I suggest you go to the network's #Help channel, or whatever services-related help channel exists on the network and see if they can shed some light. It might be some sort of NickServ flag or a usermode perhaps.
We mainly help with mIRC here, and although 99% of the time we always have a crack at giving help on specific network issues (and a lot of the time succeed!) we can't possibly know every single networks settings or unique modes that they may have added instead of the default ones. The best place to get help is the #Help channel of a network, or, if you check the network's website, there should be a list of help channels which are "official" or "recommended".
Oh, and that said, downloading off of bots is not the best idea. Don't be stupid and get yourself infected and don't break the law (*if* you're downloading mp3s, movies etc that's what you're doing).
G'luck!
Regards,