[mikekchar]

Probably lots of people are like you. I think the world is changing, though, and I think it is instructive to note that the person complaining about the lack of Github content is 20 years old. I've read hundreds of CVs for web developers in the last 2 years and I could point to only a handful that didn't include some kind of reference to a portfolio (usually on Github).

Even though you say that you don't care about a Github account when hiring, you went out of your way to look at this person's website on HN. I suspect that it made a bigger impression on you than if the person had simply emailed you a Word file with their CV. The fact that the person cares enough to craft something and show it off says something about them.

Personally, I go and look at every single portfolio that gets sent to me. If there is anything half way interesting on there it gets an automatic telephone interview even if their CV is otherwise unappealing. I'm looking for people with decent technical chops -- I'm not bothered about how they got there.

I've gotten jobs through my portfolio before as well. I have one fairly large but poorly written Ruby app, a handful of well-intentioned but abandoned projects, and an egotistical semi-blog (which has some cringe-worthy content that I really should edit ASAP ;-) ). As bad as my portfolio is, it is miles better than 99% of what I've seen (generally cut and paste rails projects).

For anybody with real talent this can be a differentiator. It will get you to an interview and give the interviewer something to ask questions about. For me what the OP built would be much more than enough to interest me if we were hiring an intern, but the point of linking to whatever else they have done is a very good one. Especially for a permanent position, I would be following up on that.

[corobo]

A problem you might find here is that people with actual real world experience but without being 'rockstars' are stifled by contracts that stop them being able to have a decent github account.

Of course in many cases you can't just publish internal code from your place of work but a lot seem to also include clauses that claim ownership of anything you do outside of work too. Personally speaking that's why my own github account is full of tumbleweeds anyway

[mikekchar]

I hear you. I have lived through that. When I worked at a few Microsoft partners back in the bad old days I even had stipulations in my contract that I wasn't allowed to contribute to free software projects without permission. Every time I asked for permission I was denied. When I was young I put up with it because progressing in these companies seemed to be important to me. Now I simply would not sign such a contract. I'm a contractor now and so I'm a lot more free than before, however in my last job I got explicit assurances up front that I was allowed to write my own code.

Luckily there are a lot of places around that will accommodate you these days. They may not be the highest paying jobs, but I'm willing to take a huge pay cut to ensure my freedom to code.

[aries1980]

Indeed, but many company don't want to hire people who just take, have a decent life using free software, but never take the extra mile or sacrifice free time to contribute back.