There are many conflicting points-of-view in this post ... I am quite lost ... let us just say that, whenever someone recommends that Perl should be upgraded, they should as much as possible say "to which (minimum) version" and "exactly why." It is or should be obvious that you can't remodel a house (a Perl app) when the problem is in the foundation (Perl). Also that any foundation work is a big-deal that has to be seriously justified esp. when it is impossible, e.g. in a shared host. A business argument will have to be made which will require ammunition. Provide that. Details details.