Hacking, writing modules for CPAN or even program in perl ought not to be a requirement for join perlmonks.

While there isn't any requirements to posting here (as one can post without registring), there is a matter of question about the essence of the site, or the purpose of it, which is:

• An attempt to make learning Perl as non-intimidating and easy to use as possible.
• A place for individuals to polish, improve, and showcase their Perl skills.
• A community which allows everyone to grow and learn from each other.

Now, you may argue that item three there allows for anything from "Which new video card works best with WoW's expansion" to "Post here the best looking American Idol contestant", but, in view of the overall concept, those, and similar posts might be in dissonance with what the majority of visitors/contributors of this site expect.

but if we named our puppy in perl or simply want to share a joke to monks, where do we post?

If you look up references to this site you'll notice that it is toted as a first-class, professional, source for Perl knowledge and wisdom, rather than a "cool community of people, some of which tend to talk about Perl". The majority of visitors, either casual or recurring expect this of the site, and wouldn't want the Perl parts to be lost in the noise.
This is reflected in the way the Chatterbox is designed, to not preserve logs, so it won't become an integral part of the site.

And while on the Singal-to-Noise subject, there are many good, great, and amazing communities in the online world, on and off the WWW. There is only one PerlMonks. I suggest that it would be much easier to find a similar minded place for general posts (Everything2?) rather than dilute the PerlMonks strict (according to your POV) Perl-only nature. It's not a question of "my way, or the highway", but more of a "There are lots of roads you might find better suited, can we keep this one the way it is?"

Meditations ? Perl News ? It seems a alternative, but the name keeps many people away.

Apparently the sections are named thus for a reason, and that is to deter people from abusing them, and ultimately, this is why the site is named "PerlMonks" and not "The Monastery".