I think programming trivia are not too bad of an idea, it's how you use them. If you base everything on them and bombard the candidate with test it might be not

I think programming trivia are not too bad of an idea, it's how you use them. If you base everything on them and bombard the candidate with test it might be not good because a lot of people are not that good under that kind of pressure and the results might not reflect the actual skills of the person. Some programming questions are still important to make sure that the candidate is not lying. I think it's important to see if the candidate is a person you would like to work to, there are many things to consider, try to find someone that fits as a person and skills.