I know a several people who asking this questions and it would be unwise to ignore it. this whole game is psychology anyway. and many people dont understand perl anyway in full depth.

to me the situation shows up this way. the web is one of the most visible parts of software for many people and there was perl declining a bit (maybe is perl gaining again thanks maypole and catalyst?) no matter what book selling numbers say. many people feel like the way that php and python are newer and therefor better and asking themself what is perl community about to do and "strike back".

I think its stupid to think just in market share, but i think also there is a lesson to lern from the rise of php to be a bit more newbee friendly. but on the other side many people also are not trust enough there own instincts. they ask "what is up to date" and "with what i have to arrange myself" and are unnecessary afraid of stick with things that may go down. and perl was always the toy for people who where shure about there own way, so we dont have to please too much the worrying but have sometimes better to show the world that we alive and kicking. A bit better marketing would help(any volunteers :) ) but to do what we are about to do anyway without worrying and eyes open is always more important.