There are advantages in the:

  if ( $debug ) {
      print "About to fetch $url\n";
  }
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I also find having the code structured that way indicates clearly that a conditional is involved, and by seeing what the condition is, it can often provide an indication of why something is being done. For example:

  if ( $account_balance < '100.00' ) {
      print "Don't pay the loser any interest.\n";
  }
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But then again, we are talking subjective matters here. An alternative way, and in my mind just as readible, is:

  &calculte_interest($account_number) unless ($account_balance < '100.
+00' );
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As a side line, I recall being told once "Fortran programmers can write fortran programs in any language."