> Avoid asking judgmental questions like: > Why didn’t you just do ___ here?” > Asking such questions implies that a perceived simple solution should have bee

> Avoid asking judgmental questions like: > Why didn’t you just do ___ here?” > Asking such questions implies that a perceived simple solution should have been obvious. [...] Instead, provide a recommendation [...]. > You can do ___, which has the benefit of ____. I don't think that's safe either. If I use a char[] instead of the more obvious String for whatever technical reason, a comment like "You can use a String." would sound incredibly patronizing. The trouble is that the reviewer now has to guess what happened - did I intentionally choose a more convoluted solution, or was I honestly not aware of the straightforward way to do it? I've had reviewers who erred on the side of underestimating my knowledge and found it super awkward. What helps as a reviewee is to always add a code comment explaining why you are not using the obvious tool for the job; both the reviewer and the next developer will thank you.