diff --git a/src/controller/controller.cpp b/src/controller/controller.cpp
index bd462b05..2205e482 100644
--- a/src/controller/controller.cpp
+++ b/src/controller/controller.cpp
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ int main(int argc, char ** argv){
   }//connected to a terminal
   
   Controller::Log("CONF", "Controller started");
-  Controller::conf.is_active = true;//set this to true here already so the below threads don't instantly exit
+  Controller::conf.activate();//activate early, so threads aren't killed.
 
   //start stats thread
   tthread::thread statsThread(Controller::SharedMemStats, &Controller::conf);