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Re: [PATCH] Documentation/CommunityGuidelines

From
Thomas Rast <trast@inf.ethz.ch>
Date
Jun 11, 2013, 16:10 UTC
Message-ID
<87ppvszl0i.fsf@linux-k42r.v.cablecom.net>
In-Reply-To
<51B6AA7F.1060505@alum.mit.edu>
Michael Haggerty <mhagger@alum.mit.edu> writes:
Show 5 quoted lines
> * Accept reviewers' comments gratefully and take them very seriously.
> Show that you appreciate the help by giving the reviewer the benefit of
> the doubt.  If, after careful consideration, you find that you cannot
> agree with a reviewer's suggestion, explain your reasoning carefully
> without taking or giving offense, and seek compromise.

I'm not sure yet how to phrase it, but I have come to the conclusion that the dual nature of reviews is part of the problem.

On the one hand, reviews are code criticism: they are extra work spent by the reviewer to try and help you improve your work.

On the other hand, they are also quality checks. Reviews serve to spot bugs, misdesigns, noncompliance with project standards, etc. before they ever go into the code base.

The problems start when these start having a contradictory impact on the correct course of action in a discussion, or in the longer term in dealing with a person. For example, I have attempted to deal with Felipe at one point by refusing to review, i.e., ignore the email.

However, this must be weighed against the requirements of the second kind of review. So while it is exceedingly easy for everyone to say "just ignore the flamebait", the flamewars keep recurring because this "gatekeeper" type of review continues to be necessary, and continues to elicit nonconstructive responses.

The "easy" solution is to simply stop taking patches from Felipe, but opens pandora's box w.r.t. the just application of such a measure, as Ram has noted repeatedly.

Yet that is the only measure that I currently know that both keeps up code review standards and has any hope of improving the current climate.

-- 
Thomas Rast
trast@{inf,student}.ethz.ch
Previous: Felipe ContrerasNext: Felipe Contreras
Message 34 of 63 in “Documentation/CommunityGuidelines”
  1. Documentation/CommunityGuidelinesRamkumar Ramachandra, Jun 10, 2013
  2. Célestin MatteJun 10, 2013
  3. Matthieu MoyJun 10, 2013
  4. Robin H. JohnsonJun 10, 2013
  5. Junio C HamanoJun 10, 2013
  6. Jonathan NiederJun 10, 2013
  7. Ramkumar RamachandraJun 10, 2013
  8. A Large Angry SCMJun 10, 2013
  9. Ramkumar RamachandraJun 10, 2013
  10. A Large Angry SCMJun 10, 2013
  11. Felipe ContrerasJun 11, 2013
  12. Ramkumar RamachandraJun 11, 2013
  13. Michael HaggertyJun 11, 2013
  14. Felipe ContrerasJun 11, 2013
  15. Ramkumar RamachandraJun 11, 2013
  16. Felipe ContrerasJun 11, 2013
  17. Thomas RastJun 11, 2013
  18. Ramkumar RamachandraJun 11, 2013
  19. Michael HaggertyJun 11, 2013
  20. Felipe ContrerasJun 11, 2013
  21. Ramkumar RamachandraJun 11, 2013
  22. Michael HaggertyJun 11, 2013
  23. Ramkumar RamachandraJun 11, 2013
  24. Junio C HamanoJun 11, 2013
  25. Felipe ContrerasJun 11, 2013
  26. Felipe ContrerasJun 11, 2013
  27. Brandon CaseyJun 11, 2013
  28. Theodore Ts'oJun 12, 2013
  29. Ramkumar RamachandraJun 12, 2013
  30. Felipe ContrerasJun 12, 2013
  31. Felipe ContrerasJun 11, 2013
  32. Thomas RastJun 11, 2013
  33. Felipe ContrerasJun 11, 2013
  34. Thomas RastJun 11, 2013
  35. Felipe ContrerasJun 11, 2013
  36. Junio C HamanoJun 11, 2013
  37. Michael HaggertyJun 11, 2013
  38. John KeepingJun 11, 2013
  39. Ramkumar RamachandraJun 11, 2013
  40. John KeepingJun 11, 2013
  41. Ramkumar RamachandraJun 12, 2013
  42. John KeepingJun 12, 2013
  43. Michael HaggertyJun 11, 2013
  44. John KeepingJun 11, 2013
  45. Philip OakleyJun 11, 2013
  46. John SzakmeisterJun 12, 2013
  47. Jakub NarebskiJun 12, 2013
  48. Philip OakleyJun 12, 2013
  49. Felipe ContrerasJun 11, 2013
  50. Jeff KingJun 11, 2013
  51. Junio C HamanoJun 11, 2013
  52. Felipe ContrerasJun 11, 2013
  53. Theodore Ts'oJun 12, 2013
  54. Felipe ContrerasJun 12, 2013
  55. Ramkumar RamachandraJun 12, 2013
  56. Junio C HamanoJun 12, 2013
  57. Michael HaggertyJun 13, 2013
  58. Junio C HamanoJun 13, 2013
  59. Felipe ContrerasJun 11, 2013
  60. Ramkumar RamachandraJun 11, 2013
  61. Thomas AdamJun 13, 2013
  62. Felipe ContrerasJun 13, 2013
  63. Christian CouderJun 14, 2013

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