diff --git a/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb b/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb
index 5b5dda4b..e00db8b1 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ module Jekyll
         $stderr.puts "#{err}"
       end
 
-      configuration.backwards_compatibilize
+      configuration.fix_common_issues.backwards_compatibilize
     end
 
     # Public: Split a CSV string into an array containing its values
@@ -205,5 +205,17 @@ module Jekyll
       config
     end
 
+    def fix_common_issues
+      config = clone
+
+      if config.has_key?('paginate') && (!config['paginate'].is_a?(Integer) || config['paginate'] < 1)
+        Jekyll.logger.warn "Config Warning:", "The `paginate` key must be a" +
+          " positive integer or nil. It's currently set to '#{config['paginate'].inspect}'."
+        config['paginate'] = nil
+      end
+
+      config
+    end
+
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/deprecator.rb b/lib/jekyll/deprecator.rb
index 8cbb93a5..23af739d 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/deprecator.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/deprecator.rb
@@ -2,18 +2,18 @@ module Jekyll
   class Deprecator
     def self.process(args)
       no_subcommand(args)
-      deprecation_message args, "--server", "The --server command has been replaced by the \
+      arg_is_present? args, "--server", "The --server command has been replaced by the \
                           'serve' subcommand."
-      deprecation_message args, "--no-server", "To build Jekyll without launching a server, \
+      arg_is_present? args, "--no-server", "To build Jekyll without launching a server, \
                           use the 'build' subcommand."
-      deprecation_message args, "--auto", "The switch '--auto' has been replaced with '--watch'."
-      deprecation_message args, "--no-auto", "To disable auto-replication, simply leave off \
+      arg_is_present? args, "--auto", "The switch '--auto' has been replaced with '--watch'."
+      arg_is_present? args, "--no-auto", "To disable auto-replication, simply leave off \
                           the '--watch' switch."
-      deprecation_message args, "--pygments", "The 'pygments' setting can only be set in \
+      arg_is_present? args, "--pygments", "The 'pygments' setting can only be set in \
                           your config files."
-      deprecation_message args, "--paginate", "The 'paginate' setting can only be set in your \
+      arg_is_present? args, "--paginate", "The 'paginate' setting can only be set in your \
                           config files."
-      deprecation_message args, "--url", "The 'url' setting can only be set in your config files."
+      arg_is_present? args, "--url", "The 'url' setting can only be set in your config files."
     end
 
     def self.no_subcommand(args)
@@ -23,10 +23,14 @@ module Jekyll
       end
     end
 
-    def self.deprecation_message(args, deprecated_argument, message)
+    def self.arg_is_present?(args, deprecated_argument, message)
       if args.include?(deprecated_argument)
-        Jekyll.logger.error "Deprecation:", message
+        deprecation_message(message)
       end
     end
+
+    def self.deprecation_message(message)
+      Jekyll.logger.error "Deprecation:", message
+    end
   end
 end
diff --git a/test/test_configuration.rb b/test/test_configuration.rb
index 0e6372b0..c57408e5 100644
--- a/test/test_configuration.rb
+++ b/test/test_configuration.rb
@@ -79,6 +79,20 @@ class TestConfiguration < Test::Unit::TestCase
       assert_equal @config.backwards_compatibilize["include"], %w[STOP_THE_PRESSES.txt .heloses .git]
     end
   end
+  context "#fix_common_issues" do
+    setup do
+      @config = Proc.new do |val|
+        Configuration[{
+          'paginate' => val
+        }]
+      end
+    end
+    should "sets an invalid 'paginate' value to nil" do
+      assert_nil @config.call(0).fix_common_issues['paginate']
+      assert_nil @config.call(-1).fix_common_issues['paginate']
+      assert_nil @config.call(true).fix_common_issues['paginate']
+    end
+  end
   context "loading configuration" do
     setup do
       @path = File.join(Dir.pwd, '_config.yml')