Re:Absolute truths I unlearned as junior developer
by reificator on Friday June 07, 2019 @03:40PM
(#20127887)
That's less about emotion and more about context, which absolutely is important to capture. Links to tracking systems, and in more dysfunctional environments, quotes from emails and water cooler conversations can help a lot when going back in time. Generally I put those in the commit message whenever it makes sense, but sometimes it's better to put it in the actual comments themselves.
On the other hand, on the rare occasion that I've commented or committed something based on emotions, I've always regretted it. Granted they never caused problems for me, just a source of internal embarrassment. Still a good enough reason to be thoughtful about what emotions you express.
I used to worry about putting emotional blurbs in comments or commit messages, but I'm starting to see their value. A commit that starts "This ugly writing is to appease Roger, the editor obsessed with AP style" lets me know three things:
- Who asked for the change - The source of the content - The fact I disagree but still do it, so future me doesn't pick fights present me avoided
Of course, it could also mean "TODO: revert this commit the minute Roger retires."