I started using Perl in 1997 or so, which was shortly after Perl 5 had been released. Even then, it was clear that it was a big improvement over Perl 4, and I sense that, for that reason, there was a big move to Perl 5.

13 years later, there's a ton more Perl 5 out there; Perl 5 itself is still under active development, and is a great language; Perl 6 offers some improvements, but is still a young technology.

I wouldn't characterize the Perl 5/Perl 6 situation as a 'split'; I expect many, many people are still working with Perl 5, but are trying a few things in Perl 6. But there's no rush here. Remember, it'll get done by Christmas -- just don't ask which one. :)

My conclusion right now is that Perl 6 will have a much slower adoption rate than Perl 5 did, and Perl 5 will be around for quite a while.