diff --git a/docs/manual.rst b/docs/manual.rst
index f351e58c4..3474252dc 100644
--- a/docs/manual.rst
+++ b/docs/manual.rst
@@ -2981,6 +2981,9 @@ that will be sent to the tracker. The user-agent is a good way to identify your
 		int max_peerlist_size;
 
 		int min_announce_interval;
+
+		bool prioritize_partial_pieces;
+		int auto_manage_startup;
 	};
 
 ``user_agent`` this is the client identification to the tracker.
@@ -3252,6 +3255,16 @@ for a tracker. This is specified in seconds, defaults to 5 minutes and
 is used as a sanity check on what is returned from a tracker. It
 mitigates hammering misconfigured trackers.
 
+If ``prioritize_partial_pieces`` is true, partial pieces are picked
+before pieces that are more rare. If false, rare pieces are always
+prioritized, unless the number of partial pieces is growing out of
+proportion.
+
+``auto_manage_startup`` is the number of seconds a torrent is considered
+active after it was started, regardless of upload and download speed. This
+is so that newly started torrents are not considered inactive until they
+have a fair chance to start downloading.
+
 
 pe_settings
 ===========
diff --git a/include/libtorrent/session_settings.hpp b/include/libtorrent/session_settings.hpp
index 3d48fbbba..e71efc7e3 100644
--- a/include/libtorrent/session_settings.hpp
+++ b/include/libtorrent/session_settings.hpp
@@ -142,6 +142,7 @@ namespace libtorrent
 			, max_peerlist_size(8000)
 			, min_announce_interval(5 * 60)
 			, prioritize_partial_pieces(false)
+			, auto_manage_startup(120)
 		{}
 
 		// this is the user agent that will be sent to the tracker
@@ -441,6 +442,14 @@ namespace libtorrent
 		// if true, partial pieces are picked before pieces
 		// that are more rare
 		bool prioritize_partial_pieces;
+
+		// the number of seconds a torrent is considered
+		// active after it was started, regardless of
+		// upload and download speed. This is so that
+		// newly started torrents are not considered
+		// inactive until they have a fair chance to
+		// start downloading.
+		int auto_manage_startup;
 	};
 
 #ifndef TORRENT_DISABLE_DHT
diff --git a/include/libtorrent/torrent.hpp b/include/libtorrent/torrent.hpp
index e2b0078c9..f4ad12f17 100644
--- a/include/libtorrent/torrent.hpp
+++ b/include/libtorrent/torrent.hpp
@@ -217,6 +217,7 @@ namespace libtorrent
 		void pause();
 		void resume();
 
+		ptime started() const { return m_started; }
 		void do_pause();
 		void do_resume();
 
diff --git a/src/session_impl.cpp b/src/session_impl.cpp
index 885ff8e63..c7409a8fc 100644
--- a/src/session_impl.cpp
+++ b/src/session_impl.cpp
@@ -1290,7 +1290,8 @@ namespace aux {
 		{
 			return !(s.dont_count_slow_torrents
 				&& t->statistics().upload_payload_rate() == 0.f
-				&& t->statistics().download_payload_rate() == 0.f);
+				&& t->statistics().download_payload_rate() == 0.f
+				&& time_now() - t->started() > seconds(s.auto_manage_startup));
 		}
 	}