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The problem with the question form "why didnt you just do ___ here?" is it's loaded with the assumption that the other party should have known to do this other

The problem with the question form "why didnt you just do ___ here?" is it's loaded with the assumption that the other party should have known to do this other thing instead. A better approach is to use the less loaded "have you considered doing X here?". If you find yourself needing to demand others not take offense at your questions, you might wish to try a different approach.

detaro 8y ago
And if you get something along the lines of "of course I have considered X!" as a response, someone took that one as the loaded variant. It's tricky. "What am I missing?" or a variation on it, as the parent mentions as the intended meaning, probably isn't a bad thing to add, since it makes it clear that you aren't accusing.
carussell 8y ago
A "Have you considered..." question asks for a "yes" or "no". A "Why[...]" question asks for why. Assuming that "Why didn't you just do X?" isn't really just a disingenuous way to say, "you're an idiot; do it this way instead", then you should ask for what you want and ask the why question, not the yes-or-no question. In the case that it is a disingenuous question, then that's something that's covered adequately by #5. Suggesting the avoidance of sarcasm is already broadly applicable enough to cover using questions when you really mean to make a statement. (Which is not specific to code reviews—it's as obnoxious in real life.)
Izkata 8y ago
I've used "why didn't you just ____" version plenty of times, and in a handful of them, they replied with a paragraph or two outlining the exact reasons - including a very edge-case issue that I'd not noticed. After that I usually reply with something like "Could you add a comment and/or test highlighting this reason? (So the next time someone modifies this code they don't make the same mistake I did.)" Definitely better results all around.

detaro 8y ago

And if you get something along the lines of "of course I have considered X!" as a response, someone took that one as the loaded variant. It's tricky. "What am I missing?" or a variation on it, as the parent mentions as the intended meaning, probably isn't a bad thing to add, since it makes it clear that you aren't accusing.

carussell 8y ago

A "Have you considered..." question asks for a "yes" or "no". A "Why[...]" question asks for why. Assuming that "Why didn't you just do X?" isn't really just a disingenuous way to say, "you're an idiot; do it this way instead", then you should ask for what you want and ask the why question, not the yes-or-no question. In the case that it is a disingenuous question, then that's something that's covered adequately by #5. Suggesting the avoidance of sarcasm is already broadly applicable enough to cover using questions when you really mean to make a statement. (Which is not specific to code reviews—it's as obnoxious in real life.)

Izkata 8y ago

I've used "why didn't you just ____" version plenty of times, and in a handful of them, they replied with a paragraph or two outlining the exact reasons - including a very edge-case issue that I'd not noticed. After that I usually reply with something like "Could you add a comment and/or test highlighting this reason? (So the next time someone modifies this code they don't make the same mistake I did.)" Definitely better results all around.