For all collaborative coding efforts, and CPAN code especially, there are benefits to adhering to standard practices: other people find it easier to grok, hack, debug, or contribute. The first priority is self-consistency, but the closer the ruleset is to a ruleset everyone is already familiar with, the greater the advantage.

I'll certainly reserve the right to redefine a rule or two, but for the most part I really like (and already practice many of) Damian's recommendations, and would be happy to see them become a de-facto standard, as Andy Lester has suggested they may. It's worth it to me to struggle with the ones that strike me as odd. Spinach for thought.

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Marvin Humphrey
Rectangular Research
http://www.rectangular.com