diff --git a/docsite/rst/intro_configuration.rst b/docsite/rst/intro_configuration.rst
index 7549793e3ca..03a3f24a66f 100644
--- a/docsite/rst/intro_configuration.rst
+++ b/docsite/rst/intro_configuration.rst
@@ -372,7 +372,7 @@ This option can be useful for those wishing to save fact gathering time. Both 's
 
 .. versionadded:: 2.1
 
-You can specify a subset of gathered facts using the following option::
+You can specify a subset of gathered facts, via the play's gather_facts directive, using the following option::
 
     gather_subset = all
 
diff --git a/examples/ansible.cfg b/examples/ansible.cfg
index f8aa4ef887a..6bb22c3f237 100644
--- a/examples/ansible.cfg
+++ b/examples/ansible.cfg
@@ -33,7 +33,8 @@
 # explicit - do not gather by default, must say gather_facts: True
 #gathering = implicit
 
-# by default retrieve all facts subsets
+# This only affects the gathering done by a play's gather_facts directive,
+# by default gathering retrieves all facts subsets
 # all - gather all subsets
 # network - gather min and network facts
 # hardware - gather hardware facts (longest facts to retrieve)