I have less disdain for pre-interview development filters and have seen some companies do it pretty well. I think your assumption about people who would find it

I have less disdain for pre-interview development filters and have seen some companies do it pretty well. I think your assumption about people who would find it fun could hold some merit. But I do believe the parent poster is right, those really good developers are rarely going to bother. They are usually to busy in the first place. They may see your company and think oh cool I like these guys and then hit the pre-interview filter and decide it to much investment for just a chance and that's the core of it, on both sides it's a numbers game, we can say well they did not really want it or we are only getting the ones that really want it, but you just may be getting the ones that are not working the odds out in their head. Or you could be getting the ones that are desperate and will invest the time for a chance. There are a lot of assumptions in these type of tests.