I agree. I think take-home coding challenges are great. I have conducted take-home challenges and taken them. To me this does a better job measuring actual competency than a white board challenge.
I get that other developers get paid well to program so a lot of them are put-off by doing their job for "free." However, There's a simple solution of which has already been mentioned: cater the challenge to be completed within a few hours. Time-lock it and urge the applicants to only spend X number of hours on the challenge.
Like I have mentioned in another comment, I've been part of in-person interviews that lasted all day on top of an HR and technical phone interview. If I could cut down the in-person interview to just "personality fit" then that would be my preference.
I get that other developers get paid well to program so a lot of them are put-off by doing their job for "free." However, There's a simple solution of which has already been mentioned: cater the challenge to be completed within a few hours. Time-lock it and urge the applicants to only spend X number of hours on the challenge.
Like I have mentioned in another comment, I've been part of in-person interviews that lasted all day on top of an HR and technical phone interview. If I could cut down the in-person interview to just "personality fit" then that would be my preference.