How to Do Code Reviews Like a Human (Part One)
Michael Lynch argues that most code review writing obsesses over finding bugs and ignores the social half of the process, turning reviews into judgments of the author rather than the code. Drawing on his own review experience, he offers concrete practices: push whitespace, build, test, and lint checks into CI and formatters so humans review logic; settle style disputes with a style guide instead of arguing mid-review; start reviews immediately and keep each round under one business day; stay under roughly 20-50 notes per round and lead with high-level design feedback; include runnable code examples but cap them at two or three per round; never write "you" in a comment, preferring "we", subject-less shorthand, or questions; phrase feedback as requests rather than commands; and tie every note to a stated principle with links to the team style guide or library docs. Aimed at engineers who want reviews that improve code without damaging the team.