I think you answer your own question here. Perl seems dead because the Perl articles have titles like "Perl's Not Dead". If a language's supporters have to argue for its very existence, the language can't be doing very well. And with many languages very visibly growing, not being dead isn't enough, if a language isn't growing, it can easily seem dead.
An article like "Why Is Everyone Excited By Perlfoo, The Latest Perl Library That's Transforming The World" would actually be a better argument that Perl had life in it.
I think you answer your own question here. Perl seems dead because the Perl articles have titles like "Perl's Not Dead". If a language's supporters have to argue for its very existence, the language can't be doing very well. And with many languages very visibly growing, not being dead isn't enough, if a language isn't growing, it can easily seem dead.
An article like "Why Is Everyone Excited By Perlfoo, The Latest Perl Library That's Transforming The World" would actually be a better argument that Perl had life in it.