diff --git a/docs/man/sesman.ini.5.in b/docs/man/sesman.ini.5.in
index eda5d01b..9e38e061 100644
--- a/docs/man/sesman.ini.5.in
+++ b/docs/man/sesman.ini.5.in
@@ -365,7 +365,8 @@ because the system is unable to check whether the user is an administrator.
 
 .TP
 \fBAllowAlternateShell\fR=\fI[true|false]\fR
-If set to \fB0\fR, \fBfalse\fR or \fBno\fR, prevent usage of alternate shells by users.
+Set to \fB1\fR, \fBtrue\fR or \fByes\fR, to allow alternate shells to
+be specified by users.
 
 .TP
 \fBPassShellAsEnv\fR=\fI<name-of-environment-variable>\fR
diff --git a/sesman/libsesman/sesman_config.c b/sesman/libsesman/sesman_config.c
index 215aa2da..3c422549 100644
--- a/sesman/libsesman/sesman_config.c
+++ b/sesman/libsesman/sesman_config.c
@@ -320,7 +320,7 @@ config_read_security(int file, struct config_security *sc,
     sc->xauth_in_sysdir = 0;
     sc->restrict_outbound_clipboard = 0;
     sc->restrict_inbound_clipboard = 0;
-    sc->allow_alternate_shell = 1;
+    sc->allow_alternate_shell = 0;
     sc->pass_shell_as_env = g_strdup("");
     sc->xorg_no_new_privileges = 1;
     sc->ts_users = g_strdup("");
diff --git a/sesman/sesman.ini.in b/sesman/sesman.ini.in
index 96ead6b6..098d1ca0 100644
--- a/sesman/sesman.ini.in
+++ b/sesman/sesman.ini.in
@@ -43,8 +43,8 @@ RestrictOutboundClipboard=none
 ;   false: an alias of none
 ;   yes: an alias of all
 RestrictInboundClipboard=none
-; Set to 'no' to prevent users from logging in with alternate shells
-#AllowAlternateShell=true
+; Set to 'yes' to allow users to log in with alternate shells
+#AllowAlternateShell=no
 ; Normally, alternate shells (if permitted) are executed directly, as
 ; specified.
 ; If this is set, alternate shells are not actioned directly, but