Earlier quoted context omitted.
You're probably right, what do I know I've only been programming professionally for 3 years. However, I find that it's more helpful to have a positive attitude when reading code I didn't write. "Why did he write it this weird way?" taught me so much more than "this is shit, let me rewrite it the way I'm familiar with". I'm not denying that I found seriously bad code running in production. And I'm not denying that it'…
"Why did he write it this weird way?" taught me so much more than "this is shit, let me rewrite it the way I'm familiar with". --------------------- You're 3 years in. In another 3-5 years (maybe more), this 'positive attitude' will (and should) go away. You'll have a much better understanding of the 'weird' ways, and will be able to tell 'quick hacks' from 'crap code' as the OP was referring to. You will have learne…
Those few times make it worth to never judge too early.
Blindly assuming you know better is arrogant and will inevitably lead to problems. Discussing the underlying reasons will almost always teach you something.