differences between PerlMonks and a BBS is that I actually feel like time spent here can be quite productive.
Reading through the archives, asking questions, answering questions, reading fellow monks answers to other people's questions; all of this helps me along the One True Path of Perl enlightenment.
Arguably this can be A Bad Thing, as I spend even more time on PerlMonks than I used to on BBS's (an impressive feat). But it is also arguably A Good Thing, as I'm spending a great deal of time improving my Perl skills ;-)