Would like to see a discussion of possible systematic bias. The "hacker" group generally prides itself on a) creatively messing systems up, and b) anticipating

Would like to see a discussion of possible systematic bias. The "hacker" group generally prides itself on a) creatively messing systems up, and b) anticipating (and preventing) creative system mess-ups, I have to wonder how accurate this data is. Sure, there's little incentive to lie - but there is a small incentive, which is simply to mess with people. (And there might even be another, which is to exaggerate income to encourage others to ask for more money, which might eventually positively affect you.) I wonder if there is any way to measure this effect, or eliminate it.