Resumes suffer the same problem, which is why something like the product I'm working on GeekRez at least takes a bit of that effect away. References are also o

Resumes suffer the same problem, which is why something like the product I'm working on GeekRez at least takes a bit of that effect away. References are also one part, but again it's easy for most people to get someone to say they are good. On a resume you can say you are the best in the world. You control your self-assessment on a resume, but have no control over what someone thinks of your code or what someone thinks of your answers on Stack Overflow (reflected in your reputation).