Hi List, It's hard for me to accept this mailing list has been around for ten years! http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.beginners/2001/04/msg1.html
The catalyst for creating this list was my embarassing display on the Perl 5 Porters mailing list on April 9, 2001. http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2001/04/msg33850.html Shortly after I made my pitch for this list: http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2001/04/msg33899.html I've not been involved for years, as many of you know. It was pointed out to me by a couple individuals that the situation here has been deteriorating. I'm sorry to hear that. In part the idea of this list was modeled after the Python help desk and tutor mailing lists. Incidentally, their tutor mailing list is more than twelve years old! http://mail.python.org/pipermail/tutor/1999-March/000001.html However, like our list, it appears the natural tenor of the list has changed. For example: "Now, given this is a list for beginners to Python, could you try explaining what you did there and how the OP, or anyone else for that matter, might use it? "Or were you really just trying to establish that if you try hard you can write Python that is as difficult to read as Perl?" -- http://mail.python.org/pipermail/tutor/2011-April/083157.html Shortly after this mailing list got off the ground I wrote an article trying to instigate the Perl community to embrace the idea of a safe place for newcomers, both to Perl and programming. It's been pointed out I was marginally hyperbolic, but only a little. My abuse of the comma, however, has no justification. I quoted from the preface of a popular Perl book at the time, closing my argument thusly: "But, paradoxically, the way in which Perl helps you the most has almost nothing to do with Perl, and everything to do with the people who use Perl. Perl folks are, frankly, some of the most helpful folks on earth. If there's a religious quality to the Perl movement, then this is at the heart of it. Larry wanted the Perl community to function like a little bit of heaven, and he seems to have gotten his wish, so far. Please do your part to keep it that way." -- Preface, Programming Perl 2nd Edition http://www.perl.com/pub/2001/05/29/tides.html At least one of the active members of this mailing list today either wrote that, helped write it, or agreed to have it printed in his book. It's been ten amazing years. I was 21 years old when this list began and I thought I could do anything [0]. I'm a little bit older these days and it shows [1]. It's time to formally pass the torch of moderating this list to more presently capable hands. What's the job? From the FAQ: 1.10 - Who will maintain peace and flow on the list? Casey West, Kevin Meltzer and Ask Bjoern Hansen currently carry large, yet padded, clue-sticks to maintain peace and order on the list. If you are privately emailed by one of these folks for flaming, being off-topic, etc... please listen to what they say. If you see a message sent to the list by one of these people saying that a thread is closed, do not continue to post to the list on that thread! If you do, you will not only meet face to face with a XQJ-37 nuclear powered pansexual roto-plooker, but you may also be taken off of the list. These people simply want to make sure the list stays topical, and above-all, useful to Perl beginners. -- http://learn.perl.org/faq/beginners.html#1.10+who+will+maintain+peace+and+flow+on+the+list Anyone here with the desire and temperament can do that. If you would like to formally take this role please email me (ca...@geeknest.com) or email< beginners-work...@perl.org>. We'll work to determine the required steps to update the FAQ and get your standard issue padded clue-stick in the mail. Are you up for it? In one week I'm going to speak to a couple hundred high school kids about what it's like to be a software developer. My career has been fun and rewarding—dare I say successful—thanks to the open source software community. Thanks to you, all of you, for participating and enriching my life with your positive contributions to code, community, and consideration. Keep up the good work and please don't lose sight of the goal. I look forward to encouraging those children to find open source communities and ask questions, explore with enthusiasm, because there will be people willing to give you a help, on your level, just because it's a nice thing to do. Cheers, -- Casey West [0] http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliancash/752860152/ [1] http://www.flickr.com/photos/caseywest/5539950715/
