Regarding the first post in this thread -- please, don't feed the trolls.

Regarding Ask's most thoughtful original comment -- right on, Ask!

I know that this year has been hard on many of us financially, myself included. It has been hard on many companies as well. Nonetheless, there have been many great community minded individuals and companies that have managed to get as much money raised so far as has been raised. It's only 1/2 as much as we want (and need) for Larry, Damian and Dan to have, but look on the bright side -- even in the face of the economic climate in the IT industry, we've raised 1.5 times as much as we did back in 2000 back when life was simple and financially rewarding. :-) Yes, it has taken much longer to reach that figure, but I see this as an opportunity, not a problem. It is a chance for us all to reflect on what it really means to be part of a community and to contribute to it. Sometimes it's not easy -- this is a good opportunity for us all to (re)learn that lesson, and come back fighting even stronger.

I put in my U$100 back a few weeks ago. When the first volumn of the O'Reilly "Best of the Perl Journal" compilation comes out, my royalties are pledged to the Foundation, too. For the second year running I'll be Damian's organizer and tour-guide to Toronto this coming July, and I hope to be able to present him with a nice donation then as well, collected from the whole of the Toronto Perl Mongers and supporting companies here in the Great White North. :-)

Cheers,
Richard