JAPHs are often obfuscation, and obfuscation is a way to "strut your stuff", much in the same way modules and articles and "op" status on a Perl channel on IRC somewhere is.
They're by no means a "rite of passage" into a secret "Perl Cabal
*". They're just fun ways to exploit Perl (either its loose syntax, or its bugs). That being said...
# my message should've started with this:
{
$_ = q"I'm";
* == \q;
s/$/ Just Another Perl Hacker/;
}
s+(.).+$1+;
$_.=$= if $= !=~ s.\.\..\U$&.;
$= ==~ s=.+(o)+.=\U$1= or tr!Perilous / Treacherous Tracks\n!!d;
$= !=~ s/..$/q ... reverse $&/e and print;
The secret password is 'GRT'. You know the meeting place.
japhy --
Perl and Regex Hacker