diff --git a/Makefile.defs b/Makefile.defs
index 2da1121..eb945d7 100644
--- a/Makefile.defs
+++ b/Makefile.defs
@@ -68,10 +68,9 @@ OSREL = $(shell uname -r)
 Q=
 NICER ?= 
 ifneq ($(NICER),)
-	Q=@
+	export Q=@
 endif
 
-
 # TLS support
 TLS ?= 
 ifneq ($(TLS),)
@@ -905,6 +904,12 @@ endif
 
 endif #mode=release
 
+# during development, don't let errors in
+ISDEVEL=$(shell ls -d CVS 2>/dev/null)
+ifneq ($(ISDEVEL),)
+	CFLAGS+=-Werror
+endif
+
 
 #*FLAGS used for compiling the modules
 ifeq	($(CC_NAME), gcc)