Reference = "A letter from a previous employer testifying to someone's ability or reliability, used when applying for a new job." [0]
What even is your rant about? Managers especially can easily tell your performance, how you get along with everyone, etc. That's the whole fucking POINT of a reference.
in most cases, people are only getting called up for a reference because the applicant specifically chose to list them. if the only person they could think of to use as a reference has nothing good to say (or gives subtle negative signals) that's a pretty strong sign there's something wrong with the fellow.
references in form of background check - worked years a, b, c, on projects x, y,z - yes, sure.
references about performance, likability, etc - why ? how are you going to judge that ? are the references legit ? are you going to get references on the reference giving people ? are you gonna research the excompanies culture to judge tbe referential credibility ?
you're just fooling yourself giving any meaning to this, you could be as well tossing a coin.