When you receive feedback like that, the appropriate response is: "A lot was learned while and since writing that code. Now that requirements and bottlenecks ar

When you receive feedback like that, the appropriate response is: "A lot was learned while and since writing that code. Now that requirements and bottlenecks are more clear, it could surely be improved by doing a second pass. We might not get around to doing it soon, but PRs are welcome." That kind of response is pretty much never an outright lie and will always make you look good. Or... you could get defensive and turn it into a months-long saga of bile, half-assed apologies, and bad PR.