The join is still missing braces...
Code:
on 1:join:#newbiehelp:[color:red]{[/color]
  if (!$hfind(helpreqs,$nick).data) {
    hadd -ms helpreqs $calc($hget(helpreqs,0).item + 1) $nick
    echo -st $nick added to list
  }
[color:red]}[/color]