diff --git a/roles/fedmsg/irc/templates/ircbot.py.j2 b/roles/fedmsg/irc/templates/ircbot.py.j2
index f00f6cbdec..7310f10be3 100644
--- a/roles/fedmsg/irc/templates/ircbot.py.j2
+++ b/roles/fedmsg/irc/templates/ircbot.py.j2
@@ -129,6 +129,7 @@ config = dict(
             port=6667,
             make_pretty=True,
             make_terse=True,
+            make_short=True,
 
             {% if env == 'staging' %}
             nickname='fedmsg-docs-stg',