diff --git a/Shorewall-common/changelog.txt b/Shorewall-common/changelog.txt
index 4a161af07..41a24b6ed 100644
--- a/Shorewall-common/changelog.txt
+++ b/Shorewall-common/changelog.txt
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@ Changes in 4.0.0 RC 2
 
 1)  Fix zone type check in Tunnels File.
 
+2)  Remove -f as default start OPTIONS.
+
 Changes in 4.0.0 RC 1
 
 1)  shorewall-perl RPM no longer installable under shorewall 3.4.
diff --git a/Shorewall-common/init.sh b/Shorewall-common/init.sh
index 86f2c016b..55d7030da 100755
--- a/Shorewall-common/init.sh
+++ b/Shorewall-common/init.sh
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ usage() {
 ################################################################################
 # Get startup options (override default)
 ################################################################################
-OPTIONS="-f"
+OPTIONS=
 if [ -f /etc/sysconfig/shorewall ]; then
     . /etc/sysconfig/shorewall
 elif [ -f /etc/default/shorewall ] ; then
diff --git a/Shorewall-common/releasenotes.txt b/Shorewall-common/releasenotes.txt
index 3e07786f6..38c43f86d 100644
--- a/Shorewall-common/releasenotes.txt
+++ b/Shorewall-common/releasenotes.txt
@@ -32,7 +32,11 @@ Problems corrected in 4.0.0 RC 2.
 
 Other changes in Shorewall 4.0.0 RC 2.
 
-None.
+2)  The -f option is no longer the default when Shorewall is started at
+    boot time (usually via /etc/init.d/shorewall). With Shorewall-perl,
+    "shorewall start" is nearly as fast as "shorewall restore" and
+    "shorewall start" uses the current configuration which avoids
+    confusion.
 
 Migration Considerations:
 
@@ -115,6 +119,21 @@ Migration Considerations:
     empty causes Shorewall to leave the flags in /proc as they are. You
     must set the option to 'No' in order to obtain the old behavior.
 
+3)  The -f option is no longer the default when Shorewall is started at
+    boot time (usually via /etc/init.d/shorewall). With Shorewall-perl,
+    "shorewall start" is nearly as fast as "shorewall restore" and
+    "shorewall start" uses the current configuration which avoids
+    confusion.
+
+    If you plan on continuing to use Shorewall-shell and you want to
+    use the "-f" option at boot time, then you must add the following
+    to /etc/sysconfig/shorewall or /etc/default/shorewall:
+
+       OPTIONS="-f"
+
+    If you currently have neither of those files, you will need to
+    create one of them. 
+
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          N E W  F E A T U R E S
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -799,4 +818,3 @@ exported. Since the params file is processed before shorewall.conf,
 using -a insures that the settings of your params variables are
 available to the new compiler should its use be specified in
 shorewall.conf.
-