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> mIRC by default would not auto-accept .INI files, there was a blacklist on certain file types that would be rejected, with INIs as one of them.

Was that a reaction to the problem described in the GP? Especially in the 80s/90s, defensiveness like that was probably to solve an existing problem.

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Exactly that, it was known as the ‘script.ini’ problem, the download directory was changed as well.

It would attempt to send to people as they joined a channel.

More info: http://www.irchelp.org/security/si.html

there was the funny magic string that would make half a channels modems disconnect too.

Ah, yes, I remember that. I think it was because the modems didn't differentiate between the various layers in the transport stream and took anything resembling low-level modem commands to be gospel.

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