... is that what you're asking for?

my $valid = 0;
my $state;
my $firstAttempt = 1;
while(!$valid){
        if($firstAttempt) {
                $state = promptUser("What network to listen for SNMP t
+raps [hsbn or admin]? ", "admin");
                $firstAttempt = 0;
        }
        else {
                $state = promptUser("ERROR:$state Invalid Re-enter the
+ network", "admin");
        }
        if($state =~ /^hsbn|admin$/) {
                $valid = 1;
        }
}


if ($state =~ /^hsbn$/i) {
        //some action for hsbn
} elsif ( $state =~ /^hsb$/ ) {
        //some action for hsb
} elsif ( $state =~ /^hs$/) {
        //some action for hs
} elsif ( $state =~ /^h$/ ) {
        //some action for h
}
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