Yup mpolo, I agree it is too long. Waay tooo long. I got totally manic and let my fingers go wild for a hour or so. As with the original New Monks which got pared down to the New Monks Info Page this page needs a serious edit.

The problem is that use strict is a pain when you first use it a it breaks working code. Hell my sysadmin advised me not to use it! From a new user's perspective the obvious question is "Why do I need to use strict, it breaks my working code?"

While "Because we say so and we know Perl and you don't and you'll thank us all one day and we won't help you if you don't help yourself by doing it etc" is an accurate if gramatically awful response it does not explain how it helps. Giving short examples makes it obvious but adds length. To short and you lose the explanation, to long and you lose the readers interest. Kinda Catch 22.

Having now had 24 hours to sleep on it I will get out the axe and hack out all the bits that can wait trying to distill a bare essence of truth out of this. When it's done I'll post it with a link to the full version here. I've had plenty of /msg feedback on what can go but welcome more suggestions of what to keep and what to axe. Another perspective always helps you know...

Yes I like XPs as much as the next Monk. IMHO the tangible reward (via XPs) for the help we all offer is what makes this site so much more rewarding and fun than usenet. At the Monastery even if no one posts a thank you or sends a /msg vis same you get some positive (or negative) feedback on your efforts. As well as promoting a helpful flame free attitude the fact that you can get -ve XPs (and generally do for posting a RTFM reply) encourages friendly behaviour from the Monks and makes for a much more pleasant environment for all of us.

Off to sharpen the axe

cheers

tachyon