Exploring is great, I love learning how to do new things, and I love to understand how things work. I have even been known to write yet-another-XML-processing module.

The problem with people trying to re-invent CGI.pm is that they usually don't realize how far they are from something that works beyond the simple tests they do before putting their scripts up on their web site, and most of all they don't realize how dangerous most of their scripts are. By not using CGI.pm they are endangering both their company and their jobs.

When you see a 3-year old playing with a gun the first thing you do is take the gun off their hands. Then you can explain why it was not such a good idea. Or other people might just yell at the kid. But the main point is just to take the darn device off his/her hands. It's just the same here. Don't let them play with something dangerous and that they don't understand.

BTW I also love to learn how to use existing modules in creative ways. If a module does not work as advertized or just if it looks interesting then I go under the hood and look at the code. Frankly I find it way more interesting than making yet another attempt at parsing a query string or an email address.

And when I decide to reinvent the wheel at least I do it in a domain I am familiar with, with good reasons and knowing what problems I will face and how others have solved it. Don't confuse Hubris with Blindness, or, as Larry would describe it, False Impatience or False Laziness ("I don't have enough time or energy to learn a new module, I'll quickly hack somethnig that works for me").

The key is knowing what to re-invent and when. And most people seem to err on the side of too much re-inventing, often out of pure ignorance. Why not improve an existing (working) module instead of re-writing poorly?