diff --git a/Dixi/API.hs b/Dixi/API.hs
--- a/Dixi/API.hs
+++ b/Dixi/API.hs
@@ -1,11 +1,9 @@
 {-# LANGUAGE DataKinds #-}
 {-# LANGUAGE PolyKinds #-}
 {-# LANGUAGE TypeFamilies #-}
-{-# LANGUAGE DeriveGeneric #-}
 {-# LANGUAGE TypeOperators #-}
 {-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
 {-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
-{-# LANGUAGE QuasiQuotes #-}
 {-# LANGUAGE ConstraintKinds #-}
 module Dixi.API where
 
diff --git a/Dixi/Database/Orphans.hs b/Dixi/Database/Orphans.hs
--- a/Dixi/Database/Orphans.hs
+++ b/Dixi/Database/Orphans.hs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 {-# LANGUAGE DeriveDataTypeable #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE CPP                #-}
 {-# LANGUAGE TypeFamilies       #-}
 {-# LANGUAGE TemplateHaskell    #-}
 {-# LANGUAGE StandaloneDeriving #-}
@@ -16,6 +17,9 @@
 import Data.Patch.Internal
 import Data.SafeCopy
 import Data.Traversable
+#ifdef OLDBASE
+import Data.Orphans()
+#endif
 
 deriveSafeCopy 0 'base ''Node
 deriveSafeCopy 0 'base ''C.Compositions
diff --git a/dixi.cabal b/dixi.cabal
--- a/dixi.cabal
+++ b/dixi.cabal
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 -- see http://haskell.org/cabal/users-guide/
 
 name:                dixi
-version:             0.5.1.0
+version:             0.5.1.1
 synopsis:            A wiki implemented with a firm theoretical foundation.
 description:         This project is a simple wiki developed based on a
                      firm theoretical foundation.
@@ -34,6 +34,10 @@
   type:     git
   location: https://github.com/liamoc/dixi
 
+flag old-base
+  description: if building with older base versions
+  default: False
+
 executable dixi
   main-is:             Main.hs
   other-modules:       Dixi.API
@@ -49,8 +53,12 @@
                      , Dixi.PatchUtils
   -- other-extensions:    
   ghc-options:       -Wall
-  build-depends:       base >=4.7 && <4.9
-                     , composition-tree >= 0.2.0.1 && < 0.3, patches-vector >= 0.1.2 && < 0.2
+  if flag(old-base)
+     build-depends: base >= 4.7 && < 4.8, base-orphans >= 0.4 && < 0.5
+     cpp-options: -DOLDBASE
+  else
+     build-depends: base >= 4.8 && < 4.9
+  build-depends:       composition-tree >= 0.2.0.1 && < 0.3, patches-vector >= 0.1.2 && < 0.2
                      , pandoc >= 1.15 &&  < 1.16 , pandoc-types >= 1.12 && < 1.13
                      , servant >= 0.4 && < 0.5
                      , acid-state >= 0.12 && <0.14 , safecopy >= 0.8.3 && < 0.9
@@ -73,6 +81,6 @@
                      , network-uri >= 2.6 && < 2.7 
                      , timezone-olson >= 0.1 && < 0.2
                      , timezone-series >= 0.1 && < 0.2
-
+  
   -- hs-source-dirs:      
   default-language:    Haskell2010