How do you judge a JavaScript programmer by only 5 questions?

These are actually some of the same questions I use when interviewing JavaScript programmers. Particularly the call/apply question, I got a bit of flack on HN about that one but I explained it the same way as the author...if they know it, it doesn't tell you much, but if they don't know it, it tells you a lot. I compared it to knowing how to use the parking brake on a car...knowing how to use it tells you nothing, but if someone says they've never had to use it in 10 years of driving, and they don't know what the purpose is, that tells you quite a bit. One person made the point that he avoids apply because of IE6 compatibility. While I disagreed that IE6 should be a consideration for any modern programmer, that would be acceptable to know what apply is and how it is used, but to avoid it in practice, but to not even know what it is would be a red flag for me.

Why didn't you build your own blog out of javscript instead of publishing medium?

> A big one to keep an eye out for is that they should be praising the Google Developer tools

The Google Developer tools are overrated. (Says someone who isn't a Javascript programmer)

Even so, basing your decision on the use of a specific tool? Tsk tsk. If I prefer Mozilla's Javascript-debugging tooling over Google's (for example), the takeaway should be that I know how to use debugging/profiling tools, not that I'm somehow less worthy than the Google guy because I didn't happen to pick your favorite vendor.

This is like mandating that your shop is "strictly a Sublime shop" or "strictly a Windows shop" or somesuch nonsense. The exact tool matters far less than the fact that a candidate is able to describe the use of tools in a particular category (be it a profiler, an editor/IDE, or an operating system, respectively), and insisting that your ideal candidate "should be praising the Google Developer tools" tells me that you're throwing away a lot of talent over superficialities.