diff --git a/TODO b/TODO
index d194310..ea81a71 100644
--- a/TODO
+++ b/TODO
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ Candidates for upcoming release
 ===============================
 
 * Trivial fixes:
-  * #470: odd/even -- doc bug
   * #468: doc typo
   * Remove travisci
   * Update manual to clearly state qpdf's exit codes including mention
diff --git a/manual/qpdf-manual.xml b/manual/qpdf-manual.xml
index 48262e7..74f0279 100644
--- a/manual/qpdf-manual.xml
+++ b/manual/qpdf-manual.xml
@@ -936,14 +936,16 @@ make
         <option>angle</option> portion of the parameter may be either
         90, 180, or 270. If preceded by <option>+</option> or
         <option>-</option>, the angle is added to or subtracted from
-        the specified pages' original rotations. Otherwise the pages'
-        rotations are set to the exact value. For example, the command
-        <command>qpdf in.pdf out.pdf --rotate=+90:2,4,6
+        the specified pages' original rotations. This is almost always
+        what you want. Otherwise the pages' rotations are set to the
+        exact value, which may cause the appearances of the pages to
+        be inconsistent, especially for scans. For example, the
+        command <command>qpdf in.pdf out.pdf --rotate=+90:2,4,6
         --rotate=180:7-8</command> would rotate pages 2, 4, and 6 90
         degrees clockwise from their original rotation and force the
         rotation of pages 7 through 9 to 180 degrees regardless of
         their original rotation, and the command <command>qpdf in.pdf
-        out.pdf --rotate=180</command> would rotate all pages by 180
+        out.pdf --rotate=+180</command> would rotate all pages by 180
         degrees.
        </para>
       </listitem>
diff --git a/qpdf/qpdf.cc b/qpdf/qpdf.cc
index b685d2e..4e69766 100644
--- a/qpdf/qpdf.cc
+++ b/qpdf/qpdf.cc
@@ -1276,7 +1276,9 @@ ArgParser::argHelp()
         << "format as with the --pages option, described below. Repeat the option\n"
         << "to rotate multiple groups of pages. If the angle is preceded by + or -,\n"
         << "it is added to or subtracted from the original rotation. Otherwise, the\n"
-        << "rotation angle is set explicitly to the given value.\n"
+        << "rotation angle is set explicitly to the given value. You almost always\n"
+        << "want to use + or - unless you are certain about the internals of the PDF\n"
+        << "you are working with.\n"
         << "\n"
         << "If --split-pages is specified, each page is written to a separate output\n"
         << "file. File names are generated as follows:\n"