You see ... if it was labeled experiment from the very beginning it could have had a big and positive impact on versions 7 and 8 of the Perl language. The language not-yet-fully-designed within the project would be just as incomplete, but some of the experience gained in the process could have affected both Perl modules and the language. A bit like it did, but probably more. More importantly it would not have hurt the name of Perl and the community and would not have caused so much bad blood.