pause <seconds>

PAUSE performs a nonblocking sleep for <seconds> seconds. During the nonblocking sleep, the client performs all actions as normal, except that PAUSE will not return until <seconds> seconds have elapsed. Because things might have occurred during the nonblocking sleep, it not guaranteed that everything is as it was when the PAUSE started. Servers may have closed, the input line may have changed, dccs may have finished, etc. PAUSE does not guarantee to return promptly – in fact, it might not return at all (if the user does QUIT during the interval). If the user performs some blocking or recursive command during the interval, PAUSE will not return until all blocking/recursive commands complete. This could be substantially longer than <seconds> seconds.

You don't want to use PAUSE to stall for a certain amount of time before running a command if you need any sort of precision, because PAUSE offers no guarantees when it will return. For running a command after a precise interval, use the TIMER command. Do not use PAUSE as a substitute for WAIT because server requests offer absolutely no guarantees how long they might take. I have seen WHOIS requests take well in excess of 900 seconds to come back.

<Seconds> must be a whole integer in EPIC4-1.1.1 and earlier. <Seconds> may be a decimal number in EPIC4-1.1.2 and later.

The PAUSE command first appeared in EPIC3.003. Support for sub-second resolution first appeared in EPIC4-1.1.2.