in reply to Filtering CGI Input
Both CGI::Untaint and Data::FormValidator provide an already-tested mechanism to do what you're attempting. They also both allow you to integrate your own patterns.
Overkill for a simple situation? I think not - as your application grows (and it will) would you prefer a scalable solution that you can get advice about from other users or a bunch of special-case regexes in your code?
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