[ranman]

>"over the last 15 years"

Well in the past several years I've worked with a lot of developers and I care a lot about their github/bug tracker/public accounts. I don't care if there aren't a lot of repos or projects... just that they're active participants in software and CS. Github is a pretty good indicator of that. Bug trackers are another great indicator. Seeing someone rant about: 500 errors on a website, poor extensibility in an API/lib, unexpected CLI behavior -- those are good signs that the person cares about their chosen profession.

Coding is only one part of engineering. Being able to work with a team, recognize requirements, and ship are other important components. I find that engineers who have strong profiles on SO, github, bug trackers -- they tend to ship. They may not be the best coders in the world but from a business stand point that doesn't really matter. The best ideas in the world are useless if they never get shipped.