The Most Annoying Moment in Code Review
For me, it's when the only comment is "Why did you do it this way?" Asking why is fine, but if you don't suggest an alternative, it just turns into homework.
6 answers
Well, that’s a bit much. “Why did you do it this way?” is a basic part of review, and thanks to that question, you organize your own thoughts and explain them, which helps you improve. But asking for an alternative to every criticism feels like a bit of an excessive demand.
I also had a similar reviewer once and got really stressed out. When I asked them directly, they said, 'I thought the author would know the alternatives better.' We just had different expectations. So these days, when I get a review, I first match their tone and ask, 'Could you also share some suggestions for improvement?' It's a hundred times better than needlessly letting it build up and getting annoyed.
Criticism without an alternative is just picking a fight, isn't it? If the reviewer knows better, they should at least throw out an example lol.
Agreed, this is so real
Got a source?
Agreed. A review that doesn’t offer alternatives is just homework. But conversely, if you just list a bunch of alternatives without asking why it was done that way, it can become a prescription that ignores context. You need both.