diff --git a/feed2twister.conf.example b/feed2twister.conf.example
index 6e0db66..9b43b17 100644
--- a/feed2twister.conf.example
+++ b/feed2twister.conf.example
@@ -1,7 +1,4 @@
 [DEFAULT]
-# For deployment. It's on a don't wanna know basis :)
-# logging_level = error
-logging_level = debug
 # e.g 'thedod'
 username = MYTWISTERUSERNAME
 # change to rpcuser and rpcpassword from ~/.twister/twister.conf
@@ -10,13 +7,20 @@ rpc_url = http://MYRPCUSER:MYRPCPASSWORD@127.0.0.1:28332
 db_filename = items.db
 # this leaves 36 characters and a ... to get to 140. If we don't have that, we skip the item :(
 max_url_length = 100
+# Use your own feeds, of course :)
+feeds = https://swatwt.com/favs/rss/en
+        https://github.com/thedod.atom
+        https://github.com/milouse.atom
+
+
+# All the following options are optional
+
+# For deployment. It's on a don't wanna know basis :)
+# logging_level = error
+logging_level = debug
 # we don't want to flood more than that in a single run.
 max_new_items_per_feed = 3
 # to enable this, you need gdshortener: https://github.com/torre76/gd_shortener/
 use_shortener = False
 # tell is.gd to publicly show statistics for the shortened url
 shortener_stats = True
-# Use your own feeds, of course :)
-feeds = https://swatwt.com/favs/rss/en
-        https://github.com/thedod.atom
-        https://github.com/milouse.atom
diff --git a/feed2twister.py b/feed2twister.py
index e94e797..4a3491c 100644
--- a/feed2twister.py
+++ b/feed2twister.py
@@ -19,19 +19,19 @@ else:
 main_config = main_config_file.defaults()
 
 def get_bool_conf_option(option):
-    if main_config[option]:
+    if option in main_config and main_config[option]:
         v = main_config[option]
         return str(v).lower() in ('yes', 'true', 't', '1')
     return False
 
 def get_array_conf_option(option):
-    if main_config[option]:
+    if option in main_config and main_config[option]:
         return main_config[option].split("\n")
     return []
 
 import logging
 log_level = logging.ERROR
-if main_config['logging_level']:
+if 'logging_level' in main_config and main_config['logging_level']:
     log_level = main_config['logging_level']
     log_level = getattr(logging, log_level.upper())
 
@@ -82,17 +82,26 @@ def main(max_items):
                 logging.debug('Skipping duplicate {0}'.format(eid))
 
             else: # format as a <=140 character string
-                # Construct the link, possibly with shortener
-                entry_url = gdshortener.ISGDShortener().shorten(url=e.link, log_stat=get_bool_conf_option('shortener_stats'))[0] if get_bool_conf_option('use_shortener') else e.link
+                if not get_bool_conf_option('do_not_include_link'):
+                    # Construct the link, possibly with shortener
+                    entry_url = gdshortener.ISGDShortener().shorten(url=e.link, log_stat=get_bool_conf_option('shortener_stats'))[0] if get_bool_conf_option('use_shortener') else e.link
 
-                if len(entry_url) <= int(main_config['max_url_length']):
-                    msg = u'{0} {1}'.format(entry_url,e.title)
+                    if len(entry_url) <= int(main_config['max_url_length']):
+                        msg = u'{0} {1}'.format(entry_url,e.title)
 
-                    if len(msg)>140: # Truncate (and hope it's still meaningful)
-                        msg = msg[:137]+u'...'
+                    else: # Link too long. Not enough space left for text :(
+                        msg = ''
 
-                else: # Link too long. Not enough space left for text :(
-                    msg = ''
+                else:
+                    entry_title = e.title
+                    if 'skip_first_title_char' in main_config and main_config['skip_first_title_char']:
+                        entry_title = entry_title[int(main_config['skip_first_title_char']):]
+
+                    msg = u'{0}'.format(entry_title)
+
+
+                if len(msg)>140: # Truncate (and hope it's still meaningful)
+                    msg = msg[:137]+u'...'
 
 
                 utfmsg = truncated_utf8(msg,140)# limit is 140 utf-8 bytes (not chars)
@@ -123,7 +132,7 @@ def main(max_items):
 if __name__=='__main__':
     if args.maxitems != None:
         n = args.maxitems
-    elif main_config['max_new_items_per_feed']:
+    elif 'max_new_items_per_feed' in main_config and main_config['max_new_items_per_feed']:
         n = int(main_config['max_new_items_per_feed'])
     else:
         n = 0