GOTO - The Brightest Minds in Tech Effective Code Reviews with Conventional Comments • Paul Slaughter & Adrienne Braganza
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Sep 5, 2025 Join Paul Slaughter, a Staff Fullstack Engineer at GitLab and creator of Conventional Comments, alongside Adrienne Braganza Tacke, a Senior Developer Advocate at Viam Robotics. They dive into how structured feedback can transform code reviews from frustrating to collaborative. Hear insights on the balance of empathy and efficiency, the importance of clear labels in communication, and how GitLab's weekly workshops promote consistency among remote teams. Discover strategies for constructive feedback that improve both team dynamics and code quality.
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Label Intent To Remove Ambiguity
- Labeling comment intent removes ambiguity in asynchronous code reviews.
- Paul Slaughter says explicit labels cut down misinterpretation and hurt feelings.
Use A Small Core Set Of Labels
- Use a small set of labels like suggestion, issue, and question for most comments.
- Reserve extra labels (polish, to-do, brainstorm) when you need to be more expressive.
Always Offer A Concrete Patch
- Pair issue comments with concrete suggestions or patches to speed resolution.
- Offer a runnable patch and ask "What do you think of this?" to encourage collaboration.
