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> The person obviously had written a script, that checks stuff into a "dump" repo, automatically. Or they had automation committing things into a private repos

by tazjin 6y ago

> The person obviously had written a script, that checks stuff into a "dump" repo, automatically. Or they had automation committing things into a private repository for some purpose (e.g. machine states). It doesn't have to be an attempt at "tricking" anyone.

ChrisMarshallNY 6y ago
Good point. I didn't think it was a deliberate trick, as it wouldn't have been that extreme, if the person wanted to misrepresent themselves. It just made their GH profile worthless, for me. I do think that tools like GH are important for helping to introduce ourselves to others. As with any tool, it is up to us to use it properly. For me, I am not actually looking for work, but I get tired of not being taken seriously, so I make a point of ensuring that my work is made available for anyone that wants to see it. My motto is "Don't just take my word for it. See for yourself." I am grateful for tools like GH, that allow me to do this. The Stack Overflow Story is another one.
- tazjin 6y ago
  The main thing that makes me wary of relying on something like GH in particular (esp. suggestions like scraping its API for data) is that not everybody uses those. For example, almost all of my open-source contributions happen on privately hosted infrastructure. Instead of looking at my Github you'd have to look at my Gerrit[0] - otherwise you might get the impression I have no active open-source footprint. I think it is valuable to look at publicly available contributions of candidates, as long as it's not constrained to a particular location. [0]: https://cl.tvl.fyi/q/owner:mail%2540tazj.in https://cl.tvl.fyi/q/owner:mail%2540tazj.in
  - ChrisMarshallNY 6y ago
    You're right (and, from what I can see, talented). But it doesn't hurt to have it out there, on a case-by-case basis. If I were interviewing two candidates, and one has a big open-source history available (regardless of the vehicle), then that candidate automatically has more value to me. I may not hire them, as their history may show something that I don't like (damolcean sword, and all that), but they make my life, as an evaluator, easier.

by tazjin 6y ago

ChrisMarshallNY 6y ago

Good point. I didn't think it was a deliberate trick, as it wouldn't have been that extreme, if the person wanted to misrepresent themselves. It just made their GH profile worthless, for me. I do think that tools like GH are important for helping to introduce ourselves to others. As with any tool, it is up to us to use it properly. For me, I am not actually looking for work, but I get tired of not being taken seriously, so I make a point of ensuring that my work is made available for anyone that wants to see it. My motto is "Don't just take my word for it. See for yourself." I am grateful for tools like GH, that allow me to do this. The Stack Overflow Story is another one.

tazjin 6y ago
The main thing that makes me wary of relying on something like GH in particular (esp. suggestions like scraping its API for data) is that not everybody uses those. For example, almost all of my open-source contributions happen on privately hosted infrastructure. Instead of looking at my Github you'd have to look at my Gerrit[0] - otherwise you might get the impression I have no active open-source footprint. I think it is valuable to look at publicly available contributions of candidates, as long as it's not constrained to a particular location. [0]: https://cl.tvl.fyi/q/owner:mail%2540tazj.in https://cl.tvl.fyi/q/owner:mail%2540tazj.in
- ChrisMarshallNY 6y ago
  You're right (and, from what I can see, talented). But it doesn't hurt to have it out there, on a case-by-case basis. If I were interviewing two candidates, and one has a big open-source history available (regardless of the vehicle), then that candidate automatically has more value to me. I may not hire them, as their history may show something that I don't like (damolcean sword, and all that), but they make my life, as an evaluator, easier.