That's all fine and great, I just dont like to use all the extra code. I believe when the data is an integer, variables are faster anyway.
on *:text:!command:#:{
;halt if user has already triggered this twice.
if (%com_ [ $+ [ $nick ] ] > 2) return
;msg response
msg # RE$PON$E
;inc a variable when they get a response.
inc -u5 %com_ [ $+ [ $nick ] ]
}