Yes I read your post. That's why I was able to quote from it. If you want to hire a good programmer, ask them about programming. It's that simple. Set up a few scenarios and let them talk and whiteboard their way out of it. Ideally you'll be able to come up with a range of problems that range from familiar to totally unknown. The familiar scenarios will tell you if they are bullshitters, and the unfamiliar scenarios will tell you how quickly they can adapt to new environments.

While it is true that people who program outside of work tend to be good programmers, it is not true that all good programmers program outside of work. And your note about charity work is outright insulting to anyone who has spent their free time helping those in need.

I think there's a lot of validity in the assumption that if you are extremely technically capable (a good programmer), then it is also extremely unlikely for you to not have come up with an idea (and thus be passionate about it) and committed to its realisation. That is, if you truly are good, it's pretty unlikely that you never implemented something on your own.

But also keep in mind it's a tip for hiring into startups, and startups at the early level require a certain amount of passion that usually comes with programmer who actually love to program (and if you love to program you've probably done it outside of necessity before).

my comment was not meant to be insulting to those. It was meant to insult people who tend to blow hard and do little real good. There are lot more of those out there, sadly. No offense intended.