While my use of Perl is entirely personal and has nothing to do with my job, I suspect that a great number of monks here make a living directly or indirectly using or writing perl.

I've been a member of PerlMonks since March of 2000 and I did not realize that this site was only for the use of non-professionals and those working for free. I always thought it was a place for perl professionals and non-professionals as well as hobbiests and enthusiasts to interact, learn from and educate each other.

Granted, the tone of his post strikes me as a bit grating, but it isn't because he's getting paid for work that he is coming to us for help with. What puts me off is the impression his post gives that he is presenting himself to one or more clients as posessing skills which he freely admits (to us) that he does not have and is asking us to do the work for him. If he had made clear in his original post that he was helping a friend with a site and was stumped because he is unfamiliar with perl, that would not be so bad.

I suspect that you agree with these comments and that you are only taking issue with the same things I have indicated. I don't care why someone is asking for help - be it to assist with their day-job work, a school-project or their side-project, as long as they are doing so in a fair way which doesn't make those of us who help them feel like we're being sodomized by some ungrateful leech in the process.

If, on the other hand, you really think that this site should be (or even is) only used by people for altruistic, free, non-commercial, RMS-style causes - half of us should probably pack up our things.

Otherwise, I do concur with the general tone of your post. Well worded and appropriate.

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