In my experience, code reviews get contentious when there is subjective feedback involved for e.g. naming or class design. In that case, it helps to discuss and

In my experience, code reviews get contentious when there is subjective feedback involved for e.g. naming or class design. In that case, it helps to discuss and resolve the issues in person. Plain correctness errors or formatting issues get resolved quickly over email. Some other things from personal experience: 1. A thorough code review is time consuming but the team will appreciate it despite the disagreements. 2. Be polite and put forth your feedback with clarity and based on facts. 3. Practice what you preach - follow the same quality standards that you expect of others.