If a person uses /cmsg <nick1> <nick2> <nick3>, <message>
then the code uses the 3 nicks that are specified before the ,
Therefore, the only time the $replace line would actually be used, is when the user issued the command /cmsg (no parameters)
in which case they would be prompted for the nicks, and at that time, they can space or comma separate the nicks, as the message will be prompted for separately.