My response is always: "I dunno. Why don't you?"

Would you have replied the same if he had said: "Has anyone written a module that does X or is anyone working on that? I'd love to get my hands on it."?

Isn't it good that he asks about it first? If you don't know, why do you ask him to possibly redo work?

Why don't you two put your heads together and work up a proposal?

That's what this thread has done; brought up proposals, arguments, and counter-arguments. That's an effect of he asking whether it exists and saying that he'd like it. He inspired discussion. You don't have to be willing to volunteer in order to ask about something or bring up an idea. There may be several reasons why someone can't do it himself, but that shouldn't stop him from discussing and spreading the idea. There's no harm in asking and discussing.

We should welcome ideas. That's what leads evolution.

ihb

Would you have replied the same if he had said: "Has anyone written a module that does X or is anyone working on that? I'd love to get my hands on it."?

Absolutely. My response would have also included: "And take care not to run me down in your haste to get started."

However, what the OP actually said was:

... I'd like to get my hands on a book called something like "Wisdoms of the perl Monastery, volume 3", "More Pe(a)rl for monks", etc.

Not "write a book", but "get my hands on a book", which (to my thinking) implied the OP had in mind someone else writing the book.

This distinction undoubtedly colored both my reaction while reading the OP and my response to it. It would seem I am not the only one who thought it sounded that way, or my response would have already been flamed/downvoted into obscurity.

Perhaps that it not at all what the OP intended. Perhaps the OP is a significant contributor to the inner workings of PM in his/her own right. Perhaps I should have inquired further to determine what exactly the OP did intend. I did not, and in the absence of being able to read the OP's mind, my response was what it was.

BTW, I am all in favor of not reinventing wheels. I always begin any problem-solving venture by seeing what solutions already exist. I do welcome ideas and recognize that it is through asking, discussing, and doing, that we learn.

I also try never to ask questions of the general form: "Is anyone (else) doing anything with regard to x?" where x is a site maintained by volunteers which benefits a larger majority who do not necessarily volunteer, unless I'm prepared to pick up my own shovel and start moving earth.

Lest anyone accuse me of hypocrisy, a word of "full disclosure": In CB recently I observed that it would be nice to have a Message Outbox to complement the Message Inbox so that I could refresh my memory when I'd forgotten what I'd said and then later did not understand the response. I also noted that what would be even nicer would be if I had enough Perl (and Everything) knowledge to actively contribute code towards a solution. I deeply regret I don't, yet. But I am learning - which is why I'm here.

And when I know enough to be "dangerous", I'm gonna grab that shovel.

planetscape