in reply to Create a list from an Arrray

@USERlist = qw(@hash_tags);

See qw: The above expression won't interpolate the array. In order to take a reference to @hash_tags, you already have the correct syntax:

        $lc = List::Compare->new(\@USERlist, \@STATIClist);

Just replace \@USERlist, \@STATIClist with \@hash_tags, \@tags. Since you're not modifying the original arrays, there is no need to make a copy, so just put the original arrays in your print statements as well, such as:

print "USERTAGS:@hash_tags";

In Section Seekers of Perl Wisdom