diff --git a/js/irc-utils.js b/js/irc-utils.js
index 7942c21..ef18c22 100644
--- a/js/irc-utils.js
+++ b/js/irc-utils.js
@@ -160,6 +160,10 @@ var IrcUtils = {
                 return ret;
             }
             beforeCaret = m[1] + newNick + ' ';
+            if (afterCaret[0] == ' ') {
+                // swallow first space after caret if any
+                afterCaret = afterCaret.substring(1);
+            }
             return {
                 text: beforeCaret + afterCaret,
                 caretPos: beforeCaret.length,