Hi,
On 21 May 2019, at 16:47, Mohammed Naser <mnaser@vexxhost.com> wrote:
On Tue, May 21, 2019 at 9:37 PM Brian Rosmaita <rosmaita.fossdev@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello everyone,
A recent spate of +1 reviews with no comments on patches has put me into grumpy-old-man mode.
A +1 with no comments is completely useless (unless you have a review on a previous patch set with comments that have been addressed by the author). I already know you're a smart person (you figured out how to sign the CLA and navigate gerrit -- lots of people can't or won't do that), but all your non-comment +1 tells me is that you are in favor of the patch. That doesn't give me any information, because I already know that the author is in favor of the patch, so that makes two of you out of about 1,168 reviewers. That's not exactly a groundswell of support.
I feel a bit different about this.
Most cores probably leave a +2 with no comment to merge code, the implication that a non-core needs to add more comments to it seems a bit 'unfair'.
I think this is something where we need to put our judgement in. It may seem that we get a bunch of +1s, but if there is also other -1s that have value and comments, then I think it's okay that we get +1s.
tl;dr: I don't think we should say "if you're going to give a +1, leave a comment why you agree", IMHO.
I agree with that. +1 without comment still can have some value. But we should say “if you’re going to gibe a -1, please leave a comment”. That’s really important IMO.
When you post your +1, please leave a comment explaining why you approve, or at least what in particular you looked at in the patch that gave you a favorable impression. This whole open source community thing is a collaborative effort, so please collaborate! You comment does not have to be profound. Even just saying that you checked that the release note or docs on the patch rendered correctly in HTML is very helpful.
The same thing goes for leaving a -1 on a patch. Don't just drop a -1 bomb with no explanation. The kind of review that will put you on track for becoming core in a project is what johnthetubaguy calls a "thoughtful -1", that is, a negative review that clearly explains what the problem is and points the author in a good direction to fix it.
That's all I have to say. I now return to my normal sunny disposition.
cheers, brian
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