diff --git a/IPython/core/application.py b/IPython/core/application.py
index 64656e4..4b49a94 100644
--- a/IPython/core/application.py
+++ b/IPython/core/application.py
@@ -137,6 +137,11 @@ class BaseIPythonApplication(Application):
         profile, then they will be staged into the new directory.  Otherwise,
         default config files will be automatically generated.
         """)
+    
+    verbose_crash = Bool(False, config=True,
+        help="""Create a massive crash report when IPython enconters what may be an
+        internal error.  The default is to append a short message to the
+        usual traceback""")
 
     # The class to use as the crash handler.
     crash_handler_class = Type(crashhandler.CrashHandler)
@@ -154,11 +159,23 @@ class BaseIPythonApplication(Application):
     def init_crash_handler(self):
         """Create a crash handler, typically setting sys.excepthook to it."""
         self.crash_handler = self.crash_handler_class(self)
-        sys.excepthook = self.crash_handler
+        sys.excepthook = self.excepthook
         def unset_crashhandler():
             sys.excepthook = sys.__excepthook__
         atexit.register(unset_crashhandler)
-
+    
+    def excepthook(self, etype, evalue, tb):
+        """this is sys.excepthook after init_crashhandler
+        
+        set self.verbose_crash=True to use our full crashhandler, instead of
+        a regular traceback with a short message (crash_handler_lite)
+        """
+        
+        if self.verbose_crash:
+            return self.crash_handler(etype, evalue, tb)
+        else:
+            return crashhandler.crash_handler_lite(etype, evalue, tb)
+    
     def _ipython_dir_changed(self, name, old, new):
         if old in sys.path:
             sys.path.remove(old)
diff --git a/IPython/core/crashhandler.py b/IPython/core/crashhandler.py
index 0774ac2..3d509da 100644
--- a/IPython/core/crashhandler.py
+++ b/IPython/core/crashhandler.py
@@ -21,9 +21,11 @@ Authors:
 
 import os
 import sys
+import traceback
 from pprint import pformat
 
 from IPython.core import ultratb
+from IPython.core.release import author_email
 from IPython.utils.sysinfo import sys_info
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -54,6 +56,15 @@ To ensure accurate tracking of this issue, please file a report about it at:
 {bug_tracker}
 """
 
+_lite_message_template = """
+If you suspect this is an IPython bug, please report it at:
+    https://github.com/ipython/ipython/issues
+or send an email to the mailing list at {email}
+
+You can enable a much more verbose traceback with:
+    {config}Application.verbose_crash=True
+"""
+
 
 class CrashHandler(object):
     """Customizable crash handlers for IPython applications.
@@ -161,7 +172,7 @@ class CrashHandler(object):
         # Construct report on disk
         report.write(self.make_report(traceback))
         report.close()
-        raw_input("Hit <Enter> to quit this message (your terminal may close):")
+        raw_input("Hit <Enter> to quit (your terminal may close):")
 
     def make_report(self,traceback):
         """Return a string containing a crash report."""
@@ -184,3 +195,17 @@ class CrashHandler(object):
 
         return ''.join(report)
 
+
+def crash_handler_lite(etype, evalue, tb):
+    """a light excepthook, adding a small message to the usual traceback"""
+    traceback.print_exception(etype, evalue, tb)
+    
+    from IPython.core.interactiveshell import InteractiveShell
+    if InteractiveShell.initialized():
+        # we are in a Shell environment, give %magic example
+        config = "%config "
+    else:
+        # we are not in a shell, show generic config
+        config = "c."
+    print >> sys.stderr, _lite_message_template.format(email=author_email, config=config)
+