You aren't specifying a $$1 value, and because you're using double $'s, it won't execute if there is no value.
If you want a nick, you'll need to provide it... try $?="Nick" in place of that. It will require that you type the nick in, though.
Of course, unless the channel scrolls really fast (ie. lots of talking), you don't really need to give a nick... just remove $$1 and have it just say it normally.
Now, to point out... /say assumes you have a specific spot to send the message to. A dialog may not always know where /say is for. You should probably use /msg $active instead.
