diff --git a/src/cfg/cfg.go b/src/cfg/cfg.go
index 0731fdb..1b4ce49 100644
--- a/src/cfg/cfg.go
+++ b/src/cfg/cfg.go
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ func Parse() *AppSettings {
 	appSettings := &AppSettings{}
 	flag.BoolVar(&appSettings.VersionMode, "version", false, "show version info and exit")
 	flag.IntVar(&appSettings.MetricsPort, "port", 9191, "port to use for the metrics server")
-	flag.StringVar(&appSettings.Fail2BanDbPath, "db", "", "path to the fail2ban sqlite database")
+	flag.StringVar(&appSettings.Fail2BanDbPath, "db", "", "path to the fail2ban sqlite database (deprecated)")
 	flag.StringVar(&appSettings.Fail2BanSocketPath, "socket", "", "path to the fail2ban server socket")
 
 	flag.Parse()
diff --git a/src/exporter.go b/src/exporter.go
index d1d8bab..a013b73 100644
--- a/src/exporter.go
+++ b/src/exporter.go
@@ -26,27 +26,27 @@ var (
 
 	metricUp = prometheus.NewDesc(
 		prometheus.BuildFQName(namespace, "", "up"),
-		"Was the last fail2ban query successful.",
+		"(Deprecated) Was the last fail2ban query successful.",
 		nil, nil,
 	)
 	metricBannedIpsPerJail = prometheus.NewDesc(
 		prometheus.BuildFQName(namespace, "", "banned_ips"),
-		"Number of banned IPs stored in the database (per jail).",
+		"(Deprecated) Number of banned IPs stored in the database (per jail).",
 		[]string{"jail"}, nil,
 	)
 	metricBadIpsPerJail = prometheus.NewDesc(
 		prometheus.BuildFQName(namespace, "", "bad_ips"),
-		"Number of bad IPs stored in the database (per jail).",
+		"(Deprecated) Number of bad IPs stored in the database (per jail).",
 		[]string{"jail"}, nil,
 	)
 	metricEnabledJails = prometheus.NewDesc(
 		prometheus.BuildFQName(namespace, "", "enabled_jails"),
-		"Enabled jails.",
+		"(Deprecated) Enabled jails.",
 		[]string{"jail"}, nil,
 	)
 	metricErrorCount = prometheus.NewDesc(
 		prometheus.BuildFQName(namespace, "", "errors"),
-		"Number of errors found since startup.",
+		"(Deprecated) Number of errors found since startup.",
 		[]string{"type"}, nil,
 	)
 
@@ -287,6 +287,7 @@ func main() {
 
 		exporter := &Exporter{}
 		if appSettings.Fail2BanDbPath != "" {
+			log.Print("database-based metrics have been deprecated and will be removed in a future release")
 			exporter.db = fail2banDb.MustConnectToDb(appSettings.Fail2BanDbPath)
 		}
 		if appSettings.Fail2BanSocketPath != "" {