diff --git a/interface/src/Audio.cpp b/interface/src/Audio.cpp
index e7fdcd32c7..9dd3c0377f 100644
--- a/interface/src/Audio.cpp
+++ b/interface/src/Audio.cpp
@@ -388,7 +388,7 @@ void Audio::handleAudioInput() {
         NodeList* nodeList = NodeList::getInstance();
         SharedNodePointer audioMixer = nodeList->soloNodeOfType(NodeType::AudioMixer);
         
-        if (audioMixer && nodeList->getNodeActiveSocketOrPing(audioMixer)) {
+        if (audioMixer && audioMixer->getActiveSocket()) {
             MyAvatar* interfaceAvatar = Application::getInstance()->getAvatar();
             glm::vec3 headPosition = interfaceAvatar->getHead().getPosition();
             glm::quat headOrientation = interfaceAvatar->getHead().getOrientation();
diff --git a/interface/src/ui/VoxelStatsDialog.cpp b/interface/src/ui/VoxelStatsDialog.cpp
index 1d94705504..0ac0a2b933 100644
--- a/interface/src/ui/VoxelStatsDialog.cpp
+++ b/interface/src/ui/VoxelStatsDialog.cpp
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ void VoxelStatsDialog::showOctreeServersOfType(int& serverCount, NodeType_t serv
             std::stringstream extraDetails("");
             std::stringstream linkDetails("");
             
-            if (nodeList->getNodeActiveSocketOrPing(node)) {
+            if (node->getActiveSocket()) {
                 serverDetails << "active ";
             } else {
                 serverDetails << "inactive ";
diff --git a/libraries/octree/src/JurisdictionListener.cpp b/libraries/octree/src/JurisdictionListener.cpp
index a15c72cc5e..20e5af012f 100644
--- a/libraries/octree/src/JurisdictionListener.cpp
+++ b/libraries/octree/src/JurisdictionListener.cpp
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ bool JurisdictionListener::queueJurisdictionRequest() {
     NodeList* nodeList = NodeList::getInstance();
     
     foreach (const SharedNodePointer& node, nodeList->getNodeHash()) {
-        if (nodeList->getNodeActiveSocketOrPing(node) && node->getType() == getNodeType()) {
+        if (node->getType() == getNodeType() && node->getActiveSocket()) {
             _packetSender.queuePacketForSending(node, QByteArray(reinterpret_cast<char*>(bufferOut), sizeOut));
             nodeCount++;
         }
diff --git a/libraries/octree/src/OctreeEditPacketSender.cpp b/libraries/octree/src/OctreeEditPacketSender.cpp
index ca3ffc707f..1c1ed13f8d 100644
--- a/libraries/octree/src/OctreeEditPacketSender.cpp
+++ b/libraries/octree/src/OctreeEditPacketSender.cpp
@@ -60,19 +60,17 @@ bool OctreeEditPacketSender::serversExist() const {
 
     foreach (const SharedNodePointer& node, nodeList->getNodeHash()) {
         // only send to the NodeTypes that are getMyNodeType()
-        if (node->getType() == getMyNodeType()) {
-            if (nodeList->getNodeActiveSocketOrPing(node)) {
-                QUuid nodeUUID = node->getUUID();
-                // If we've got Jurisdictions set, then check to see if we know the jurisdiction for this server
-                if (_serverJurisdictions) {
-                    // lookup our nodeUUID in the jurisdiction map, if it's missing then we're
-                    // missing at least one jurisdiction
-                    if ((*_serverJurisdictions).find(nodeUUID) == (*_serverJurisdictions).end()) {
-                        atLeastOnJurisdictionMissing = true;
-                    }
+        if (node->getType() == getMyNodeType() &&  node->getActiveSocket()) {
+            QUuid nodeUUID = node->getUUID();
+            // If we've got Jurisdictions set, then check to see if we know the jurisdiction for this server
+            if (_serverJurisdictions) {
+                // lookup our nodeUUID in the jurisdiction map, if it's missing then we're
+                // missing at least one jurisdiction
+                if ((*_serverJurisdictions).find(nodeUUID) == (*_serverJurisdictions).end()) {
+                    atLeastOnJurisdictionMissing = true;
                 }
-                hasServers = true;
             }
+            hasServers = true;
         }
         if (atLeastOnJurisdictionMissing) {
             break; // no point in looking further...
@@ -91,7 +89,7 @@ void OctreeEditPacketSender::queuePacketToNode(const QUuid& nodeUUID, unsigned c
         // only send to the NodeTypes that are getMyNodeType()
         if (node->getType() == getMyNodeType() &&
             ((node->getUUID() == nodeUUID) || (nodeUUID.isNull()))) {
-            if (nodeList->getNodeActiveSocketOrPing(node)) {
+            if (node->getActiveSocket()) {
                 queuePacketForSending(node, QByteArray(reinterpret_cast<char*>(buffer), length));
 
                 // debugging output...
diff --git a/libraries/shared/src/NodeList.cpp b/libraries/shared/src/NodeList.cpp
index 43f3240b12..0dc94a20b3 100644
--- a/libraries/shared/src/NodeList.cpp
+++ b/libraries/shared/src/NodeList.cpp
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ qint64 NodeList::writeDatagram(const QByteArray& datagram, const SharedNodePoint
         // if we don't have an ovveriden address, assume they want to send to the node's active socket
         const HifiSockAddr* destinationSockAddr = &overridenSockAddr;
         if (overridenSockAddr.isNull()) {
-            if (getNodeActiveSocketOrPing(destinationNode)) {
+            if (destinationNode->getActiveSocket()) {
                 // use the node's active socket as the destination socket
                 destinationSockAddr = destinationNode->getActiveSocket();
             } else {
@@ -140,6 +140,8 @@ qint64 NodeList::writeDatagram(const QByteArray& datagram, const SharedNodePoint
         // setup the MD5 hash for source verification in the header
         replaceHashInPacketGivenConnectionUUID(datagramCopy, destinationNode->getConnectionSecret());
         
+        qDebug() << "Sending a packet of type" << packetTypeForPacket(datagram);
+        
         return _nodeSocket.writeDatagram(datagramCopy, destinationSockAddr->getAddress(), destinationSockAddr->getPort());
     }
     
@@ -680,8 +682,11 @@ SharedNodePointer NodeList::addOrUpdateNode(const QUuid& uuid, char nodeType,
         Node* newNode = new Node(uuid, nodeType, publicSocket, localSocket);
         SharedNodePointer newNodeSharedPointer(newNode, &QObject::deleteLater);
 
+        // try and ping the new node right away to open a connection
+        pingPublicAndLocalSocketsForInactiveNode(newNodeSharedPointer);
+        
         _nodeHash.insert(newNode->getUUID(), newNodeSharedPointer);
-
+        
         _nodeHashMutex.unlock();
         
         qDebug() << "Added" << *newNode;
@@ -740,16 +745,6 @@ void NodeList::pingInactiveNodes() {
     }
 }
 
-const HifiSockAddr* NodeList::getNodeActiveSocketOrPing(const SharedNodePointer& node) {
-    if (node && node->getActiveSocket()) {
-        return node->getActiveSocket();
-    } else if (node) {
-        pingPublicAndLocalSocketsForInactiveNode(node);
-    }
-    
-    return NULL;
-}
-
 void NodeList::activateSocketFromNodeCommunication(const QByteArray& packet, const SharedNodePointer& sendingNode) {
     // deconstruct this ping packet to see if it is a public or local reply
     QDataStream packetStream(packet);
diff --git a/libraries/shared/src/NodeList.h b/libraries/shared/src/NodeList.h
index 408459e51f..b6afd21451 100644
--- a/libraries/shared/src/NodeList.h
+++ b/libraries/shared/src/NodeList.h
@@ -129,8 +129,6 @@ public:
 
     void loadData(QSettings* settings);
     void saveData(QSettings* settings);
-
-    const HifiSockAddr* getNodeActiveSocketOrPing(const SharedNodePointer& node);
 public slots:
     void sendDomainServerCheckIn();
     void pingInactiveNodes();
diff --git a/libraries/shared/src/PacketHeaders.cpp b/libraries/shared/src/PacketHeaders.cpp
index 7193b6f648..d4049e7310 100644
--- a/libraries/shared/src/PacketHeaders.cpp
+++ b/libraries/shared/src/PacketHeaders.cpp
@@ -105,12 +105,12 @@ QUuid uuidFromPacketHeader(const QByteArray& packet) {
 }
 
 QByteArray hashFromPacketHeader(const QByteArray& packet) {
-    return packet.mid(NUM_STATIC_HEADER_BYTES - NUM_BYTES_MD5_HASH, NUM_BYTES_MD5_HASH);
+    return packet.mid(numBytesForPacketHeader(packet) - NUM_BYTES_MD5_HASH, NUM_BYTES_MD5_HASH);
 }
 
 QByteArray hashForPacketAndConnectionUUID(const QByteArray& packet, const QUuid& connectionUUID) {
-    return QCryptographicHash::hash(packet.mid(numBytesForPacketHeader(packet))
-                                    + connectionUUID.toRfc4122(), QCryptographicHash::Md5);
+    return QCryptographicHash::hash(packet.mid(numBytesForPacketHeader(packet)) + connectionUUID.toRfc4122(),
+                                    QCryptographicHash::Md5);
 }
 
 void replaceHashInPacketGivenConnectionUUID(QByteArray& packet, const QUuid& connectionUUID) {