request_param="ic-trigger-name=user-bio",
     permission="change_settings",
 )
-@use_kwargs({"markdown": String()})
+@use_kwargs({"markdown": String()}, location="form")
 def patch_change_user_bio(request: Request, markdown: str) -> dict:
     """Update a user's bio."""
     user = request.context
@@ -353,7 +353,7 @@ def get_invite_code(request: Request) -> dict:
         "order": Enum(TopicSortOption),
         "period": ShortTimePeriod(allow_none=True, missing=None),
     },
-    locations=("form",),  # will crash due to trying to find JSON data without this
+    location="form",
 )
 def put_default_listing_options(
     request: Request, order: TopicSortOption, period: Optional[SimpleHoursPeriod]
@@ -375,7 +375,7 @@ def put_default_listing_options(
     request_method="PUT",
     permission="change_settings",
 )
-@use_kwargs({"tags": String()})
+@use_kwargs({"tags": String()}, location="form")
 def put_filtered_topic_tags(request: Request, tags: str) -> dict:
     """Update a user's filtered topic tags list."""
     if not tags or tags.isspace():
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/bookmarks.py b/tildes/tildes/views/bookmarks.py
index 64d81be..728cfe0 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/bookmarks.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/bookmarks.py
@@ -5,16 +5,16 @@ from typing import Optional, Type, Union
 from pyramid.request import Request
 from pyramid.view import view_config
 from sqlalchemy.sql import desc
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.models.comment import Comment, CommentBookmark
 from tildes.models.topic import Topic, TopicBookmark
 from tildes.schemas.fields import PostType
 from tildes.schemas.listing import PaginatedListingSchema
+from tildes.views.decorators import use_kwargs
 
 
 @view_config(route_name="bookmarks", renderer="bookmarks.jinja2")
-@use_kwargs(PaginatedListingSchema)
+@use_kwargs(PaginatedListingSchema())
 @use_kwargs({"post_type": PostType(data_key="type", missing="topic")})
 def get_bookmarks(
     request: Request,
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/decorators.py b/tildes/tildes/views/decorators.py
index cacbef0..a697e71 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/decorators.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/decorators.py
@@ -3,11 +3,39 @@
 
 """Contains decorators for view functions."""
 
-from typing import Any, Callable
+from typing import Any, Callable, Dict, Union
 
+from marshmallow import EXCLUDE
+from marshmallow.fields import Field
+from marshmallow.schema import Schema
 from pyramid.httpexceptions import HTTPFound
 from pyramid.request import Request
 from pyramid.view import view_config
+from webargs import dict2schema, pyramidparser
+
+
+def use_kwargs(
+    argmap: Union[Schema, Dict[str, Field]], location: str = "query", **kwargs: Any
+) -> Callable:
+    """Wrap the webargs @use_kwargs decorator with preferred default modifications.
+
+    Primarily, we want the location argument to default to "query" so that the data
+    comes from the query string. As of version 6.0, webargs defaults to "json", which is
+    almost never correct for Tildes.
+
+    We also need to set every schema's behavior for unknown fields to "exclude", so that
+    it just ignores them, instead of erroring when there's unexpected data (as there
+    almost always is, especially because of Intercooler).
+    """
+    # convert a dict argmap to a Schema (the same way webargs would on its own)
+    if isinstance(argmap, dict):
+        argmap = dict2schema(argmap)()
+
+    assert isinstance(argmap, Schema)  # tell mypy the type is more restricted now
+
+    argmap.unknown = EXCLUDE
+
+    return pyramidparser.use_kwargs(argmap, location=location, **kwargs)
 
 
 def ic_view_config(**kwargs: Any) -> Callable:
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/donate.py b/tildes/tildes/views/donate.py
index 5a4c897..a0dbfcd 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/donate.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/donate.py
@@ -10,10 +10,9 @@ from pyramid.httpexceptions import HTTPInternalServerError
 from pyramid.request import Request
 from pyramid.security import NO_PERMISSION_REQUIRED
 from pyramid.view import view_config
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.metrics import incr_counter
-from tildes.views.decorators import rate_limit_view
+from tildes.views.decorators import rate_limit_view, use_kwargs
 
 
 @view_config(
@@ -39,7 +38,8 @@ def get_donate_stripe(request: Request) -> dict:
         "amount": Float(required=True, validate=Range(min=1.0)),
         "currency": String(required=True, validate=OneOf(("CAD", "USD"))),
         "interval": String(required=True, validate=OneOf(("onetime", "month", "year"))),
-    }
+    },
+    location="form",
 )
 @rate_limit_view("donate_stripe")
 def post_donate_stripe(
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/exceptions.py b/tildes/tildes/views/exceptions.py
index 9a4ca06..2ca7045 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/exceptions.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/exceptions.py
@@ -28,7 +28,11 @@ from tildes.models.group import Group
 
 def errors_from_validationerror(validation_error: ValidationError) -> Sequence[str]:
     """Extract errors from a marshmallow ValidationError into a displayable format."""
-    errors_by_field = validation_error.normalized_messages()
+    # as of webargs 6.0, errors are inside a nested dict, where the first level should
+    # always be a single-item dict with the key representing the "location" of the data
+    # (e.g. query, form, etc.) - we don't care about that, so just skip that level
+    errors_by_location = validation_error.normalized_messages()
+    errors_by_field = list(errors_by_location.values())[0]
 
     error_strings = []
     for field, errors in errors_by_field.items():
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/group_wiki_page.py b/tildes/tildes/views/group_wiki_page.py
index 35937f8..31ed8f2 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/group_wiki_page.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/group_wiki_page.py
@@ -6,11 +6,11 @@
 from pyramid.httpexceptions import HTTPFound
 from pyramid.request import Request
 from pyramid.view import view_config
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.models.group import GroupWikiPage
 from tildes.schemas.fields import SimpleString
 from tildes.schemas.group_wiki_page import GroupWikiPageSchema
+from tildes.views.decorators import use_kwargs
 
 
 @view_config(route_name="group_wiki", renderer="group_wiki.jinja2")
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ def get_wiki_new_page_form(request: Request) -> dict:
 @view_config(
     route_name="group_wiki", request_method="POST", permission="wiki_page_create"
 )
-@use_kwargs(GroupWikiPageSchema())
+@use_kwargs(GroupWikiPageSchema(), location="form")
 def post_group_wiki(request: Request, page_name: str, markdown: str) -> HTTPFound:
     """Create a new wiki page in a group."""
     group = request.context
@@ -94,8 +94,8 @@ def get_wiki_edit_page_form(request: Request) -> dict:
 
 
 @view_config(route_name="group_wiki_page", request_method="POST", permission="edit")
-@use_kwargs(GroupWikiPageSchema(only=("markdown",)))
-@use_kwargs({"edit_message": SimpleString(max_length=80)})
+@use_kwargs(GroupWikiPageSchema(only=("markdown",)), location="form")
+@use_kwargs({"edit_message": SimpleString(max_length=80)}, location="form")
 def post_group_wiki_page(request: Request, markdown: str, edit_message: str) -> dict:
     """Apply an edit to a single group wiki page."""
     page = request.context
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/ignored_topics.py b/tildes/tildes/views/ignored_topics.py
index 372116b..d79025f 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/ignored_topics.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/ignored_topics.py
@@ -5,14 +5,14 @@ from typing import Optional
 from pyramid.request import Request
 from pyramid.view import view_config
 from sqlalchemy.sql import desc
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.models.topic import Topic, TopicIgnore
 from tildes.schemas.listing import PaginatedListingSchema
+from tildes.views.decorators import use_kwargs
 
 
 @view_config(route_name="ignored_topics", renderer="ignored_topics.jinja2")
-@use_kwargs(PaginatedListingSchema)
+@use_kwargs(PaginatedListingSchema())
 def get_ignored_topics(
     request: Request, after: Optional[str], before: Optional[str], per_page: int,
 ) -> dict:
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/login.py b/tildes/tildes/views/login.py
index d37cd32..b6f519d 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/login.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/login.py
@@ -14,14 +14,13 @@ from pyramid.request import Request
 from pyramid.response import Response
 from pyramid.security import NO_PERMISSION_REQUIRED, remember
 from pyramid.view import view_config
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.enums import LogEventType
 from tildes.metrics import incr_counter
 from tildes.models.log import Log
 from tildes.models.user import User
 from tildes.schemas.user import UserSchema
-from tildes.views.decorators import not_logged_in, rate_limit_view
+from tildes.views.decorators import not_logged_in, rate_limit_view, use_kwargs
 
 
 @view_config(
@@ -63,9 +62,10 @@ def finish_login(request: Request, user: User, redirect_url: str) -> HTTPFound:
 @use_kwargs(
     UserSchema(
         only=("username", "password"), context={"username_trim_whitespace": True}
-    )
+    ),
+    location="form",
 )
-@use_kwargs({"from_url": String(missing="")})
+@use_kwargs({"from_url": String(missing="")}, location="form")
 @not_logged_in
 @rate_limit_view("login")
 def post_login(
@@ -147,7 +147,9 @@ def post_login(
 )
 @not_logged_in
 @rate_limit_view("login_two_factor")
-@use_kwargs({"code": String(missing=""), "from_url": String(missing="")})
+@use_kwargs(
+    {"code": String(missing=""), "from_url": String(missing="")}, location="form"
+)
 def post_login_two_factor(request: Request, code: str, from_url: str) -> NoReturn:
     """Process a log in request with 2FA."""
     # Look up the user for the supplied username
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/message.py b/tildes/tildes/views/message.py
index 6822518..05f1452 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/message.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/message.py
@@ -9,10 +9,10 @@ from pyramid.request import Request
 from pyramid.view import view_config
 from sqlalchemy.dialects.postgresql import array
 from sqlalchemy.sql.expression import and_, or_
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.models.message import MessageConversation, MessageReply
 from tildes.schemas.message import MessageConversationSchema, MessageReplySchema
+from tildes.views.decorators import use_kwargs
 
 
 @view_config(
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ def get_message_conversation(request: Request) -> dict:
 @view_config(
     route_name="message_conversation", request_method="POST", permission="reply"
 )
-@use_kwargs(MessageReplySchema(only=("markdown",)))
+@use_kwargs(MessageReplySchema(only=("markdown",)), location="form")
 def post_message_reply(request: Request, markdown: str) -> HTTPFound:
     """Post a reply to a message conversation."""
     conversation = request.context
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ def post_message_reply(request: Request, markdown: str) -> HTTPFound:
 
 
 @view_config(route_name="user_messages", request_method="POST", permission="message")
-@use_kwargs(MessageConversationSchema(only=("subject", "markdown")))
+@use_kwargs(MessageConversationSchema(only=("subject", "markdown")), location="form")
 def post_user_message(request: Request, subject: str, markdown: str) -> HTTPFound:
     """Start a new message conversation with a user."""
     new_conversation = MessageConversation(
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/notifications.py b/tildes/tildes/views/notifications.py
index 563be53..3be95cb 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/notifications.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/notifications.py
@@ -8,11 +8,11 @@ from typing import Optional
 from pyramid.request import Request
 from pyramid.view import view_config
 from sqlalchemy.sql.expression import desc
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.enums import CommentLabelOption
 from tildes.models.comment import CommentNotification
 from tildes.schemas.listing import PaginatedListingSchema
+from tildes.views.decorators import use_kwargs
 
 
 @view_config(route_name="notifications_unread", renderer="notifications_unread.jinja2")
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/register.py b/tildes/tildes/views/register.py
index a0e1f95..d8415c6 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/register.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/register.py
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ from pyramid.request import Request
 from pyramid.security import NO_PERMISSION_REQUIRED, remember
 from pyramid.view import view_config
 from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.enums import LogEventType
 from tildes.metrics import incr_counter
@@ -17,7 +16,7 @@ from tildes.models.group import Group, GroupSubscription
 from tildes.models.log import Log
 from tildes.models.user import User, UserInviteCode
 from tildes.schemas.user import UserSchema
-from tildes.views.decorators import not_logged_in, rate_limit_view
+from tildes.views.decorators import not_logged_in, rate_limit_view, use_kwargs
 
 
 @view_config(
@@ -31,25 +30,18 @@ def get_register(request: Request, code: str) -> dict:
     return {"code": code}
 
 
-def user_schema_check_breaches(request: Request) -> UserSchema:
-    """Return a UserSchema that will check the password against breaches.
-
-    It would probably be good to generalize this function at some point, probably
-    similar to:
-    http://webargs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/advanced.html#reducing-boilerplate
-    """
-    # pylint: disable=unused-argument
-    return UserSchema(
-        only=("username", "password"), context={"check_breached_passwords": True}
-    )
-
-
 @view_config(
     route_name="register", request_method="POST", permission=NO_PERMISSION_REQUIRED
 )
-@use_kwargs(user_schema_check_breaches)
 @use_kwargs(
-    {"invite_code": String(required=True), "password_confirm": String(required=True)}
+    UserSchema(
+        only=("username", "password"), context={"check_breached_passwords": True}
+    ),
+    location="form",
+)
+@use_kwargs(
+    {"invite_code": String(required=True), "password_confirm": String(required=True)},
+    location="form",
 )
 @not_logged_in
 @rate_limit_view("register")
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/settings.py b/tildes/tildes/views/settings.py
index 4b703ce..e71d7bf 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/settings.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/settings.py
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ from pyramid.request import Request
 from pyramid.response import Response
 from pyramid.view import view_config
 from sqlalchemy import func
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.enums import CommentLabelOption, CommentTreeSortOption
 from tildes.lib.datetime import utc_now
@@ -28,6 +27,7 @@ from tildes.schemas.user import (
     EMAIL_ADDRESS_NOTE_MAX_LENGTH,
     UserSchema,
 )
+from tildes.views.decorators import use_kwargs
 
 
 PASSWORD_FIELD = UserSchema(only=("password",)).fields["password"]
@@ -139,7 +139,8 @@ def get_settings_bio(request: Request) -> dict:
         "old_password": PASSWORD_FIELD,
         "new_password": PASSWORD_FIELD,
         "new_password_confirm": PASSWORD_FIELD,
-    }
+    },
+    location="form",
 )
 def post_settings_password_change(
     request: Request, old_password: str, new_password: str, new_password_confirm: str
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/topic.py b/tildes/tildes/views/topic.py
index 7a4cd10..715d5e0 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/topic.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/topic.py
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ from sqlalchemy import cast
 from sqlalchemy.orm import joinedload
 from sqlalchemy.sql.expression import any_, desc
 from sqlalchemy_utils import Ltree
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.enums import (
     CommentLabelOption,
@@ -39,7 +38,7 @@ from tildes.schemas.comment import CommentSchema
 from tildes.schemas.fields import Enum, ShortTimePeriod
 from tildes.schemas.listing import TopicListingSchema
 from tildes.schemas.topic import TopicSchema
-from tildes.views.decorators import rate_limit_view
+from tildes.views.decorators import rate_limit_view, use_kwargs
 from tildes.views.financials import get_financial_data
 
 
@@ -47,10 +46,10 @@ DefaultSettings = namedtuple("DefaultSettings", ["order", "period"])
 
 
 @view_config(route_name="group_topics", request_method="POST", permission="post_topic")
-@use_kwargs(TopicSchema(only=("title", "markdown", "link")))
+@use_kwargs(TopicSchema(only=("title", "markdown", "link")), location="form")
 @use_kwargs(
     {"tags": String(missing=""), "confirm_repost": Boolean(missing=False)},
-    locations=("form",),  # will crash due to trying to find JSON data without this
+    location="form",
 )
 def post_group_topics(
     request: Request,
@@ -470,7 +469,7 @@ def get_topic(request: Request, comment_order: CommentTreeSortOption) -> dict:
 
 
 @view_config(route_name="topic", request_method="POST", permission="comment")
-@use_kwargs(CommentSchema(only=("markdown",)))
+@use_kwargs(CommentSchema(only=("markdown",)), location="form")
 @rate_limit_view("comment_post")
 def post_comment_on_topic(request: Request, markdown: str) -> HTTPFound:
     """Post a new top-level comment on a topic."""
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/user.py b/tildes/tildes/views/user.py
index a5eb16f..2bc8162 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/user.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/user.py
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ from marshmallow.fields import String
 from pyramid.request import Request
 from pyramid.view import view_config
 from sqlalchemy.sql.expression import desc
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.enums import CommentLabelOption, CommentSortOption, TopicSortOption
 from tildes.models.comment import Comment
@@ -19,6 +18,7 @@ from tildes.models.topic import Topic
 from tildes.models.user import User, UserInviteCode
 from tildes.schemas.fields import PostType
 from tildes.schemas.listing import MixedListingSchema
+from tildes.views.decorators import use_kwargs
 
 
 @view_config(route_name="user", renderer="user.jinja2")
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/views/votes.py b/tildes/tildes/views/votes.py
index 7472da9..76a25f3 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/views/votes.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/views/votes.py
@@ -5,16 +5,16 @@ from typing import Optional, Type, Union
 from pyramid.request import Request
 from pyramid.view import view_config
 from sqlalchemy.sql import desc
-from webargs.pyramidparser import use_kwargs
 
 from tildes.models.comment import Comment, CommentVote
 from tildes.models.topic import Topic, TopicVote
 from tildes.schemas.fields import PostType
 from tildes.schemas.listing import PaginatedListingSchema
+from tildes.views.decorators import use_kwargs
 
 
 @view_config(route_name="votes", renderer="votes.jinja2")
-@use_kwargs(PaginatedListingSchema)
+@use_kwargs(PaginatedListingSchema())
 @use_kwargs({"post_type": PostType(data_key="type", missing="topic")})
 def get_voted_posts(
     request: Request,