The only Perl community I know is Perl Monks. I haven't needed anything else. I don't do IRC, due to an addiction to it back in the 90s... the CB is as close as I get to that.

Like anything else, a community takes patience to build. It's very cooperative. If you're a user and not a giver, you're going to get a bad rep. If you do nothing but complain, people won't listen to you--because you offer nothing in return. And if you're not willing to work together with others and do your own part, again, the community won't be a community.

A sense of humor doesn't hurt also...