diff --git a/.github/stale.yml b/.github/stale.yml
index 30650622a..c4ef4dc0b 100644
--- a/.github/stale.yml
+++ b/.github/stale.yml
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+---
 # Number of days of inactivity before an issue becomes stale
 daysUntilStale: 60
 # Number of days of inactivity before a stale issue is closed
@@ -14,4 +15,11 @@ markComment: >
   recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. Thank you
   for your contributions.
 # Comment to post when closing a stale issue. Set to `false` to disable
-closeComment: false
\ No newline at end of file
+closeComment: >
+  Note: The stale bot was recently added to this project to help weed out
+  outdated issues. This will help us to focus time and energy on issues
+  that are important and move the others out of the way.
+  There could however be many issues that are still relevant
+  but have gotten old without ever being fixed.
+  As this is the first round of cleaning it might have been too eager.
+  Feel free to re-open this issue if you think it deserves another look.