I'm saying that people in the tech industry will do anything to protect and expand their reputations. The stakes are just that high--we're talking about the dif

I'm saying that people in the tech industry will do anything to protect and expand their reputations. The stakes are just that high--we're talking about the difference between 7-figure jobs and unemployability--and most of these people have no moral scruples even when the stakes are small. The ones with scruples don't last. Given the stakes and the mentality we're talking about, the cost to have a "reputation problem" "taken care of" is a rounding error. The probability that someone would be intentionally killed over a single instance of a negative reference is very low, but it's definitely nonzero. Probably 0.05-0.25% at lower levels (SWE, Sr. SWE, entry-level manager) and 1-25% at executive levels. Thus, what the OP is advising could get someone killed, and since there is also nothing to be gained by it, I argue that it's a bad idea.