This exactly.
It doesn't bother me one bit that you think i'm "unskilled" or a coward or want easymode. Yes, I don't want to spend 3 hours clearing a HM because everyone just hit 50 and wants to listen to the storyline and needs 4 attempts per boss.
I did my time, I paid my dues. If I want to run a HM I'll find other people like me (which isn't hard to do) to run them. I don't mind helping guild mates out. But some random person in all greens asks me to run a HM with them, most of the time I'll say no. Just because I don't want to walk away with 80k in repairs because I was bored one Saturday afternoon.
You can't know someones skill. but you can know their gear. No ones going to come out and say "hey i'm a baddie" but if they have decent gear (not talking all elite rakata/columi) but decent. It's a different story.
I meet a lot more skilled players in good gear than I meet skilled players in crap gear. And I've grouped with both quite a bit.
This is a gear based game, get over it.