diff --git a/HACKING.rst b/HACKING.rst
index 42e36a3139..a7e691113f 100644
--- a/HACKING.rst
+++ b/HACKING.rst
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ General
 - Do not write "except:", use "except Exception:" at the very least
 - Include your name with TODOs as in "#TODO(termie)"
 - Do not name anything the same name as a built-in or reserved word
-
+- Do declare variable names that conflict with the debugger, such as the letter 'c'
 
 Imports
 -------
diff --git a/pylintrc b/pylintrc
index 0248028351..ad3ace9c43 100644
--- a/pylintrc
+++ b/pylintrc
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ module-rgx=(([a-z_][a-z0-9_]*)|([A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]+)|(nova-[a-z0-9_-]+))$
 # Don't require docstrings on tests.
 no-docstring-rgx=((__.*__)|([tT]est.*)|setUp|tearDown)$
 
+# Exclude variable names that conflict with debugger
+bad-names=c
 [Design]
 max-public-methods=100
 min-public-methods=0