For me, coffeescript was the answer to the question "How can I write javascript with python-esque whitespace block formating?" I suspect the author was asking something like "what can replace javascript?"
I like Perl, but I tended to be fairly pedantic with parenthesis and things when writing it. I prefer explicit over implicit. (Though sometimes implicit can save you a ton of time).
The absence of this feature is why me and Python don't get along.