diff --git a/bot.v3.1.2.pl b/bot.v3.1.2.pl
index 48a2072..e7682bf 100644
--- a/bot.v3.1.2.pl
+++ b/bot.v3.1.2.pl
@@ -1967,6 +1967,8 @@ sub questpencheck {
             undef(@{$quest{questers}});
             $quest{qtime} = time() + 43200; # 12 hours
             writequestfile();
+            # follow line in place on freenode; unknown purpose
+            last;
         }
     }
 }