diff --git a/mods/irc/irc/messages.lua b/mods/irc/irc/messages.lua
index 48aa6873..8f721502 100755
--- a/mods/irc/irc/messages.lua
+++ b/mods/irc/irc/messages.lua
@@ -104,6 +104,12 @@ function msg_meta:fromRFC1459(line)
 
 	local pos
 	self.command, pos = line:match("(%S+)()")
+	-- /MFF BEGIN
+	if not pos then 
+		minetest.log("error", "[IRC] This crash message was intended to see the value of a breaking variable. line = " .. (line or "nil"))
+		return
+	end
+	-- /MFF END (Mg|06/01/2015)
 	line = line:sub(pos)
 
 	self.args = self.args or {}
diff --git a/other_things/irc-old-save/irc/messages.lua b/other_things/irc-old-save/irc/messages.lua
index 2f753edc..8fa9fa5c 100755
--- a/other_things/irc-old-save/irc/messages.lua
+++ b/other_things/irc-old-save/irc/messages.lua
@@ -103,6 +103,12 @@ function msg_meta:fromRFC1459(line)
 
 	local pos
 	self.command, pos = line:match("(%S+)()")
+	-- /MFF BEGIN
+	if not pos then 
+		minetest.log("error", "[IRC] This crash message was intended to see the value of a breaking variable. line = " .. (line or "nil"))
+		return
+	end
+	-- /MFF END (Mg|06/01/2015)
 	line = line:sub(pos)
 
 	self.args = self.args or {}