[nickelplate]

"Because the first person has documented proof of ability"

I think this really depends on the position you are trying to fill. A track record of shipping code to customers counts for a lot more in my eyes than open source code (unless we're talking about something really high profile like Firefox or llvm). A lot of really talented and passionate developers are plenty challenged and stimulated at work that they don't feel the need to work on hobby projects in their spare time. What could these people write in one hour that would be of significance?