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I am an notoriously tough code reviewer. Not because I’m mean, but I’m thorough and consistent. I’m never passive aggressive and simply factual. But newer team

I am an notoriously tough code reviewer. Not because I’m mean, but I’m thorough and consistent. I’m never passive aggressive and simply factual. But newer team members can find dozens of comments until they understand what my expectations are. I can generally differentiate between personal opinion and bad form. I rarely comment on things like variable names, or function names unless they are really confusing or misleading. I have my own style, but the existing style of the code should be what we code based on, not personal opinions. I think the OP is shirking their responsibilities for what they’re being paid for. If they are doing a code review it’s for the benefit of the team, so that the team member understands what their expectations are. You don’t have to be mean to be a good code reviewer.

kristiandupont 8y ago
I can recognize some of the traits from the article in myself and I can guarantee you that I (and, I suspect OP as well) would be quick to claim that my comments are "merely factual" and that I am great at differentiating personal opinion from bad form as well. I don't know you, so you might be 100% right but if the article makes you feel slightly defensive, perhaps it's a good reason to do some introspection.
- remote_phone 8y ago
  I don’t feel defensive at all, I think OP is probably a terrible code reviewer and makes me feel better about how I code review.
brianpgordon 8y ago
I agree with you. It's possible to work together with the person who wrote the PR to make the code as good as it can possibly be, while also not being a jerk. I try to be very thorough and offer lots of feedback, but also approach things from a position of respect. For example, instead of "why the hell would anyone do it this way" I instead think like "maybe they thought of something that I haven't" and I hope that it comes through in my comments. When I submit my code for review, I don't just want a rubber stamp, I want thoughtful feedback. If something can be improved, I want to know about it so that I can do it better next time. I try to pay other people the same courtesy. Another commenter said it's all about "disconnecting ego from the work" but I don't really agree. I care a whole lot about my code and that's why I take code reviews seriously. But that doesn't need to translate to anger or feeling emotionally devastated as the article's author somewhat bewilderingly seems to ascribe to his "victims." Another thing that I keep in mind is a joke I heard one time that you measure how good a piece of code is by the WTFs per minute exclaimed when reading it. It's a metric, not an emotional reaction, and it's going to be at least unity no matter how good the code is. Then again, I've had the good fortune to work with good people, so maybe I'd be seeing red too if my coworkers were writing really awful code all of the time.

kristiandupont 8y ago

I can recognize some of the traits from the article in myself and I can guarantee you that I (and, I suspect OP as well) would be quick to claim that my comments are "merely factual" and that I am great at differentiating personal opinion from bad form as well. I don't know you, so you might be 100% right but if the article makes you feel slightly defensive, perhaps it's a good reason to do some introspection.

remote_phone 8y ago
I don’t feel defensive at all, I think OP is probably a terrible code reviewer and makes me feel better about how I code review.

brianpgordon 8y ago

I agree with you. It's possible to work together with the person who wrote the PR to make the code as good as it can possibly be, while also not being a jerk. I try to be very thorough and offer lots of feedback, but also approach things from a position of respect. For example, instead of "why the hell would anyone do it this way" I instead think like "maybe they thought of something that I haven't" and I hope that it comes through in my comments. When I submit my code for review, I don't just want a rubber stamp, I want thoughtful feedback. If something can be improved, I want to know about it so that I can do it better next time. I try to pay other people the same courtesy. Another commenter said it's all about "disconnecting ego from the work" but I don't really agree. I care a whole lot about my code and that's why I take code reviews seriously. But that doesn't need to translate to anger or feeling emotionally devastated as the article's author somewhat bewilderingly seems to ascribe to his "victims." Another thing that I keep in mind is a joke I heard one time that you measure how good a piece of code is by the WTFs per minute exclaimed when reading it. It's a metric, not an emotional reaction, and it's going to be at least unity no matter how good the code is. Then again, I've had the good fortune to work with good people, so maybe I'd be seeing red too if my coworkers were writing really awful code all of the time.