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database/perl/lib/pods/perlcommunity.pod

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+=head1 NAME
+
+perlcommunity - a brief overview of the Perl community
+
+=head1 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.
+
+=head2 Where to Find the Community
+
+There is a central directory for the Perl community: L<https://perl.org>
+maintained by the Perl Foundation (L<https://www.perlfoundation.org/>),
+which tracks and provides services for a variety of other community sites.
+
+=head2 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
+L<https://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
+L<https://lists.perl.org>, check the particular website for that project.
+Most mailing lists are archived at L<https://www.nntp.perl.org/>.
+
+=head2 IRC
+
+The Perl community has a rather large IRC presence. For starters, it has its
+own IRC network, L<irc://irc.perl.org>. General (not help-oriented) chat can be
+found at L<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: L<https://www.irc.perl.org>. For a more help-oriented #perl,
+check out L<irc://irc.freenode.net/#perl>. Raku development also has a
+presence in L<irc://irc.freenode.net/#raku-dev>. 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.
+
+=head2 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.
+
+=head3 News sites
+
+=over 4
+
+=item L<https://perl.com/>
+
+Originally run by O'Reilly Media (the publisher of L<the Camel Book|perlbook>,
+this site provides quality articles mostly about technical details of Perl.
+
+=item L<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.
+
+=item L<http://perlsphere.net/>
+
+Perlsphere is one of several aggregators of Perl-related blog feeds.
+
+=item L<http://perlweekly.com/>
+
+Perl Weekly is a weekly mailing list that keeps you up to date on conferences,
+releases and notable blog posts.
+
+=back
+
+=head3 Forums
+
+=over 4
+
+=item L<https://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."
+
+=item L<https://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.
+
+=item L<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.
+
+=back
+
+=head2 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 L<https://www.pm.org/>.
+
+=head2 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
+L<websites|"Websites"> mentioned above, the
+L<calendar|"Calendar of Perl Events"> mentioned below, and the YAPC Europe
+website, L<http://www.yapceurope.org/>, which is probably the best resource for
+European Perl events.
+
+=head2 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 L<workshops|"Workshops"> as well as in
+L<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.
+
+=head2 Conventions
+
+Perl had 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.
+
+In 2016, YAPC was rebranded as The Perl Conference again. It is now referred
+to as The Perl and Raku Conference.
+
+OSCON had been discontinued.
+
+For more information about either conference, check out their respective web
+pages:
+
+=over 4
+
+=item * The Perl Conference
+
+L<http://perlconference.us/>.
+
+=item * OSCON
+
+L<https://www.oreilly.com/conferences/>
+
+=back
+
+An additional conference franchise with a large Perl portion was the
+Open Source Developers Conference or OSDC. First held in Australia, it
+also spread to Israel and France. More information can be found at:
+L<http://www.osdc.org.il> for Israel, and L<http://www.osdc.fr/> for France.
+
+=head2 Calendar of Perl Events
+
+The Perl Review, L<http://www.theperlreview.com> maintains a website
+and Google calendar for tracking
+workshops, hackathons, Perl Mongers meetings, and other events. A view
+of this calendar is available at L<https://www.perl.org/events.html>.
+
+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).
+
+=head1 AUTHOR
+
+Edgar "Trizor" Bering <trizor@gmail.com>
+
+=cut