I'd argue this is one of the best questions you could possibly ask a to-be programmer.

"Here's some contrived, shitty code that some jackass wrote, without comments, before leaving. What on earth does it do?"

Obligatory xkcd: http://xkcd.com/538/

Whoosh!

Not the same. It blinks only once. I decent indicator will flash discretely in perpetuity. So that I can glance at it from afar, even coming in an hour later, to see if I need to pick up or touch the phone.

Thanks For Understanding My Problem

Not the same. It only blinks once. Meaning you have to see it when it comes in.

A decent indicator means you can wander in, say, oh, and hour later, and see it.

You haven't worked much in big business, have you?

I've known people who have been threatened legal action for giving bad references ("you cost me the job!"). I've known people who have been threatened legal action for good references ("you said this person was going to be good!"). Amusingly, I know one person who's gotten both (the founder of a 20ish-person shop)

There's a reason lots (most?) big company nowadays makes it official HR policy to only confirm salary and dates of employment. Said founder, above, also never gives out references.

If getting a statement like that raises questions for you, it raises questions for me whether you're experienced enough to be a good hiring manager.