diff --git a/man/remind.1.in b/man/remind.1.in
index fad5bcbe..0680691f 100644
--- a/man/remind.1.in
+++ b/man/remind.1.in
@@ -3462,14 +3462,21 @@ at most 85 out of 255, and if the maximum of any component is at most
 As new versions of \fBRemind\fR are released, new warnings may be added.
 If your formerly-fine scripts suddenly start issuing warnings when you
 upgrade \fBRemind\fR, then as a \fIstopgap\fR measure, you may set
-\fB$WarningLevel\fR to a string of the form \fIAA.BB.CC\fR where
-\fIAA\fR, \fIBB\fR and \fICC\fR are decimal digits.  This will
+\fB$WarningLevel\fR to a string of the form \fIAB\fR.\fICD\fR.\fIEF\fR where
+\fIAB\fR, \fICD\fR and \fIEF\fR are pairs of decimal digits.  This will
 suppress any warnings that were introduced \fIafter\fR \fBRemind\fR
-version \fIAA.BB.CC\fR.  If you do not set \fB$WarningLevel\fR, then
+version \fIAB\fR.\fICD\fR.\fIEF\fR.  If you do not set \fB$WarningLevel\fR, then
 it defaults to the current version of \fBRemind\fR, meaning all warnings
 will be issued.
 .RS
 .PP
+For example, if you want the warnings you receive limited to what
+Remind 05.00.00 would have produced, use:
+.PP
+.nf
+    SET $WarningLevel "05.00.00"
+.fi
+.PP
 We do \fInot\fR recommend setting \fB$WarningLevel\fR as a matter
 of course; you should use it to suppress warnings only for as long as
 it takes for you to fix your remind scripts so they no longer cause
diff --git a/src/var.c b/src/var.c
index f06c156a..e44116a5 100644
--- a/src/var.c
+++ b/src/var.c
@@ -193,7 +193,6 @@ static int latitude_func(int do_set, Value *val)
 
 static int warning_level_func(int do_set, Value *val)
 {
-    int a, b, c;
     if (do_set) {
         if (val->type != STR_TYPE) return E_BAD_TYPE;
         if (!val->v.str || ! (*val->v.str)) {
@@ -201,12 +200,29 @@ static int warning_level_func(int do_set, Value *val)
             WarningLevel = NULL;
             return OK;
         }
-        if (sscanf(val->v.str, "%d.%d.%d", &a, &b, &c) != 3) {
+        if (strlen(val->v.str) != 8) {
             return E_BAD_NUMBER;
         }
+        /* Must match regex: ^\d\d\.\d\d\.\d\d$ */
+        if (!isdigit(val->v.str[0]) ||
+            !isdigit(val->v.str[1]) ||
+            val->v.str[2] != '.'    ||
+            !isdigit(val->v.str[3]) ||
+            !isdigit(val->v.str[4]) ||
+            val->v.str[5] != '.'    ||
+            !isdigit(val->v.str[6]) ||
+            !isdigit(val->v.str[7])) {
+            return E_BAD_NUMBER;
+        }
+
         if (WarningLevel) free((void *) WarningLevel);
-        WarningLevel = StrDup(val->v.str);
-        if (!WarningLevel) return E_NO_MEM;
+        /* If it's the same as VERSION, just leave it as NULL */
+        if (strcmp(val->v.str, VERSION)) {
+            WarningLevel = StrDup(val->v.str);
+            if (!WarningLevel) return E_NO_MEM;
+        } else {
+            WarningLevel = NULL;
+        }
         return OK;
     }
     if (!WarningLevel) {
diff --git a/tests/test-rem b/tests/test-rem
index c7a8d7e9..076aea19 100644
--- a/tests/test-rem
+++ b/tests/test-rem
@@ -843,8 +843,11 @@ EOF
 BANNER %
 SET $AddBlankLines 0
 REM Monday ADDOMIT MSG woohoo!
-set $WarningLevel "06.01.02"
+SET $WarningLevel "06.01.02"
 REM Tuesday ADDOMIT MSG Cabbage.
+SET $WarningLevel "cabbage"
+SET $WarningLevel today()
+SET $WarningLevel "3.1.4"
 EOF
 
 cmp -s ../tests/test.out ../tests/test.cmp
diff --git a/tests/test.cmp b/tests/test.cmp
index 23673075..f79d78ee 100644
--- a/tests/test.cmp
+++ b/tests/test.cmp
@@ -39905,6 +39905,12 @@ BANNER %
 SET $AddBlankLines 0
 REM Monday ADDOMIT MSG woohoo!
 -stdin-(3): Warning: Consider using SCANFROM with recurring ADDOMIT
-set $WarningLevel "06.01.02"
+SET $WarningLevel "06.01.02"
 REM Tuesday ADDOMIT MSG Cabbage.
+SET $WarningLevel "cabbage"
+-stdin-(6): Ill-formed number
+SET $WarningLevel today()
+-stdin-(7): Type mismatch
+SET $WarningLevel "3.1.4"
+-stdin-(8): Ill-formed number