diff --git a/src/AcDream.App/UI/Layout/ChatWindowController.cs b/src/AcDream.App/UI/Layout/ChatWindowController.cs
index 657a6353..74c4682f 100644
--- a/src/AcDream.App/UI/Layout/ChatWindowController.cs
+++ b/src/AcDream.App/UI/Layout/ChatWindowController.cs
@@ -855,8 +855,12 @@ public sealed class ChatWindowController : IRetainedWindowStateController, IReta
     /// <summary>Aims the chat entry at <paramref name="name"/> and focuses it.</summary>
     internal void StartTell(string name)
     {
+        // SetText already places the caret at the end. An explicit "move to
+        // the end" on top of it is not merely redundant: MoveCaret takes a
+        // DELTA, so int.MaxValue overflows _caret + delta to negative and the
+        // clamp lands the caret at column 0 — the player then has to click the
+        // bar to get behind their own prefix.
         Input.SetText($"@tell {name}, ");
-        Input.MoveCaret(int.MaxValue);
         FindRootOf(Input)?.SetKeyboardFocus(Input);
     }
 
diff --git a/tests/AcDream.App.Tests/UI/Layout/ChatWindowControllerTests.cs b/tests/AcDream.App.Tests/UI/Layout/ChatWindowControllerTests.cs
index 05d43166..46f7d5c4 100644
--- a/tests/AcDream.App.Tests/UI/Layout/ChatWindowControllerTests.cs
+++ b/tests/AcDream.App.Tests/UI/Layout/ChatWindowControllerTests.cs
@@ -175,6 +175,12 @@ public class ChatWindowControllerTests
         ctrl!.StartTell("Dww");
 
         Assert.Equal("@tell Dww, ", ctrl.Input.Text);
+
+        // ...and the caret sits AFTER the prefix, ready to type into. It landed
+        // at column 0 in the first cut because an explicit MoveCaret(int.MaxValue)
+        // was stacked on top of SetText, which already ends there — MoveCaret
+        // takes a delta, so that overflowed negative and clamped to zero.
+        Assert.Equal("@tell Dww, ".Length, ctrl.Input.CaretPos);
     }
 
     // ── Talk-focus specials: "Tell to X" / "Squelch (ignore) X" ─────────────