If you hate extended analogies, click away now.

My own take on this, having read other peoples thoughts, is that a link to search.cpan.org is a little like pointing at the ocean and saying "There be fish there".

Pointing at a specific module on cpan, is like pointing to a particular grid reference on a map of the ocean and saying, "That's a really good place to catch mullet".

Posting a piece of code is like taking them to a particular pool or quay, handing them a pre-assembled and baited rod and line and telling them to "Dip the hook over there".

In the first case, they pretty much have to know what they want to eat, how to fish, and where to go in order that they might do so, to eat.

In the second case, you've told them they need mullet and where they can catch it, but the rest is down to them.

In the third case, you've pretty much given them a fish. However, you've also shown them one way to rig the equipment, bait the hook, and one place where using it will produce results. They eat immediately, and if they have the desire, they can repeat the exercise. Hopefully, they'll start out by copying, discover their own variations on rigging the equipment, try different baits, and eventually be ready to go find a specific point on the ocean by referral, or simply set out on the ocean and find their own breeds of fish, and places to capture them.

In the end, it's all about the desire and willingness to learn. Some people will be happy to return to the soup kitchen over and over and simply complain about the sameness of the menu. Others will get bored by the diet, intrigued by the possibilities and explore on their own.

For some people, their only interest in fishing is eating. For others, catching the fish is only the final step of an endlessly fascinating and time consuming hobby, and they will always end up putting the fish back. Standing still for hours, often in the pouring rain and for no final result is as important and (almost) as satisfying as catching the fish.

Some will become commercial fishermen, working on factory ships pulling huge nets and selling the product of their labours. There skills are more in the way to drive the boat, haul in the lines, understand the displays on the echo locators, and negotiate shrewd deals when selling their product.

Still others will earn a living by teaching their skills to others, hiring out boats and equipment by the hour or day. A few will take that further and produce TV programs on the subject. Some will write books. A few, a very few, will become master fishermen or competition anglers, paid just to attend events and fish for free using equipment supplied by their sponsors.

Whatever their level of interest, skill and dedication, I hope for their sakes that there is a FishMonks.com where all levels and types of fisher folk can meet, learn, teach and interact, because it's that aspect of PerlMonks, the variety of skills, drives and needs that make this place so compelling, and so much more interesting and entertaining than any other similar site or forum. Long may it be so.