diff --git a/lib/webrick/httputils.rb b/lib/webrick/httputils.rb
index 586971dd06..a4cd3b48ee 100644
--- a/lib/webrick/httputils.rb
+++ b/lib/webrick/httputils.rb
@@ -108,6 +108,8 @@ module WEBrick
     # Loads Apache-compatible mime.types in +file+.
 
     def load_mime_types(file)
+      # note: +file+ may be a "| command" for now; some people may
+      # rely on this, but currently we do not use this method by default.
       open(file){ |io|
         hash = Hash.new
         io.each{ |line|