diff --git a/bin/named/server.c b/bin/named/server.c
index 8844cf3953..9e1aa022e8 100644
--- a/bin/named/server.c
+++ b/bin/named/server.c
@@ -4093,7 +4093,7 @@ configure_view(dns_view_t *view, dns_viewlist_t *viewlist,
 	obj = NULL;
 	result = named_config_get(maps, "max-stale-ttl", &obj);
 	INSIST(result == ISC_R_SUCCESS);
-	max_stale_ttl = cfg_obj_asuint32(obj);
+	max_stale_ttl = ISC_MAX(cfg_obj_asuint32(obj), 1);
 
 	obj = NULL;
 	result = named_config_get(maps, "stale-answer-enable", &obj);
diff --git a/bin/rndc/rndc.docbook b/bin/rndc/rndc.docbook
index afda6f6e8e..ccf5f8f477 100644
--- a/bin/rndc/rndc.docbook
+++ b/bin/rndc/rndc.docbook
@@ -785,20 +785,28 @@
       </varlistentry>
 
       <varlistentry>
-	<term><userinput>serve-stale ( on | off | status | reset ) <optional><replaceable>class</replaceable> <optional><replaceable>view</replaceable></optional></optional></userinput></term>
+	<term><userinput>serve-stale ( on | off | reset | status ) <optional><replaceable>class</replaceable> <optional><replaceable>view</replaceable></optional></optional></userinput></term>
 	<listitem>
 	  <para>
-	    Enable, disable, or reset the serving of stale answers
-	    as configured in named.conf. Serving of stale answers
-	    will remain disabled across <filename>named.conf</filename>
-	    reloads if disabled via rndc until it is reset via rndc.
+	    Enable, disable, reset, or report the current status
+            of the serving of stale answers as configured in
+            <filename>named.conf</filename>.
 	  </para>
 	  <para>
-	    Status will report whether serving of stale answers is
-	    currently enabled, disabled or not configured for a
-	    view.  If serving of stale records is configured then
-	    the values of stale-answer-ttl and max-stale-ttl are
-	    reported.
+            If serving of stale answers is disabled by
+            <command>rndc-serve-stale off</command>, then it
+	    will remain disabled even if <command>named</command>
+            is reloaded or reconfigured.
+            <command>rndc serve-stale reset</command> restores
+            the setting as configured in <filename>named.conf</filename>.
+	  </para>
+	  <para>
+	    <command>rndc serve-stale status</command> will report
+            whether serving of stale answers is currently enabled,
+            disabled by the configuration, or disabled by
+            <command>rndc</command>.  It will also report the
+	    values of <command>stale-answer-ttl</command> and
+	    <command>max-stale-ttl</command>.
 	  </para>
 	</listitem>
       </varlistentry>
diff --git a/doc/arm/Bv9ARM-book.xml b/doc/arm/Bv9ARM-book.xml
index fdfa988275..80ce9281b1 100644
--- a/doc/arm/Bv9ARM-book.xml
+++ b/doc/arm/Bv9ARM-book.xml
@@ -5349,12 +5349,13 @@ options {
 		Specifies the TTL to be returned on stale answers.
 		The default is 1 second. The minimum allowed is
 		also 1 second; a value of 0 will be updated silently
-		to 1 second.  For stale answers to be returned,
-		they must be enabled (either in the configuration file
-		using <command>stale-answer-enable</command> or via
-		<command>rndc</command>), and
-		<option>max-stale-ttl</option> must be set to a
-		nonzero value.
+		to 1 second.
+	      </para>
+	      <para>
+		For stale answers to be returned, they must be enabled,
+		either in the configuration file using
+		<command>stale-answer-enable</command> or via
+		<command>rndc serve-stale on</command>.
 	      </para>
 	    </listitem>
 	  </varlistentry>
@@ -6098,18 +6099,28 @@ options {
 	      <term><command>stale-answer-enable</command></term>
 	      <listitem>
 		<para>
-		  Enable the returning of stale answers when the
-		  nameservers for the zone are not answering.  This
-		  is off by default, but can be enabled/disabled via
-		  <command>rndc serve-stale on</command> and
-		  <command>rndc serve-stale off</command>, which
-		  override the <filename>named.conf</filename>
-		  setting.  <command>rndc serve-stale reset</command>
+		  Enable the returning of "stale" cached answers when
+		  the nameservers for a zone are not answering.  The
+		  default is not to return stale answers.
+		</para>
+		<para>
+		  Stale answers can also be enabled or disabled at
+		  runtime via <command>rndc serve-stale on</command> or
+		  <command>rndc serve-stale off</command>; these
+		  override the configured setting.
+		  <command>rndc serve-stale reset</command>
 		  restores the setting to the one specified in
-		  <filename>named.conf</filename>.  Note that
-		  reloading or reconfiguring <command>named</command>
-		  will not re-enable serving of stale records if they
-		  have been disabled via <command>rndc</command>.
+		  <filename>named.conf</filename>.  Note that if
+		  stale answers have been disabled by <command>rndc</command>,
+		  then they cannot be re-enabled by reloading or
+		  reconfiguring <command>named</command>;
+		  they must be re-enabled with
+		  <command>rndc serve-stale on</command>,
+		  or the server must be restarted.
+		</para>
+		<para>
+		  Information about stale answers is logged under
+		  the <command>serve-stale</command> log category.
 		</para>
 	      </listitem>
 	    </varlistentry>
@@ -8901,19 +8912,21 @@ avoid-v6-udp-ports { 40000; range 50000 60000; };
 	      <term><command>max-stale-ttl</command></term>
 	      <listitem>
 		<para>
-		  Sets the maximum time for which the server will
+		  If stale answers are enabled,
+		  <command>max-stale-ttl</command>
+		  sets the maximum time for which the server will
 		  retain records past their normal expiry to
 		  return them as stale records when the servers
-		  for those records are not reachable.  The default
-		  is to not retain the record.
+		  for those records are not reachable.
+		  The default is 1 week. The minimum allowed is
+		  1 second; a value of 0 will be updated silently
+		  to 1 second.
 		</para>
 		<para>
-		  <command>rndc serve-stale</command> can be used
-		  to disable and re-enable the serving of stale
-		  records at runtime.  Reloading or reconfiguring
-		  <command>named</command> will not re-enable serving
-		  of stale records if they have been disabled via
-		  <command>rndc</command>.
+		  For stale answers to be returned, they must be enabled,
+		  either in the configuration file using
+		  <command>stale-answer-enable</command> or via
+		  <command>rndc serve-stale on</command>.
 		</para>
 	      </listitem>
 	    </varlistentry>