decline-no-reason
A rule that is off by default: it reports a short review reply declining the change ("won't fix", "No, ...") with no reason once a decisions table turns it on.
What it catches
A short review reply declining the change ("won't fix", "No, ...") with no reason.
Dimension
stance: the text reads as a verdict on a person, or as addressed to someone else. A finding is counted on
the dimension of its rule, the cost it names to the reader.
Why
Google's review guide (eng-practices, "Handling pushback") asks whoever disagrees to explain, and acknowledge the other side's point. Only a short decline is judged: a reply of one paragraph whose words after the decline number five or fewer and hold no reason marker (because, since, so, a colon). A longer "No, the caller already sorts" carries its reason without a marker. It is a convention, not a study, so it advises.
Default decision
The code is PRF8036. The decision depends on the kind of text judged:
| Kind | Default |
|---|---|
review-reply |
off |
Changing it
A decisions table sets this rule to deny, advise or off, for everything judged
or for the files a glob matches. Proofread reads the table from the file its
-decisions flag names:
{
"rules": {"decline-no-reason": "deny"},
"paths": {"blog/**": {"decline-no-reason": "off"}}
}
rules applies to every file. A glob in paths applies to the files it matches, and the
last match wins. A rule set to off never reports.
Seeing it
A finding names the rule, its code and the decision that applies, and links here:
{"rule": "decline-no-reason", "code": "PRF8036", "decision": "off", "url": "https://eli.gladman.cc/magus/reference/proofread/decline-no-reason/"}
proofread rules prints this entry with every other rule's.
See also
- All proofread rules - every rule, grouped by what it checks
- Writing rules - how the rules apply to this repository's pages and pull requests
- The findings contract - the fields every finding carries