+=head2 decode_utf8_safely
+
+ $string = decode_utf8_safely($octets);
+
+Given $octets in UTF8, returns the perl-internal equivalent of $octets
+if $octets does not have is_utf8 set; otherwise returns $octets.
+
+Silently returns REFs without encoding them.
+
+=cut
+
+
+sub decode_utf8_safely{
+ my @ret;
+ for my $r (@_) {
+ if (not ref($r) and not is_utf8($r)) {
+ $r = decode_utf8($r);
+ }
+ push @ret, $r;
+ }
+ return wantarray ? @ret : (@_ > 1 ? @ret : $ret[0]);
+}
+
+
+
+