diff --git a/core/imageboard.pack.php b/core/imageboard.pack.php
index 7030277e..4483a2c2 100644
--- a/core/imageboard.pack.php
+++ b/core/imageboard.pack.php
@@ -591,10 +591,13 @@ class Image {
 		// various types of querylet
 		foreach($terms as $term) {
 			$positive = true;
-			if((strlen($term) > 0) && ($term[0] == '-')) {
+			if($term[0] == '-') {
 				$positive = false;
 				$term = substr($term, 1);
 			}
+			if(strlen($term) == 0) {
+				continue;
+			}
 
 			$term = Tag::resolve_alias($term);