diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md
index 3b783bb63..35d7ee94f 100644
--- a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md
@@ -10,12 +10,12 @@ assignees: ''
 <!--
 Thanks for taking the time to report an issue!
 
-Before continuing please make sure that you checked the existing (opened and closed) issues and pull requests to avoid opening a duplicate issue. We would rather prefer to add the information to the existing one. Feel free to reopen a closed issue if you think the issue is not resolved in your case.
+Before continuing please make sure that you checked the existing (opened and closed) issues and pull requests to avoid opening a duplicate issue. We would rather prefer to add the information to the existing one. If you are able, feel free to reopen the closed issue afterwards. If not, please create a new issue linking to the old one.
 
 If you rather have a support question and you need guidance on running/configuring Unbound, please refrain from opening an issue and use the community support mailing list instead (https://www.nlnetlabs.nl/support/mailing-lists/).
 We would like to keep GitHub issues for possible bugs and feature requests only.
 
-If you are unsure whether an issue is a bug or not, feel free to reach out to mailing list users or open an issue here. 
+If you are unsure whether an issue is a bug or not, feel free to reach out to mailing list users or open an issue here.
 
 If you are opening an issue, please complete as much of the following sections as possible to give us a better understanding of your situation.
 -->
diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.md b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.md
index 1a3910694..e9ca08b7a 100644
--- a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.md
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.md
@@ -10,12 +10,12 @@ assignees: ''
 <!--
 Thanks for taking the time to report an issue!
 
-Before continuing please make sure that you checked the existing (opened and closed) issues and pull requests to avoid opening a duplicate issue. We would rather prefer to add the information to the existing one. Feel free to reopen a closed issue if you think the issue is not resolved in your case.
+Before continuing please make sure that you checked the existing (opened and closed) issues and pull requests to avoid opening a duplicate issue. We would rather prefer to add the information to the existing one. If you are able, feel free to reopen the closed issue afterwards. If not, please create a new issue linking to the old one.
 
 If you rather have a support question and you need guidance on running/configuring Unbound, please refrain from opening an issue and use the community support mailing list instead (https://www.nlnetlabs.nl/support/mailing-lists/).
 We would like to keep GitHub issues for possible bugs and feature requests only.
 
-If you are unsure whether an issue is a bug or not, feel free to reach out to mailing list users or open an issue here. 
+If you are unsure whether an issue is a bug or not, feel free to reach out to mailing list users or open an issue here.
 
 If you are opening an issue, please complete as much of the following sections as possible to give us a better understanding of your situation.
 -->