diff --git a/evennia/commands/cmdhandler.py b/evennia/commands/cmdhandler.py
index 3d5afa34d5..4ecdb6f303 100644
--- a/evennia/commands/cmdhandler.py
+++ b/evennia/commands/cmdhandler.py
@@ -80,16 +80,28 @@ _SEARCH_AT_RESULT = utils.variable_from_module(*settings.SEARCH_AT_RESULT.rsplit
 
 # Output strings
 
-_ERROR_UNTRAPPED = "An untrapped error occurred. Please file a bug report."
+_ERROR_UNTRAPPED = """
+An untrapped error occurred. Please file a bug report detailing the
+steps to reproduce. Server log time stamp is '{timestamp}'.
+"""
 
-_ERROR_CMDSETS = "A cmdset merger error occurred. Please file a bug report."
+_ERROR_CMDSETS = """
+A cmdset merger error occurred. Please file a bug report detailing the
+steps to reproduce. Server log time stamp is '{timestamp}'.
+"""
 
-_ERROR_NOCMDSETS = "No command sets found! This is a sign of a critical bug." \
-                  "\nThe error was logged. If disconnecting/reconnecting doesn't" \
-                  "\nsolve the problem, try to contact the server admin through" \
-                  "\nsome other means for assistance."
+_ERROR_NOCMDSETS = """
+No command sets found! This is a sign of a critical bug.  If
+disconnecting/reconnecting doesn't" solve the problem, try to contact
+the server admin through" some other means for assistance. Server log
+time stamp is '{timestamp}'.
+"""
 
-_ERROR_CMDHANDLER = "A command handler bug occurred. Please file a bug report with the Evennia project."
+_ERROR_CMDHANDLER = """
+A command handler bug occurred. Please file a bug report with the
+Evennia project. Include the relvant traceback from the server log at
+time stamp '{timestamp}'.
+"""
 
 _ERROR_RECURSION_LIMIT = "Command recursion limit ({recursion_limit}) " \
                          "reached for '{raw_string}' ({cmdclass})."
@@ -104,7 +116,7 @@ def _msg_err(receiver, string):
         string (str): string which will be shown to the user.
 
     """
-    receiver.msg(string.format(_nomulti=True))
+    receiver.msg(string.format(_nomulti=True, timestamp=logger.timeformat()).strip())
 
 
 # custom Exceptions
diff --git a/evennia/utils/logger.py b/evennia/utils/logger.py
index 3749259195..66545d32b5 100644
--- a/evennia/utils/logger.py
+++ b/evennia/utils/logger.py
@@ -13,7 +13,11 @@ log_typemsg(). This is for historical, back-compatible reasons.
 
 """
 
+from __future__ import division
+
 import os
+import time
+from datetime import datetime
 from traceback import format_exc
 from twisted.python import log
 from twisted.internet.threads import deferToThread
@@ -22,6 +26,36 @@ from twisted.internet.threads import deferToThread
 _LOGDIR = None
 _TIMEZONE = None
 
+def timeformat(when=None):
+    """
+    This helper function will format the current time in the same
+    way as twisted's logger does, including time zone info.
+
+    Args:
+        when (int, optional): This is a time in POSIX seconds on the form
+            given by time.time(). If not given, this function will
+            use the current time.
+
+    Returns:
+        timestring (str): A formatted string of the given time.
+    """
+    when = when if when else time.time()
+
+    # time zone offset: UTC - the actual offset
+    tz_offset = datetime.utcfromtimestamp(when) - datetime.fromtimestamp(when)
+    tz_offset = tz_offset.days * 86400 + tz_offset.seconds
+    # correct given time to utc
+    when = datetime.utcfromtimestamp(when - tz_offset)
+    tz_hour = abs(int(tz_offset // 3600))
+    tz_mins = abs(int(tz_offset // 60 % 60))
+    tz_sign = "-" if tz_offset >= 0 else "+"
+
+    return '%d-%02d-%02d %02d:%02d:%02d%s%02d%02d' % (
+        when.year, when.month, when.day,
+        when.hour, when.minute, when.second,
+        tz_sign, tz_hour, tz_mins)
+
+
 def log_trace(errmsg=None):
     """
     Log a traceback to the log. This should be called from within an