maybe the lack of Perl questions, is a symptom of it's success? It has made almost all common problems easy to solve, and most questions have been repeatedly answered

I doubt that is the case. Newbies are newbies. Their first problem is always that they don't know what they are looking for. This place has become vastly more tolorant of the newbie over the last few years than any other similar on-line venue. If the newbies aren't coming here to ask their inevitable questions, then they probably don't exist.

Besides, the most interesting questions (to me) usually come from the old hands. New twists on old themes. Rehashing of old arguments. Extended discussions on alternative approaches to familar problems. It's these type of questions that seem to be most lacking.