http://qs1969.pair.com?node_id=44346


in reply to Chapter 714: The Long Chapter

My answers:
  1. Is Perl Monks a strong community in its own right, a faction of the Perl community at large, or both?

    I think both. It is a strong community which is fed into by the larger Perl community. It does not itself influence the direction of Perl but includes some people who have an influence on that. Incidentally people who think that there is just one Perl community should reflect on why Larry Wall calls his talk the annual State of the Onion.

  2. Does Perl Monks have its own internal factions of people easily swayed by emotion or awe or demagoguery, or is every member an individual who forms fluid alliances based on his/her ethical stances and ability to reason?

    Obviously Perl Monks has internal factions. Any group this size does. However on the whole it seems to do better than most groups. And I say that despite having encountered some problems rather early on.

  3. Would you say that Perl Monks actually is a monastery?

    No. But if it were I think that a Buddhist monastery would be a better mindset for reasons I explained elsewhere. Those who don't know much about Buddhism may also find this to be interesting. (I am not a Buddhist.)

    Another point. Real monasteries under the surface have tremendous amounts of politicking going on. Therefore if Perl Monks has that, then it is true to the original.

  4. Would retaining voting on nodes but getting rid of XP negate the opportunity for the power-hungry to make up the rules by putting together factions of votes?

    I don't think we currently have problems with such power-hungry people. We have people concerned that they may exist, but I don't see them.

    The one tendancy that does exist is to vote on the person, not the post. The current system encourages that pretty directly. However I think that enough (starting with me) complain about the practice that most are aware of why voting on the post is preferable.

  5. How did the practice of banning white shoes after Labor day finally go out of practice, and why did it exist in the first place?

    Ya got me with that one! I am looking forward to hearing the answer...

  6. Is Slashdot a grand failure or a notable success as an online community of self-described nerds?

    As Yogi Berra said about a restaurant, "Nobody goes there any more, it is too popular."

  7. Would you question everything? Or do you believe that some questions go too far and it should be incorporated into the rules that certain things should be left unsaid?

    I suggest that there are some things, the saying of which is unwarranted. However people shouldn't shy away from questions just because they are hard. You present an interesting list. Some are real problems, as the Red Queen told Alice, "Sometimes you have to keep running just to stand still." Perl is definitely in that position.

    However about princepawn. Personally I have never seen anyone who so consistently misses the point. This was merely irritating for me. However the reason why I am personally going to weep no tears was his behaviour in the CB. Excuse me, but we don't need someone saying that he thought there are no decent female programmers. And when requested to not have the sexist remarks, there was no need for him to come back with graphic sexual imagery...