http://qs1969.pair.com?node_id=106058

First off I think there may be some confusion regarding my employment status. I am no longer employed by the Everything Development Company but am now employed elsewhere. This makes maintaining and developing PerlMonks something of a hobby for me. This means that I approach doing work on the site when I have sufficient time and motivation. Luckily the editors and many others help keep this place running well even when I cannot.

Many have mentioned concerns as to whether the site's future is secure. Financially our only real means of revenue is user donations. I don't have the exact numbers but last I checked there was a considerable gap between our costs and the donations coming in. Luckily so far Blockstackers has been kind enough to make up the difference month after month. I think PerlMonks getting absorbed into YAS can only mean good things for the financial side of the site. For one, YAS now has a vested interest in making sure the site stays online. Once all of the paperwork is finalized people will be able to make a tax-deductible donation to YAS that is earmarked for Perl Monks. This might make it easier for some to contribute. Also being affiliated with YAS might make it easier for PerlMonks to receive donations from larger corporations. If your employer recognizes your growth as a programmer and you attribute a lot of it to what you've learned on PerlMonks ask them to consider making a monthly or quarterly donation to the site.

A lot of what I am attempting to do or at least think about regarding the site focuses on better distributing workload while minimizing any time in "management" that I might need to spend. One thing I would like to do some day is set up a developers group. This group would be able to see the code that runs the site. They would then be able to submit patches and new features to me for approval and entry into the production codebase. Initially I'd want to start with a very small group of developers. The last thing I need to complicate my life is to have 20 new features to look over each day in my inbox. Since this a site for developers naturally everyone is going to want to develop new items for the site. I need to find a smart way of managing the process for how features will be added.

That is where some things stand. If you have additional questions put them below and I'll try to answer them.

Update 1: I have graduated from college.
Update 2: This month's donation stats are now available at the Offering Plate


vroom | Tim Vroom | vroom@blockstackers.com