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    You don't just return the code saying "refactor. now" - why? I received such review comments at least once and last time I remember it turned out helpful and correct. I had to rewrite big chunk of code from the scratch and this was the right thing to do because looking back I saw it myself that old code was an unsalvageable mess. Reviewer was simply enough qualified to notice that (and I apparently wasn't) Commented Dec 16, 2016 at 21:20
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    @gnat: For one, because it's rude. You look better when you explain what's wrong with the code and take effort to help the other person improve it. In a large company doing it otherwise may get you out of the door quickly. Especially if you reviewing a more senior person's code. Commented Dec 16, 2016 at 21:24
  • that case I referred above, it was in large established company that just happened to be careful enough about not getting out of the door their most qualified developers, at least not on the grounds of directly sharing their technical expertise when asked to Commented Dec 16, 2016 at 21:29
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    @gnat: The approach "refactor. now" may work downwards, i.e. when a senior developer with 10+ years of experience says to refactor to a junior developer who was hired 1 month ago with no experience, or similar situation. Upwards - you may have a problem. Because you may not know how much experience the other developer has, it's safe to assume respect as default behavior. It won't hurt you for sure. Commented Dec 16, 2016 at 21:39
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    @Neolisk: An experienced developer who had to write code under time pressure and knows it isn't good enough may be only too happy if you reject the code, giving him time and an excuse to improve it. The PHB deciding it's good enough makes the dev unhappy; the reviewer deciding it's not good enough makes him happy. Commented Dec 18, 2016 at 14:09