NAME

       perlcommunity - a brief overview of the Perl community

DESCRIPTION

       This document aims to provide an overview of the vast perl community, which is far too large and diverse
       to provide a detailed listing. If any specific niche has been forgotten, it is not meant as an insult but
       an omission for the sake of brevity.

       The Perl community is as diverse as Perl, and there is a large amount of evidence that the Perl users
       apply TMTOWTDI to all endeavors, not just programming. From websites, to IRC, to mailing lists, there is
       more than one way to get involved in the community.

   Where to Find the Community
       There is a central directory for the Perl community: <http://perl.org> maintained by the Perl Foundation
       (<http://www.perlfoundation.org/>), which tracks and provides services for a variety of other community
       sites.

   Mailing Lists and Newsgroups
       Perl runs on e-mail; there is no doubt about it. The Camel book was originally written mostly over e-mail
       and today Perl's development is co-ordinated through mailing lists. The largest repository of Perl
       mailing lists is located at <http://lists.perl.org>.

       Most Perl-related projects set up mailing lists for both users and contributors. If you don't see a
       certain project listed at <http://lists.perl.org>, check the particular website for that project.  Most
       mailing lists are archived at <http://nntp.perl.org/>.

   IRC
       The Perl community has a rather large IRC presence. For starters, it has its own IRC network,
       <irc://irc.perl.org>. General (not help-oriented) chat can be found at <irc://irc.perl.org/#perl>. Many
       other more specific chats are also hosted on the network. Information about irc.perl.org is located on
       the network's website: <http://www.irc.perl.org>. For a more help-oriented #perl, check out
       <irc://irc.freenode.net/#perl>. Perl 6 development also has a presence in
       <irc://irc.freenode.net/#perl6>. Most Perl-related channels will be kind enough to point you in the right
       direction if you ask nicely.

       Any large IRC network (Dalnet, EFnet) is also likely to have a #perl channel, with varying activity
       levels.

   Websites
       Perl websites come in a variety of forms, but they fit into two large categories: forums and news
       websites. There are many Perl-related websites, so only a few of the community's largest are mentioned
       here.

       News sites

       <http://perl.com/>
           Originally run by O'Reilly Media (the publisher of the Camel Book, this site provides quality
           articles mostly about technical details of Perl.

       <http://blogs.perl.org/>
           Many members of the community have a Perl-related blog on this site. If you'd like to join them, you
           can sign up for free.

       <http://perlsphere.net/>
           Perlsphere is one of several aggregators of Perl-related blog feeds.

       <http://perlweekly.com/>
           Perl Weekly is a weekly mailing list that keeps you up to date on conferences, releases and notable
           blog posts.

       <http://use.perl.org/>
           use Perl; used to provide a slashdot-style news/blog website covering all things Perl, from minutes
           of the meetings of the Perl 6 Design team to conference announcements with (ir)relevant discussion.
           It no longer accepts updates, but you can still use the site to read old entries and comments.

       Forums

       <http://www.perlmonks.org/>
           PerlMonks is one of the largest Perl forums, and describes itself as "A place for individuals to
           polish, improve, and showcase their Perl skills." and "A community which allows everyone to grow and
           learn from each other."

       <http://stackoverflow.com/>
           Stack Overflow is a free question-and-answer site for programmers. It's not focussed solely on Perl,
           but it does have an active group of users who do their best to help people with their Perl
           programming questions.

       <http://prepan.org/>
           PrePAN is used as a place to discuss modules that you're considering uploading to the CPAN.  You can
           get feedback on their design before you upload.

   User Groups
       Many cities around the world have local Perl Mongers chapters. A Perl Mongers chapter is a local user
       group which typically holds regular in-person meetings, both social and technical; helps organize local
       conferences, workshops, and hackathons; and provides a mailing list or other continual contact method for
       its members to keep in touch.

       To find your local Perl Mongers (or PM as they're commonly abbreviated) group check the international
       Perl Mongers directory at <http://www.pm.org/>.

   Workshops
       Perl workshops are, as the name might suggest, workshops where Perl is taught in a variety of ways. At
       the workshops, subjects range from a beginner's introduction (such as the Pittsburgh Perl Workshop's
       "Zero To Perl") to much more advanced subjects.

       There are several great resources for locating workshops: the websites mentioned above, the calendar
       mentioned below, and the YAPC Europe website, <http://www.yapceurope.org/>, which is probably the best
       resource for European Perl events.

   Hackathons
       Hackathons are a very different kind of gathering where Perl hackers gather to do just that, hack nonstop
       for an extended (several day) period on a specific project or projects. Information about hackathons can
       be located in the same place as information about workshops as well as in <irc://irc.perl.org/#perl>.

       If you have never been to a hackathon, here are a few basic things you need to know before attending:
       have a working laptop and know how to use it; check out the involved projects beforehand; have the
       necessary version control client; and bring backup equipment (an extra LAN cable, additional power
       strips, etc.)  because someone will forget.

   Conventions
       Perl has two major annual conventions: The Perl Conference (now part of OSCON), put on by O'Reilly, and
       Yet Another Perl Conference or YAPC (pronounced yap-see), which is localized into several regional YAPCs
       (North America, Europe, Asia) in a stunning grassroots display by the Perl community. For more
       information about either conference, check out their respective web pages: OSCON
       <http://conferences.oreillynet.com/>; YAPC <http://www.yapc.org>.

       A relatively new conference franchise with a large Perl portion is the Open Source Developers Conference
       or OSDC. First held in Australia it has recently also spread to Israel and France. More information can
       be found at: <http://www.osdc.com.au/> for Australia, <http://www.osdc.org.il> for Israel, and
       <http://www.osdc.fr/> for France.

   Calendar of Perl Events
       The Perl Review, <http://www.theperlreview.com> maintains a website and Google calendar
       (<http://www.theperlreview.com/community_calendar>) for tracking workshops, hackathons, Perl Mongers
       meetings, and other events. Views of this calendar are at <http://www.perl.org/events.html> and
       <http://www.yapc.org>.

       Not every event or Perl Mongers group is on that calendar, so don't lose heart if you don't see yours
       posted. To have your event or group listed, contact brian d foy (brian@theperlreview.com).

AUTHOR

       Edgar "Trizor" Bering <trizor@gmail.com>