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Perl's decline was cultural

(www.beatworm.co.uk)
393 points todsacerdoti | 6 comments | | HN request time: 0.394s | source | bottom
1. jancsika ◴[] No.46176260[source]
> None of this is literally serious,

Exactly.

I remember someone telling me to RTFM when I posted a question on IRC back in the 90s. Luckily, I explicitly asked if they were serious. They responded of course not-- they were kidding!

Then they PM'd me with hidden link that had an image map of Perl wizards with whom I could schedule a free meeting and coffee to get started as a newbie. I was skeptical-- who cares about some random noob from the interwebs?!? Well, Perl, apparently. That face-to-face meeting left me with goosebumps that I feel to this day when I think back on it. It turned out to be an important confidence booster and my chief way into programming.

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that without Perl's focus on outreach I would never have served as president of Software Local 2142.

Like my wizard mentor told me when I tried to pay for the coffee that afternoon: Perl it forward!

replies(2): >>46176448 #>>46179926 #
2. kstrauser ◴[] No.46176448[source]
I need to hear more about this Software Local 2142.
3. Suppafly ◴[] No.46179926[source]
I can't tell if this is real or real funny.
replies(2): >>46183359 #>>46183535 #
4. kbelder ◴[] No.46183359[source]
Neither?
5. chuckadams ◴[] No.46183535[source]
Looks like slashdot-era copypasta.
replies(1): >>46188693 #
6. m463 ◴[] No.46188693{3}[source]
... I’ll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I’ve been involved in numerous secret raids ...