diff --git a/changes/bug7890 b/changes/bug7890
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1daec58ae2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changes/bug7890
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+  o Minor bugfixes (logging):
+    - Use a more comprehensible log message when telling the user they've
+      excluded every running exit node. Fixes bug 7890; bugfix on
+      0.2.2.25-alpha.
diff --git a/src/or/circuitbuild.c b/src/or/circuitbuild.c
index 16cef0e56b..240c64b6d1 100644
--- a/src/or/circuitbuild.c
+++ b/src/or/circuitbuild.c
@@ -1956,9 +1956,10 @@ choose_good_exit_server_general(int need_uptime, int need_capacity)
   }
   if (options->ExitNodes) {
     log_warn(LD_CIRC,
-             "No specified %sexit routers seem to be running: "
+             "No exits in ExitNodes%s seem to be running: "
              "can't choose an exit.",
-             options->ExcludeExitNodesUnion_ ? "non-excluded " : "");
+             options->ExcludeExitNodesUnion_ ?
+             ", except possibly those excluded by your configuration, " : "");
   }
   return NULL;
 }