Subject: [bug#66436] [PATCH v2] doc: Add some guidelines for reviewing.

From: Ludovic Courtès <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2023 17:54:11 +0200

Hi,

Maxim Cournoyer <[email-masked]> skribis:

> * doc/contributing.texi (Contributing) [Reviewing the Work of Others]: New
> section.
> * doc/contributing.texi (Debbugs Usertags): Expound with Emacs Debbugs
    ^
Nitpick: no need to repeat the file name.

> +@node Reviewing the Work of Others
> +@section Reviewing the Work of Others

[...]

> +@cindex reviewing, guidelines
> +Review comments should be unambiguous; be as clear and explicit as you
> +can about what you think should be changed, ensuring the author can take
> +action on it.  Please try to keep the following guidelines in mind
> +during review:

[...]

> +@item
> +@emph{Remain focused: do not change the scope of the work being
> +reviewed.}  For example, if the contribution touches code that follows a
> +pattern deemed unwieldy, it would be unfair to ask the submitter to fix
> +all occurrences of that pattern in the code; to put it simply, if a
> +problem unrelated to the patch at hand was already there, do not ask the
> +submitter to fix it.

Another item came to mind, that could be phrased like this:

  Spend time proportional to the stakes.  Ensure the discussion focuses
  on important aspects of the changes; do not let it be derailed by
  objectively unimportant issues@footnote{This situation is often
  referred to as ``bikeshedding'', where much time is spent discussing
  each one's preference for the color of the shed at the expense
  progress made on the project to keep bikes dry.}.  In particular,
  issues such as code formatting and other conventions can be dealt with
  through automation---e.g., @command{guix lint} and @command{guix
  style}---or through documentation (@pxref{Packaging Guidelines}, as an
  example).

Maybe that makes the guidelines too long though; your call.

Otherwise LGTM!

Ludo’.