Maybe I was a little harsh. I've heard a lot of insane things justified with TMTOWTDI over the years, and sometimes it just gets under my skin.

I think that you have a hypothetical (or real) question in mind that colors this issue for you, just as I have one that does the same for me. "Take a look at Some::Module" is a useful and helpful response to the sort of question I have in mind: "What's a good way to do X?"

A more precise question merits a more precise answer. Say what you have figured out so far ("I looked at Tree::DAG_Node, but I don't think it's a good fit for me becuase I need to do...") or what your special circumstances are ("I want to learn how HTTP works and am having trouble following the LWP code...") and you get a more useful answer. You can't expect to get a dissertation on how to write e-mail handling code in reponse to a simple "How do I write a mail filter?" question.

And again in the eye of the beholder: I feel like I've seen this "your CPAN referrals are curtailing my TMTOWTDI" argument at least a dozen times in the Meditations. That's fine. There are times when CPAN does not have the answer. It is always a step along the path though.