diff --git a/application/src/main/java/org/togetherjava/tjbot/commands/help/AskCommand.java b/application/src/main/java/org/togetherjava/tjbot/commands/help/AskCommand.java
index 95b69fbcae..3d9f72270b 100644
--- a/application/src/main/java/org/togetherjava/tjbot/commands/help/AskCommand.java
+++ b/application/src/main/java/org/togetherjava/tjbot/commands/help/AskCommand.java
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
 import org.togetherjava.tjbot.commands.SlashCommandVisibility;
 import org.togetherjava.tjbot.config.Config;
 
+import java.util.Optional;
+
 import static org.togetherjava.tjbot.commands.help.HelpSystemHelper.TITLE_COMPACT_LENGTH_MAX;
 import static org.togetherjava.tjbot.commands.help.HelpSystemHelper.TITLE_COMPACT_LENGTH_MIN;
 
@@ -83,8 +85,14 @@ public void onSlashCommand(@NotNull SlashCommandInteractionEvent event) {
             return;
         }
 
-        TextChannel helpStagingChannel = event.getTextChannel();
-        helpStagingChannel.createThreadChannel("[%s] %s".formatted(category, title))
+        Optional<TextChannel> maybeOverviewChannel =
+                helper.handleRequireOverviewChannelForAsk(event.getGuild(), event.getChannel());
+        if (maybeOverviewChannel.isEmpty()) {
+            return;
+        }
+        TextChannel overviewChannel = maybeOverviewChannel.orElseThrow();
+
+        overviewChannel.createThreadChannel("[%s] %s".formatted(category, title))
             .flatMap(threadChannel -> handleEvent(event, threadChannel, event.getMember(), title,
                     category))
             .queue(any -> {
diff --git a/application/src/main/java/org/togetherjava/tjbot/commands/help/HelpSystemHelper.java b/application/src/main/java/org/togetherjava/tjbot/commands/help/HelpSystemHelper.java
index 7e86c6974a..b7f5e77f1a 100644
--- a/application/src/main/java/org/togetherjava/tjbot/commands/help/HelpSystemHelper.java
+++ b/application/src/main/java/org/togetherjava/tjbot/commands/help/HelpSystemHelper.java
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ boolean handleIsHelpThread(@NotNull IReplyCallback event) {
         if (event.getChannelType() == ChannelType.GUILD_PUBLIC_THREAD) {
             ThreadChannel thread = event.getThreadChannel();
 
-            if (isStagingChannelName.test(thread.getParentChannel().getName())) {
+            if (isOverviewChannelName.test(thread.getParentChannel().getName())) {
                 return true;
             }
         }
@@ -181,6 +181,31 @@ static boolean isTitleValid(@NotNull CharSequence title) {
                 && titleCompact.length() <= TITLE_COMPACT_LENGTH_MAX;
     }
 
+    @NotNull
+    Optional<TextChannel> handleRequireOverviewChannelForAsk(@NotNull Guild guild,
+            @NotNull MessageChannel respondTo) {
+        Predicate<String> isChannelName = this::isOverviewChannelName;
+        String channelPattern = this.getOverviewChannelPattern();
+
+        Optional<TextChannel> maybeChannel = guild.getTextChannelCache()
+            .stream()
+            .filter(channel -> isChannelName.test(channel.getName()))
+            .findAny();
+
+        if (maybeChannel.isEmpty()) {
+            logger.warn(
+                    "Attempted to create a help thread, did not find the overview channel matching the configured pattern '{}' for guild '{}'",
+                    channelPattern, guild.getName());
+
+            respondTo.sendMessage(
+                    "Sorry, I was unable to locate the overview channel. The server seems wrongly configured, please contact a moderator.")
+                .queue();
+            return Optional.empty();
+        }
+
+        return maybeChannel;
+    }
+
     private record HelpThreadName(@Nullable String category, @NotNull String title) {
         static @NotNull HelpThreadName ofChannelName(@NotNull CharSequence channelName) {
             Matcher matcher = EXTRACT_CATEGORY_TITLE_PATTERN.matcher(channelName);
diff --git a/application/src/main/java/org/togetherjava/tjbot/commands/help/HelpThreadOverviewUpdater.java b/application/src/main/java/org/togetherjava/tjbot/commands/help/HelpThreadOverviewUpdater.java
index 123387a656..0a79750c1a 100644
--- a/application/src/main/java/org/togetherjava/tjbot/commands/help/HelpThreadOverviewUpdater.java
+++ b/application/src/main/java/org/togetherjava/tjbot/commands/help/HelpThreadOverviewUpdater.java
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ public final class HelpThreadOverviewUpdater extends MessageReceiverAdapter impl
      * @param helper the helper to use
      */
     public HelpThreadOverviewUpdater(@NotNull Config config, @NotNull HelpSystemHelper helper) {
-        super(Pattern.compile(config.getHelpSystem().getStagingChannelPattern()));
+        super(Pattern.compile(config.getHelpSystem().getOverviewChannelPattern()));
 
         allCategories = config.getHelpSystem().getCategories();
         this.helper = helper;
@@ -82,28 +82,18 @@ public void onMessageReceived(@NotNull MessageReceivedEvent event) {
     }
 
     private void updateOverviewForGuild(@NotNull Guild guild) {
-        Optional<TextChannel> maybeStagingChannel =
-                handleRequireChannel(ChannelType.STAGING, guild);
-        Optional<TextChannel> maybeOverviewChannel =
-                handleRequireChannel(ChannelType.OVERVIEW, guild);
+        Optional<TextChannel> maybeOverviewChannel = handleRequireOverviewChannel(guild);
 
-        if (maybeStagingChannel.isEmpty() || maybeOverviewChannel.isEmpty()) {
+        if (maybeOverviewChannel.isEmpty()) {
             return;
         }
 
-        updateOverview(maybeStagingChannel.orElseThrow(), maybeOverviewChannel.orElseThrow());
+        updateOverview(maybeOverviewChannel.orElseThrow());
     }
 
-    private @NotNull Optional<TextChannel> handleRequireChannel(@NotNull ChannelType channelType,
-            @NotNull Guild guild) {
-        Predicate<String> isChannelName = switch (channelType) {
-            case OVERVIEW -> helper::isOverviewChannelName;
-            case STAGING -> helper::isStagingChannelName;
-        };
-        String channelPattern = switch (channelType) {
-            case OVERVIEW -> helper.getOverviewChannelPattern();
-            case STAGING -> helper.getStagingChannelPattern();
-        };
+    private @NotNull Optional<TextChannel> handleRequireOverviewChannel(@NotNull Guild guild) {
+        Predicate<String> isChannelName = helper::isOverviewChannelName;
+        String channelPattern = helper.getOverviewChannelPattern();
 
         Optional<TextChannel> maybeChannel = guild.getTextChannelCache()
             .stream()
@@ -113,18 +103,17 @@ private void updateOverviewForGuild(@NotNull Guild guild) {
         if (maybeChannel.isEmpty()) {
             logger.warn(
                     "Unable to update help thread overview, did not find a {} channel matching the configured pattern '{}' for guild '{}'",
-                    channelType, channelPattern, guild.getName());
+                    ChannelType.OVERVIEW, channelPattern, guild.getName());
             return Optional.empty();
         }
 
         return maybeChannel;
     }
 
-    private void updateOverview(@NotNull IThreadContainer stagingChannel,
-            @NotNull MessageChannel overviewChannel) {
+    private void updateOverview(@NotNull TextChannel overviewChannel) {
         logger.debug("Updating overview of active questions");
 
-        List<ThreadChannel> activeThreads = stagingChannel.getThreadChannels()
+        List<ThreadChannel> activeThreads = overviewChannel.getThreadChannels()
             .stream()
             .filter(Predicate.not(ThreadChannel::isArchived))
             .toList();
diff --git a/application/src/main/java/org/togetherjava/tjbot/commands/help/ImplicitAskListener.java b/application/src/main/java/org/togetherjava/tjbot/commands/help/ImplicitAskListener.java
index 30007fb55e..5af0f1ae68 100644
--- a/application/src/main/java/org/togetherjava/tjbot/commands/help/ImplicitAskListener.java
+++ b/application/src/main/java/org/togetherjava/tjbot/commands/help/ImplicitAskListener.java
@@ -85,8 +85,14 @@ public void onMessageReceived(@NotNull MessageReceivedEvent event) {
 
         String title = createTitle(message.getContentDisplay());
 
-        TextChannel helpStagingChannel = event.getTextChannel();
-        helpStagingChannel.createThreadChannel(title)
+        Optional<TextChannel> maybeOverviewChannel =
+                helper.handleRequireOverviewChannelForAsk(event.getGuild(), event.getChannel());
+        if (maybeOverviewChannel.isEmpty()) {
+            return;
+        }
+        TextChannel overviewChannel = maybeOverviewChannel.orElseThrow();
+
+        overviewChannel.createThreadChannel(title)
             .flatMap(threadChannel -> handleEvent(threadChannel, message, title))
             .queue(any -> {
             }, ImplicitAskListener::handleFailure);
@@ -143,7 +149,6 @@ private Optional<HelpThread> getLastHelpThreadIfOnCooldown(long userId) {
         }
 
         return HelpSystemHelper.isTitleValid(titleCandidate) ? titleCandidate : "Untitled";
-
     }
 
     private @NotNull RestAction<?> handleEvent(@NotNull ThreadChannel threadChannel,