In Windows batch files, you can use a double-colon (::) as a comment. I’ve just spend a few hours trying to figure out why my batch file says, “The syntax of the command is incorrect.” when I run it. The answer? I’ve got a :: comment as the last statement after a group of IF statements. Obscure? Yes. Flaky? Certainly. Oh — hang on, it might be because I’ve got the :: before a for statement. For some arrangements of the :: comment, I’m also getting “The system cannot find the drive specified.”

:: is a bad, bad thing. My advice: Stick to REM