diff --git a/src/registry.py b/src/registry.py
index 1d1be5035..3add45df5 100644
--- a/src/registry.py
+++ b/src/registry.py
@@ -435,11 +435,14 @@ class Value(Group):
         # Also, we're setting them to None instead of raising an error in
         # order not to break existing plugins.
         if channel and not ircutils.isChannel(channel):
-            from . import log
-            log.warning(
-                'Trying to get channel-specific value of %s for channel %s, '
-                'but it is not a channel. This is a bug, please report it.',
-                self._name, channel)
+            if channel != 'global':
+                # excluding 'global', it's a special value used for linking
+                # channels and by some plugins.
+                from . import log
+                log.warning(
+                    'Trying to get channel-specific value of %s for channel %s, '
+                    'but it is not a channel. This is a bug, please report it.',
+                    self._name, channel)
             channel = None
         if network:
             from . import world  # put here to work around circular dependencies