I think your choice shows a very simple misunderstanding. Programming is not one thing. It's many different things. E.g. someone good at open source might not

I think your choice shows a very simple misunderstanding. Programming is not one thing. It's many different things. E.g. someone good at open source might not be even mediocre in a business environment. People are different, goals are different, etc. Even two different FOSS projects or companies/departments/teams might evaluate the same person very differently. Also lets not forget that the most important goal for you might be to program for your own benefit and evaluating just that by yourself. In any case you must be more specific than "being good as a software developer". PS: I even know about some guys who are nearly hated by their coworkers for their love of detail, but it's doing good things for the company as a whole. So these guys are good and bad for the same people at the same time. How to evaluate that?