diff --git a/plugins/LinkbackPlugin.php b/plugins/LinkbackPlugin.php
index 15e57ab0e8..8e44beae18 100644
--- a/plugins/LinkbackPlugin.php
+++ b/plugins/LinkbackPlugin.php
@@ -126,6 +126,7 @@ class LinkbackPlugin extends Plugin
         if (!extension_loaded('xmlrpc')) {
             if (!dl('xmlrpc.so')) {
                 common_log(LOG_ERR, "Can't pingback; xmlrpc extension not available.");
+                return;
             }
         }