
Ask HN: When someone makes bad remarks on your project, how do you go about it? - rahulskn86
Should you be defensive for your current project?<p>Accepting seems like correct thing to do, since there are always things to improve in code base or the original design assumptions may not be true anymore etc.<p>However, practically I see that it is taken as admission of incorrectness and then it quickly starts to pile up. The code becomes a blame arena for all future problems too.<p>What is the best way to handle the situation?
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superimposition
Do NOT accept it as admission of incorrectness. That will typically create an
image that you're not a good worker, even when you're just trying to be polite
to the person giving feedback.

Here's the pattern that I've found useful: 1/ Rephrase the feedback "What I
heard you say...". This buys you a bit of time and putting feedback in your
words takes the personal sting out 2/ Turn it into a non-hostile discovery
discussion by saying something like "I'm interested in understanding why you
think x, y, z...". Layer in any relevant context in your question phrasing...
e.g. if the feedback is contradicting the project objectives then you may want
to add that in your question 3/ Rephrase what you heard in your own words 4/
Repeat steps 2-3 until you have sufficient clarity 5/ Decide the appropriate
next steps and articulate that. A feasible next step might be to take no
action because you either resolved the issue through discussion or identified
it's not a priority

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tiord
I think it really depends on the context, and of course on what the remark is.
I am not sure I understand what do you exactly mean by "bad remark". IMHO, in
addition to what superimposition wrote below, you should evaluate if the
remark (comment) stands or not, if it is well argumented, and if you can learn
something from it. If yes then learn fro,m it, if no then give an argumented
response. IN any case, be polite and curious.

