I think both Chrisf and gmax are hinting that seeking fame for no purpose other than getting a job is a pretty questionable approach to life. If that's really your goal, writing a module that becomes part of CPAN isn't the easiest route. There are a lot of other alternatives, like becoming a champion athlete or committing the perfect crime.

But seriously, a couple of other ideas come to mind. What about maintaining an orphaned CPAN module? I'm sure that there are modules out there that need attention. Sometimes, the original author sticks around long enough to participate in an orderly transition, as was the case with Expat. In other cases, the author announces that he can't afford the time committment anymore and walks away.

The CPAN FAQ addresses this issue in How do I go about maintaining a module when the author is unresponsive? The question presumes that you stumble on a module that you realize needs patching, and the author is away doing other things. But, I'm sure there is an easier way to find an orphaned module than to start using it and discover it is not being maintained.

If this interests you, I'd recommend asking the regular participants on this web site to see if they have any ideas.

Another idea is to contribute to the CPAN documentation area. The need for this was expressed on use.perl.org about a year ago. Not sure whether the need has been met yet. You could ask Chris Nandor since the article pointing out this need appeared on his web site.

Dave Aiello
Chatham Township Data Corporation

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