Re: Were it not a monastery, my favourite metaphor for PerlMonks would have been:

I probably would have gone for "Perl Cloyster" had it been available .... though "Perl Jam" might have also been appropriate had it not already been (almost) copyrighted.

As it stands, I think "Perl Circus" is a good candidate. One would presumably start off as a "Clown" and work one's way up through such categories as "Dancing Dog", "Juggler", "Acrobat", "Lion Tamer", "Tightrope Walker", "Trapeze Artist", and "Show Pony" ... culminating, of course, in "Ringmaster".

Cheers,
Rob

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Re^2: Were it not a monastery, my favourite metaphor for PerlMonks would have been: by micmath (Initiate) on Aug 28, 2007 at 11:51 UTC
As the owner of perlcircus.org I have to say I much prefer the general feel of the Circus name versus Monks. Perl, and star-nix technologies in general, have a well-earned reputation of appearing complex and cliquish to newcomers. Words like "arcane," "mysterious," and "esoteric" come to mind. To me Perl should be marketed as tricky but fun and maybe just a little dangerous. I'd have to add to Rob's list: "Camel Tamer," and (for those who specialise in more spectacular code) "Fire Breather."	[reply]

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Re^2: Were it not a monastery, my favourite metaphor for PerlMonks would have been:
by micmath (Initiate) on Aug 28, 2007 at 11:51 UTC

As the owner of perlcircus.org I have to say I much prefer the general feel of the Circus name versus Monks. Perl, and star-nix technologies in general, have a well-earned reputation of appearing complex and cliquish to newcomers. Words like "arcane," "mysterious," and "esoteric" come to mind. To me Perl should be marketed as tricky but fun and maybe just a little dangerous. I'd have to add to Rob's list: "Camel Tamer," and (for those who specialise in more spectacular code) "Fire Breather."

[reply]