I think that all your example comments are entirely appropriate. And, in the case of, "Why does this class exist?", I think it's extremely important that such q

I think that all your example comments are entirely appropriate. And, in the case of, "Why does this class exist?", I think it's extremely important that such questions are asked. In my opinion, knowledge transfer is one of the primary functions of code review in the first place. And that question is as much about knowledge transfer as it is about the code. Maybe there's a consideration that led you to create that class, and this is a chance for that other person to learn it. And maybe you will learn something back about another potential solution. I think the real negative that needs to be avoided is using code reviews to attempt to force people to do things exactly the way you would do them. I think many of the articles points kind of go towards this, but indirectly. Diversity of thought and approach is a good thing, and learning to live code that's not done in the fashion that I think is ideal was a lesson that took quite a while for me. EDIT: And, to be clear, "Why does this class exist?" is a potential lead-in to such a problematic viewpoint. The problem happens when, after explanation of the class' existence, the response turns into, "You should remove this class." That's where it transitions away from knowledge transfer and into forceful monoculture of approach.