diff --git a/doc/ale.txt b/doc/ale.txt
index 0a31fca..c5e2f8f 100644
--- a/doc/ale.txt
+++ b/doc/ale.txt
@@ -366,7 +366,7 @@ g:ale_history_enabled                                   *g:ale_history_enabled*
 g:ale_history_log_output                             *g:ale_history_log_output*
 
   Type: |Number|
-  Default: `0`
+  Default: `1`
 
   When set to `1`, ALE will store the output of commands which have completed
   successfully in the command history, and the output will be displayed when
@@ -375,8 +375,9 @@ g:ale_history_log_output                             *g:ale_history_log_output*
   |g:ale_history_enabled| must be set to `1` for this output to be stored or
   printed.
 
-  ALE will likely consume a lot of memory if this option is on, so it should
-  only be used for debugging problems with linters.
+  Some memory will be consumed by this option. It is very useful for figuring
+  out what went wrong with linters, and for bug reports. Turn this option off
+  if you want to save on some memory usage.
 
 
 g:ale_keep_list_window_open                       *g:ale_keep_list_window_open*
diff --git a/plugin/ale.vim b/plugin/ale.vim
index 986cccc..58ab1ec 100644
--- a/plugin/ale.vim
+++ b/plugin/ale.vim
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ let g:ale_max_buffer_history_size = get(g:, 'ale_max_buffer_history_size', 20)
 let g:ale_history_enabled = get(g:, 'ale_history_enabled', 1)
 
 " A flag for storing the full output of commands in the history.
-let g:ale_history_log_output = get(g:, 'ale_history_log_output', 0)
+let g:ale_history_log_output = get(g:, 'ale_history_log_output', 1)
 
 " A dictionary mapping regular expression patterns to arbitrary buffer
 " variables to be set. Useful for configuration ALE based on filename