diff --git a/src/xz/message.c b/src/xz/message.c
index 430d6fb8..099e9cde 100644
--- a/src/xz/message.c
+++ b/src/xz/message.c
@@ -121,25 +121,6 @@ message_init(void)
 	// updating.
 	progress_automatic = is_tty(STDERR_FILENO);
 
-	// Commented out because COLUMNS is rarely exported to environment.
-	// Most users have at least 80 columns anyway, let's think something
-	// fancy here if enough people complain.
-/*
-	if (progress_automatic) {
-		// stderr is a terminal. Check the COLUMNS environment
-		// variable to see if the terminal is wide enough. If COLUMNS
-		// doesn't exist or it has some unparsable value, we assume
-		// that the terminal is wide enough.
-		const char *columns_str = getenv("COLUMNS");
-		if (columns_str != NULL) {
-			char *endptr;
-			const long columns = strtol(columns_str, &endptr, 10);
-			if (*endptr != '\0' || columns < 80)
-				progress_automatic = false;
-		}
-	}
-*/
-
 #ifdef SIGALRM
 	// Establish the signal handlers which set a flag to tell us that
 	// progress info should be updated.