diff --git a/degesch.c b/degesch.c
index 9d57abb..a06ef24 100644
--- a/degesch.c
+++ b/degesch.c
@@ -5932,16 +5932,17 @@ irc_is_highlight (struct server *s, const char *message)
 	formatter_free (&f);
 
 	// Well, this is rather crude but it should make most users happy.
-	// Ideally we could do this at least in proper Unicode.
-	char *copy = irc_to_utf8 (stripped.str);
+	// We could do this in proper Unicode but that's two more conversions per
+	// message when both the nickname and the message are likely valid UTF-8.
+	char *copy = str_steal (&stripped);
 	cstr_transform (copy, s->irc_tolower);
-	str_free (&stripped);
 
 	char *nick = xstrdup (s->irc_user->nickname);
 	cstr_transform (nick, s->irc_tolower);
 
 	// Special characters allowed in nicknames by RFC 2812: []\`_^{|} and -
 	// Also excluded from the ASCII: common user channel prefixes: +%@&~
+	// XXX: why did I exclude those? It won't match when newbies use them.
 	const char *delimiters = ",.;:!?()<>/=#$* \t\r\n\v\f\"'";
 
 	bool result = false;