As mentioned below in another users post, I see the health of Perl and PerlMonks as tightly coupled. There is really little to be complained about when it comes to PerlMonks. It is a great resource, compelling in many ways, and encompasses all the characteristics of a community, both good and bad.

Perl is a mature language, and as with all things: Familiarity breeds contempt. Or at least dismissive-ness. Newer languages tend to generate more attention, and if the language is reasonably functional and familiar in syntax, it will be around for a while.

I would not be surprised if Perl has a Renaissance at some point. But maybe that is just wishful thinking on my part.

But back to the main point, Perl and PerlMonks are inter-dependent as I see it. One will usually follow the other with some hysteresis between their independent trends.