What we're saying is that for potential employers who don't just take the short cut of "oooh, certification = good", which we believe is bad practice, and we're arguing that a certification, to us, is a potential red flag; and before an interview you should find the people needed to probe into whether they actually have the technical chops to back that certification; but you should already have those people in the interview whether or not the applicant has a certification.

If they have the cert, and the tech chops, great, most people will add merit points to the person with the cert over the one without the cert.

I think it can be boiled down to this: as an employer you should be at least as suspicious of those bearing certifications as anyone else you interview; it should not be an "E-Z pass" into the company.

-Scott