I haven't been on Perlmonks the last two days, but do we actually have open hostility and backstabbing here ?

I have seen people here who could have worded their responses to newbie (and not-so newbie) posts more helpfull and maybe less offensive, but I've always attributed that to carelessness and not outright hostility - not that I welcome either, but ... Looking back, I only know of one flame / hostility against merlyn, and that one was made by an Anonymous Monk.

For backstabbing, I understand backstabbing as a corporate tactic to advance your own position by setting up somebody else in a bad light without his/her knowing - I wonder how this could take place here, but maybe my translation of the word is plain wrong...

I don't think that the conflict and search of direction Perlmonks is currently in can be resolved quickly. Our community grows at a rapid rate so there will be different expectations on what the community is to be, but I hope that Perlmonks will hold together as a whole and find the right direction.