Wassercrats:

Cpan modules are like free software, so I wouldn't say that any of them aren't good enough. I don't think programmers should waste their time perfecting a module as if it were a tool that they were paid to create. Once they create something useful, they should publish it, and if they want, they or others could improve it as they see fit, at their own convenience.

I disagree completely. CPAN modules are free software, however they're published. People who publish software to a public archive are under a moral obligation to either maintain their code or to remove their code from publication (or, in the case of CPAN, add a prominent note to their documentation that the module is no longer maintained by the author and may be up for adoption)

... or others could improve it as they see fit ...

Unfortunately there is no ability on CPAN for maintenance by anyone other than the publisher. Thus it is the publishers sole responsibility to keep the module working. It is up to them to adopt functionality change submitted by users.

Now, given that, there are too many orphaned modules on CPAN. Personally I don't use a module that hasn't been touched in years. Of course that could mean it's perfectly stable, however I don't feel that is often the case.

Also, I never require a module in another module that either has dependants that are orphaned or that don't pass their tests easily. If I have problems installing something, then I can only assume my users will have the same problems.

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