I think this is more perception than reality. People do get Internet points for code, it's just that they get very little feedback that they're getting Internet points for the code. But everybody knows (or can easily find out) if you, say, invented Django or Redis or memcached or sold a company or make lots of money selling Bingo Cards or redesigned the Google search page or various other technical accomplishments. And that does affect how your comments are perceived. You don't see that effect because it's tacky to argue from authority, but people know who the authorities are.