I thank the author of this article - this happens all too often in the industry where it starts sliding into dealing with massive egos rather then actual improving teammates, coaching and truly helping the codebase.
I ruin developers’ lives with my code reviews and I'm sorry
131–140 of 164 posts
Re: I ruin developers’ lives with my code reviews and I'm sorry
#132This guy ties his ego to his code, and assumes everyone does the same. The proposed solution is to not devalue the person by devaluing the code. This seems exactly backwards to me. Disconnecting ego from the work was the first big lesson I had when I started working in software. I hear parallel ideas from friends across industries, in fact an electrical contractor explained to me how he expects it of his apprentices…
“Disconnecting ego from the work was the first big lesson I had when I started working in software”
This is so important in Design as well.
Re: I ruin developers’ lives with my code reviews and I'm sorry
#133The overarching problem is a lack of empathy. In my decades on this planet, I've seen it over and over again in interpersonal relations under all circumstances, but nowhere near as often as in the realm of text communication.
Humans need face to face contact, because this kind of contact gives you instant feedback about what effect your words and actions are having. It's how most people experience empathy.
I'm one of those who is far better at text communication than face to face due to the luxury of being able to carefully consider my words and their effect rather than having to clumsily do that in real time, but a side effect of this is that my every word gets rewritten multiple times as I try to get the overall tone right, and try to head off potential misunderstandings. My success rate isn't super great, but it's far better than my face to face.
With most people, the opposite seems to be true. Worse: they seem unaware of text communication's shortcomings in terms of the social and emotional feedback loop - empathy. The most toxic people online are often an absolute delight in person, completely oblivious to the damage they're doing because they're empathetically blinded in the other medium, and unaware of the fact.
Re: I ruin developers’ lives with my code reviews and I'm sorry
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why did you feel the need to state the obvious? This is the kind of toxic nonsense that comes up every time someone mentions diversity. Its the status-quo "notallmen" argument again and again and again. Please, assume just for a minute that we aren't all idiots. Of -course- everyone has the capacity to be an idiot, but your unnecessary and highly defensive response is very telling.
To be honest, I found myself slightly offended at your original comment, but I decided not to say anything since I agreed with the overall point you were trying to make. This response makes me feel like I have to say something though. Sometimes the person calling everything else toxic is actually a source of toxicity. Frankly, as a white guy who has been known to wear hoodies, I don't like being grouped in with toxic…
As always, political extremism is a horseshoe. assert their is the end-all-be-all, someone politely points out exceptions to , begins screeching.
Mindlessness mixed with insecurity is a toxic brew.
Re: I ruin developers’ lives with my code reviews and I'm sorry
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oh lord, the stickers. I felt an interview with a local startup turn south when I pulled my Thinkpad out and was asked "where are the stickers?".
You do want to express yourself, don't you? (Sarcasm, Office Space reference, I'm with you on the stickers.)
Now I'm waiting for the next season of Silicon Valley to 100% repeat the "flair" conversation but motioning towards a laptop instead of a uniform :)
Re: I ruin developers’ lives with my code reviews and I'm sorry
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Until you can do that, you'll always be a lesser software developer. Reminds me of a joke-ish comment I saw on here some time ago: The difference between a junior and senior developer is the willingness to say "that bug was totally my fault".
Also, "maybe we shouldn't build that".
Also, "No, it's not worth all of the hacks and shortcuts it would take to get it done in the given time. We need to cut features, not quality."
Re: I ruin developers’ lives with my code reviews and I'm sorry
#137This is incredibly honest. Maybe it's just me, but it 100% resonates with me. I find myself doing the exact same thing: as soon as I feel myself mounting up on my high-horse I have to talk myself down from being an asshat. I've gotten better at it because I'm now responsible for people's careers, and my pettiness is no reason to make someone's life suck because they are still learning -OR- because they think differen…
> If you only hire white dudes in hoodies with stickers on their macbooks you're only going to get the toxic gamergate crowd, which has not gone away at all.
Um, excuse me? I'm a white dude who wears a hoodie and has a sticker on my macbook, and I am not in "the toxic gamergate crowd." If anything you're the one being toxic.
Re: I ruin developers’ lives with my code reviews and I'm sorry
#138This is incredibly honest. Maybe it's just me, but it 100% resonates with me. I find myself doing the exact same thing: as soon as I feel myself mounting up on my high-horse I have to talk myself down from being an asshat. I've gotten better at it because I'm now responsible for people's careers, and my pettiness is no reason to make someone's life suck because they are still learning -OR- because they think differen…
> If you only hire white dudes in hoodies with stickers on their macbooks you're only going to get the toxic gamergate crowd, which has not gone away at all. Um, excuse me? I'm a white dude who wears a hoodie and has a sticker on my macbook, and I am not in "the toxic gamergate crowd." If anything you're the one being toxic.
The problems don't arise with individuals, but with groups. If you create a monoculture, it will be hostile to others that are not part of it.
Re: I ruin developers’ lives with my code reviews and I'm sorry
#139I am an notoriously tough code reviewer. Not because I’m mean, but I’m thorough and consistent. I’m never passive aggressive and simply factual. But newer team members can find dozens of comments until they understand what my expectations are. I can generally differentiate between personal opinion and bad form. I rarely comment on things like variable names, or function names unless they are really confusing or misle…
I agree with you. It's possible to work together with the person who wrote the PR to make the code as good as it can possibly be, while also not being a jerk. I try to be very thorough and offer lots of feedback, but also approach things from a position of respect. For example, instead of "why the hell would anyone do it this way" I instead think like "maybe they thought of something that I haven't" and I hope that it comes through in my comments.
When I submit my code for review, I don't just want a rubber stamp, I want thoughtful feedback. If something can be improved, I want to know about it so that I can do it better next time. I try to pay other people the same courtesy. Another commenter said it's all about "disconnecting ego from the work" but I don't really agree. I care a whole lot about my code and that's why I take code reviews seriously. But that doesn't need to translate to anger or feeling emotionally devastated as the article's author somewhat bewilderingly seems to ascribe to his "victims."
Another thing that I keep in mind is a joke I heard one time that you measure how good a piece of code is by the WTFs per minute exclaimed when reading it. It's a metric, not an emotional reaction, and it's going to be at least unity no matter how good the code is.
Then again, I've had the good fortune to work with good people, so maybe I'd be seeing red too if my coworkers were writing really awful code all of the time.
Re: I ruin developers’ lives with my code reviews and I'm sorry
#140Earlier quoted context omitted.
Agreed. I'd much rather not advertise for anyone/company, and especially not throwing sticky residue all over my expensive laptop.
In addition to a shared aversion to voluntarily turning my possessions into billboards, I'd like to add there's real value in keeping computing devices generic looking. By plastering your laptop with a completely unique combination and placement of stickers one can discover in videos or photographs online from conferences or talks for example, you make it a whole lot easier to pick out your unattended machine from a…
> In addition to a shared aversion to voluntarily turning my possessions into billboards
I know that feel, but you can flair up with whimsy rather than corporate tribalism. For example, I have a strawberry from the game Celeste over my MBP's apple logo. It's even less billboardy than before!
> you make it a whole lot easier to pick out your unattended machine from a set, a hotel room, or luggage.
Laptops get mixed up all of the time in security when you fly. A sticker both reduces the probability of this happening accidentally and also makes it harder for a thief to claim innocence if you keep your eye on your laptop and notice someone nab it.