diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 1d87690fd3..44b0bf5e24 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1435,6 +1435,7 @@ ifneq (,$(findstring MINGW,$(uname_S)))
 	NO_INET_PTON = YesPlease
 	NO_INET_NTOP = YesPlease
 	NO_POSIX_GOODIES = UnfortunatelyYes
+	DEFAULT_HELP_FORMAT = html
 	NO_D_INO_IN_DIRENT = YesPlease
 	COMPAT_CFLAGS += -D__USE_MINGW_ACCESS -DNOGDI -Icompat -Icompat/win32
 	COMPAT_CFLAGS += -DSTRIP_EXTENSION=\".exe\"