Before reading this, you should watch this video where Bryan Cantrill explains a value-conflict between Joyent and Node.js, I believe we have a similar problem.

In it he defines a list of project values:

All these values are important - but they are in tension. In the end one has to choose between them.

Perl's has traditionally prioritized certain values over these others, and in my experience these are:

• Expressiveness
• Extensibility
• Stability