diff --git a/editors/vi.c b/editors/vi.c
index fb46dc381..31b5d3e8a 100644
--- a/editors/vi.c
+++ b/editors/vi.c
@@ -2938,7 +2938,7 @@ static void colon(char *buf)
 			fn = args;
 		}
 # if ENABLE_FEATURE_VI_READONLY
-		if (readonly_mode && !useforce) {
+		else if (readonly_mode && !useforce) {
 			status_line_bold("'%s' is read only", fn);
 			goto ret;
 		}