diff --git a/src/channel.c b/src/channel.c
index 2641e54b7..a2ce6529a 100644
--- a/src/channel.c
+++ b/src/channel.c
@@ -1331,6 +1331,10 @@ void send_invalid_channelname(Client *client, char *channelname)
 {
 	char *reason;
 
+	if (*channelname != '#')
+	{
+		reason = "Channel name must start with a hash mark (#)";
+	} else
 	if (strlen(channelname) > CHANNELLEN)
 	{
 		reason = "Channel name is too long";