If the bot disconnects but mIRC doesn't close then
the hash table is retained anyway.. it only gets
flushed if you use /hfree or close mIRC.
The only reason I use a set variable is if I want
to retain data across sessions and make it avaiable
to all connections (which is very limited).
I use local variables as much as possible.. then if
I need to retain the data during session I use hash.
If I need to retain data across session and it's like
connect data for diff networks and such I use ini
format with a config.txt in mIRC root (so it's easily
available under help). I plan to one day do the config
so it uses /hload and /hsave and access and change the
data/settings through the hash to limit drive accesss
for those functions. I'm trying to future proof my
scripts so when I get an SSD I will be ready.