This tag is for questions about answers: how to answer, whether specific answers are appropriate, and so forth.
1
vote
4answers
138 views
Is it really necessary to explain trivial answers? [closed]
OP: How do I rewrite x = a + 1 + b - 1?
Me: x = a + b.
Community: hey, you didn't explain how you did that! Take 5 ...
2
votes
3answers
113 views
Preventing the ability to re-open off-topic questions by explaining how it's broken in an answer
Earlier this year I posted an answer to a question,
saying that it's broken in a way that OP don't think, explaining it a bit, and then wrote a comment saying it's off-topic, and voted to close.
...
8
votes
2answers
150 views
If my review includes code, must it be a perfectly working solution to the OP's problem?
Often when I write an answer I write some code to go with it, ie "this method is written a little weird, you could simplify it as X, Y, Z, example". This code is ...
-8
votes
2answers
77 views
Code Score Cards
I'm trying out a new type of review, which includes a score card at the top in addition to the rest of the review to summarize how the code shapes up. I would like to standardize the scores within ...
11
votes
3answers
245 views
Is it acceptable for an answer to contain fully rewritten code?
Often when I am reviewing code on Code Review I focus on readability of code, SRP, testing and things of that nature. For example, as I am writing an answer, I point out bad variable, function and/or ...
7
votes
0answers
58 views
Would it be possible to have the question closer to the answer field?
I find that when answering a question on Code Review, I'm constantly scrolling to the top of the page, copying some code, scrolling to the bottom, pasting it, then editing it. I do this over and over. ...
22
votes
4answers
481 views
Should pedantry be discouraged?
I'm taking about this answer which is essentially pedantry about two variable names, which seems to be meant as a funny remark.
I mentioned (in the first comment) that such an answer contributes far ...
1
vote
0answers
22 views
How do we feel about canonical post for repeat review concepts? [duplicate]
I had started to write a question where I felt I was just going to repeat myself in reviews.
Well I've been in the city since I was two and I certainly wouldn't say that I was stuck in a rut... ...
3
votes
2answers
51 views
Dynamic editor width when answering
After answering a few questions on Code Review and Stack Overflow, I noticed that the editor allows you to resize vertically, but not horizontally. The width seems to allow 80 characters.
My ...
13
votes
6answers
153 views
Is nitpicking worthy of a full answer?
Sometimes, others have already pointed out the obvious flaws in a review. What is left after that are details: naming conventions, style conventions, things that are not bugs that affect results, ...
13
votes
1answer
183 views
Is the automatic low quality answer comment unfit for Code Review?
This is the comment made on my behalf when I recommended deletion on an answer in the VLQ queue:
This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an ...
16
votes
3answers
169 views
What are our answer editing guidelines?
On this site, we have a well-known policy on editing code in questions: Don't. After all, that code is up for review, in all its glorious ugliness and buginess. But clearly, such reasoning cannot ...
11
votes
5answers
206 views
Downvoting trivial answers
I think the most important question when reading an answer is: Will this answer make the code better? If the answer is yes!, that merits an upvote. But if the answer is meh??, I think the answer needs ...
10
votes
1answer
75 views
Upon finding a bug, should you continue reviewing? [duplicate]
Occasionally, when I am writing a review, I'll notice that the OP's code has a small typo in it that renders that part of their code broken.
Should I stop, delete my review, and leave them a comment ...
9
votes
3answers
82 views
Should I cast a VLQ flag on an answer that has a moderator notice on it?
This question has arisen from a discussion on the following question:
Best way to work with async
The answer posted was flagged as a Very Low Quality answer by a member of the community, to which ...
15
votes
5answers
149 views
Do you have to speak the language to answer the question?
I frequently read in chat users saying things about not being able to answer this question or that because they don't know the language used in the question.
Is this true? What knowledge level is ...
2
votes
0answers
30 views
When is it okay to post multiple answers? [duplicate]
Recently, I decided to look over this post again.
As I was reading all the answers, I started to get the feeling that I had seen an answerer's name more than once. Scrolling back up the page, I found ...
7
votes
1answer
67 views
Is it okay to give a review without actually answering some of the OP's requests?
I sometimes find questions that look interesting, or badly need a review, but sometimes the OP requests certain things to be reviewed, like "algorithm correctness", or "performance help". Sometimes I ...
12
votes
5answers
93 views
Answering a JavaScript question with jQuery
Say someone writes a question about some JavaScript code that does not use jQuery. Then, someone comes along to write a review.
In their review, the first thing they write is that the OP should use ...
7
votes
2answers
51 views
Using another answer's improvement in your own answer
Hypothetical scenario:
Person A writes a review for a question. He writes a improvement X. Person B also writes a review for the question, after person A does. Person B has something to add to ...
3
votes
3answers
42 views
Is it appropriate to reveal solutions to public challenges in comments and answers?
I've seen a question that asks for a review of a piece of code that solves a public coding challenge (linked in the question). The first comment just discloses the optimal solution without actually ...
10
votes
3answers
69 views
Should you write the code for the OP?
I've seen a couple of answers have sections at the end of the post where it brings together all of the recommendations that have been mentioned in that post and re-writes the code using those ...
20
votes
3answers
163 views
A code review without the code
Recently, I wrote a review that discussed certain points in the OP's code, but did not contain any code in the review itself.
Are answers like these discouraged?
12
votes
6answers
90 views
Performance checking tools
Performance checkers: What tools are available for attaining the metrics necessary to perform a performance review? Bench-marking is often not easily done by hand after all.
This is a follow-up to ...
22
votes
26answers
506 views
Tools for format and error checking in your programming language
Lints and Hints: What tools are available for checking and correcting the conventions, style and common errors in my language (lint tools), and are there tools that can automatically fix them (hint ...
11
votes
2answers
116 views
Is there a place for automated code reviews?
What I'd wish for is that I wouldn't have to be a human lint tool.
— Pimgd
There are questions on CR where running the code through lint or a similar tool could give useful tips to the poster, ...
20
votes
4answers
187 views
Justify your review!
The same problems come up over and over again in code reviews and it can get a bit tiresome wheeling out the same basic items of advice. If it were a code review at work, you'd be quite within your ...
6
votes
1answer
68 views
To what extent should a recorded Excel macro be rewritten (removing .Select)?
I'm just feeling my way around here, having had a post recently moved over from another site together with its question. While I like the idea of a place to ask specifically for improvements to ...
17
votes
1answer
156 views
Complete code rewrite
I came across this question today:
Count the ways to partition an array into two equal sets
This question can be interpreted in a way, that it asks for a complete rewrite of the code, and indeed ...
21
votes
9answers
244 views
Help spot deficiencies in our Help Center
Regular participants will be familiar with procedures and practices on Code Review. For example, we have rules against
asking hypothetical questions
appending to or modifying the question after ...
8
votes
9answers
301 views
Best of Code Review 2014 - Night and Day category
Please post your nominations for the Best of Code Review 2014 - Night and Day category.
The most dramatic improvement (nominate both the question with the most hopeless code and the answer that ...
11
votes
8answers
294 views
Best of Code Review 2014 - Exterminator category
Please post your nominations for the Best of Code Review 2014 - Exterminator category.
Answer that points out the most interesting obscure bug in the original code.
In your nomination post, ...
10
votes
7answers
475 views
Best of Code Review 2014 - Lots of Laughs category
Please post your nominations for the Best of Code Review 2014 - Lots of Laughs category.
Answer that makes the best use of humor to illustrate a point.
In your nomination post, please make sure ...
13
votes
2answers
184 views
Should answers to questions be in the same language?
This is in regards to Solving the Lazy Hobo Riddle.
Is it acceptable to have answers that have code written in a different language than the OP's? The OP has since accepted an answer, but others are ...
11
votes
2answers
104 views
Should we encourage deliberately incomplete answers?
Let's say you have 5 ideas to criticize in a question.
I see some advantages in including only 3 of them in your answer:
Other answerers will have more things to say, making it easier to join in:
...
30
votes
4answers
708 views
How can I be a nice reviewer?
From Remove Nth Node from End of Linked List:
Bug: n < 0 leads to you removing the last node.
Your solution should have comments: I have NO idea how it ...
11
votes
3answers
99 views
Duplicated answers for duplicate patterns/subroutines
Question 1 - Answer 1
Question 2 - Answer 2
Question 3 - Answer 3
More duplicates of this pattern from the same user:
Iterator for binary tree - pre, in, and post order iterators
Isomorphic trees ...
12
votes
3answers
132 views
Is the SE voting system insufficient for CR answers?
The question that prompted this is Add or view pattern with MVVM (but I think this situation is pretty common).
There, you have two answers: one is long, thorough and overall great; the other is much ...
11
votes
2answers
169 views
Are encrypted answers acceptable?
In these sorts of problems you can't take the simple approach, you've
got to come up with a clever way to avoid actually simulating the
eating of the candy bars.
Some hints (in rot13), for ...
9
votes
2answers
70 views
Should we spend a little more effort telling people what they've done right?
Code Reviews tend to be a bit of a negative thing. We spend a lot of time pointing out problems in other people's code (and rightfully so). However, a good code review also points out what was done ...
13
votes
2answers
67 views
Reviewing reviews
If I find a review that seems to have a lot wrong with it, as in, I want to go through the review line by line and review it as if it had been a question, what action should I take?
A downvote is a ...
4
votes
2answers
49 views
Is it ok to review only a part of the code [duplicate]
Recently, I went through a question where there was quite alot of code and I didn't have time to read it all carefuly (I still went through the code!). I still posted an answer that reviews the code ...
8
votes
1answer
76 views
Questions containing false statements: Edit or Answer?
http://codereview.stackexchange.com/review/suggested-edits/24111
The asker posts a false statement: "This code runs in time complexity X." Should they be corrected in an answer or in an edit? ... or ...
14
votes
2answers
148 views
Check list for formatting questions and answers
I have seen that moderators work hard to format questions and answers.
Is there a check list they use (specially for CR), so others can also contribute by editing or properly formatting their own ...
6
votes
1answer
133 views
Is solely suggesting another solution a bad answer?
Related to Is a bad approach for a problem a good reason to close a question?, this question is about the opposite instead: Is solely suggesting another solution a bad answer? We've been over this ...
36
votes
2answers
914 views
Jack of All Trades, Master of None - Let's work together to offer ultimately better content, faster
Nhgrif pointed out a great idea: Teamwork
"I think it's probably best if the question instead has several good
answers that each address a specific topic. The result will be that no
single ...
6
votes
2answers
94 views
Should timings be included in answers where appropriate?
For many of the questions I've looked at, I see people saying that the algorithms or parts of the implementation will be 'slow', but no one seems to follow this up with performance figures for a '...
12
votes
1answer
101 views
Self-answers that re-write code with little/no explanation
I came across this self-answer today:
http://codereview.stackexchange.com/a/10844/46800
It had no explanation or evaluation of the code in question, just a code rewrite. This seems to me to not ...
11
votes
4answers
2k views
Code Hunt : Perfect score means not-so-perfect coding
With a recent question I went to Code Hunt and played there a little bit.
At one moment I get this result as question :
...
16
votes
1answer
226 views
Checklist or general directions on how to write a good CR-ish answer
This question is intended to be the counterpart of: Checklist for how to write a good Code Review question
Getting started with Code Review:
New users often seem to have problems to understand, ...
