diff --git a/comiceasel.php b/comiceasel.php
index c58dab5..aa725f8 100644
--- a/comiceasel.php
+++ b/comiceasel.php
@@ -378,7 +378,7 @@ function ceo_load_options($reset = false) {
 			'enable_embed_nav' => false,
 			'disable_default_nav' => false,
 			'enable_comments_on_homepage' => false,
-			'enable_comic_sidebar_locations' => false,
+			'enable_comic_sidebar_locations' => true,
 			'thumbnail_size_for_rss' => 'thumbnail',
 			'thumbnail_size_for_direct_rss' => 'full',
 			'thumbnail_size_for_archive' => 'large',
diff --git a/readme.txt b/readme.txt
index 76c0d62..35f35d5 100644
--- a/readme.txt
+++ b/readme.txt
@@ -136,6 +136,7 @@ The comic navigation widget is only seen if you have the comic sidebar's enabled
 * do not display transcripts on the archive and search pages
 * the column for the all comics now uses the name chosen for the taxonomy
 * change the way the comment value is displayed in the navigation to better support disqus and other 3rd party comment systems
+* Comic sidebars now default to being enabled on new installations
 
 = 1.7.7.1 =
 * fixed bug where you couldn't save the facebook image size