Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Code Reviews Need "Mood Tags"

Have you ever had the job of commenting on another developer's code? If not, it is actually painful if you have strong opinions on some items and are candid and silly for others. The most difficult aspect of code reviews are the perceived implications and inflections in the tone when writing your:
  • Subjective comment
  • Rude comment
  • Haha funny comment
  • Just talking smack comment
We have emoticons and other ways we communicate with social media platforms, why not with Code Reviews? I find myself sometimes writing code reviews and then saying to myself, "Gee I sound like an asshole".  Or even, "I don't think I expressed that opinion the correct way."

However, if I was able to "tag" my own comment as "Asshole Statement", the recipient would at least know that I accept full knowledge that my comment was "ass-holish". We should have the ability to tag our code review comments as we do with emoticons nowadays.

We need tags/emoticons such as:
  • Idea - Recommendation (Here is a cool alternative)
  • Strong Opinion (I am Jedi master and have the "right; solution)
  • What Were You Thinking? (Your code makes no sense to me, spaghetti all over)
  • Alternate Solution Proposed (Good job, here is a more efficient way though)
  • Should Fix This At Some Point (It works but might cause unforeseen issues)
  • Critical Oversight (Oh snap, what about the fib in the fab on the fob with the flip?)
  • Your Code Sucks (WTF is that? You need skillz assessment)
This would eliminate any inflections in perceived written tone and give the recipient at least a notion that the reviewer is trying to convey their writing or lack-of writing skills in a certain mood.

 Just my thoughts.

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