As described in Error Indicators in perlvar,
on every eval() is always set on failure and cleared on success

It gets cleared every time an eval block is run. It is certainly within WWW::Mechanize's rights to use an eval. If you need it to be persistent across a call to reload, you should be able to localize the variable (untested): 

do{
    eval{    
        $browser->get('http://www.example.org/?node=whatever');
    };
    if($@){
        print "WARNING: $@";
        local $@;
        $browser->reload();   #kills if-level $@, but not do-level $@
    }
}while($@);

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In reply to Re: when do $@ get cleared ? by kennethk
in thread when do $@ get cleared ? by odrevet

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