Conventional comments I think are hugely helpful - for example, instead of commenting on a PR with:
this could be extracted to a helper function
This would be more useful:
suggestion (not blocking): this could be extracted to a helper function
It's really hard to receive PR reviews with lots of "general comments" - there's a lot of mental processing and effort involved in establishing what needs responded to, what's a genuine blocker, and what's just an idea being put out there.
The other thing I would say is to be sure to comment on positive things, as well as things you would change/suggest. It just helps transform the PR review from a "barrier to merging" into a genuine conversation about the code and approach, which everyone can learn more from.
Front end developer specialising in JavaScript and React. Experienced in all aspects of modern front end development. Passionate about making accessible, secure and performant software.
Conventional comments I think are hugely helpful - for example, instead of commenting on a PR with:
This would be more useful:
It's really hard to receive PR reviews with lots of "general comments" - there's a lot of mental processing and effort involved in establishing what needs responded to, what's a genuine blocker, and what's just an idea being put out there.
The other thing I would say is to be sure to comment on positive things, as well as things you would change/suggest. It just helps transform the PR review from a "barrier to merging" into a genuine conversation about the code and approach, which everyone can learn more from.
I agree. I've started using conventional comments lately and I love them.