The real issue is that I shouldn't have allowed the use of if-statements without () brackets in the first place.
The programming languages I've seen require the use of brackets in if-statements, and the reason is simple: without brackets, it is often difficult for the parser to know which values in an if-statement are part of the comparison. That's why it is important, as the help file states, to use () and {} in if-statements to make it clear what you are trying to do.
I have actually considered making the parser require the use of () (just like perl and C, and {} as well) in newer versions of mIRC but that would break all existing scripts.
