diff --git a/doc/forum/Empty_sha1sum_messages.mdwn b/doc/forum/Empty_sha1sum_messages.mdwn
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f464232c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/forum/Empty_sha1sum_messages.mdwn
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+Hi,
+
+running ikiwiki from squeeze backports I see frequently in the logs:
+
+> Empty sha1sum for 'ikiwiki/pagespec.mdwn'.
+
+The page varies. What are these messages about? The code that emits this
+comes from the git plugin, and this page is indeed not in git. So is
+this just noise? Or rather, why does ikiwiki need to look at these?
+
+thanks in advance!