Some modules which are included in core set INSTALLDIRS => 'perl' explicitly in Makefile.PL. This makes sense for the normal @INC ordering, but not ours. Provide a sensible default. diff -Naur --exclude=debian perl-5.8.8.orig/lib/CPAN/FirstTime.pm perl-5.8.8/lib/CPAN/FirstTime.pm --- perl-5.8.8.orig/lib/CPAN/FirstTime.pm 2006-01-31 08:08:57.000000000 +1100 +++ perl-5.8.8/lib/CPAN/FirstTime.pm 2006-02-03 00:05:24.000000000 +1100 @@ -358,7 +358,7 @@ }; - $default = $CPAN::Config->{makepl_arg} || ""; + $default = $CPAN::Config->{makepl_arg} || "INSTALLDIRS=site"; $CPAN::Config->{makepl_arg} = prompt("Parameters for the 'perl Makefile.PL' command? Typical frequently used settings: