I just tested this, using only an alias with no identifier behind it, and the same result occurs, the information is lost. It does
not work. $nick must be $1 or the parameter is empty.
Try the two examples I posted. $nick returns $null after the timer, and $1 returns what was in $nick. $nick will not be re-evaluated in the format I explained
$1 is referred to as the parameter string of an alias.
type /help aliases