At what point do you stop giving job references for friends you haven't heard from in over a year?

I rarely ever gave job references for people as it usually back-fired on me if they didn't do good. Then I would lose a friend over it. I wouldn't give anyone a job reference after a couple of months of not hearing from them. By then, I would know that they were just using me.

I guess that would all depend on what I thought of their work experience and ability to begin with.  If I thought they would be a good employee at one time .. I would still think they would be the same years later.  People normally get better with more experience .. Not worse. 

I recently gave a reference for someone who left my employment 23 years ago. I was honest and said that the reference was for her character and for how she worked for me. I made it clear that I had no knowledge of her recent achievements.

She was happy with that (and she was offered the position).

I wouldn't do that for everyone though.

I only gave references for people that had previously worked for me or were working for me at the time. I always helped them if I thought they were worthy of the job and were looking to better themselves. I NEVER gave job references for friends, since I didn't know their work ethics.

I stop at 6 months. There're  no longer a friend if I haven't seen them in 6 months.

No reference📄.

I'd give some of you all references for life before I'd give these clowns called my family anything.

I once got a call from a potential employer asking about a previous boss who had listed my name as a reference.

He asked me about him and my reply was "Great guy, honest almost to a fault, and I would let him take my kids to 6 flags anytime he wanted to."

The guy calling said that he had never had all his questions about a potential employee answered in one sentence before.

I haven't heard from him in quite a while, but I would give him the same reference but with the addition of the specific time frame over which I knew him to be that way.

(Not unlike Ray Dart's answer.)