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An old programmer told me my code was too clever

Back in 2019, a senior dev looked at my Python script for sorting old photo metadata and said 'if you need a comment to explain it, rewrite it.' I changed how I write to use simpler loops and clearer variable names. Has anyone else gotten feedback that forced you to drop a bad habit?
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the_sarah
the_sarah12d agoOG Member
That "if you need a comment to explain it" line really stuck with me too lol
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scott.grace
The other day I saw someone post three lines of code with a 15 line comment and I just laughed. It's everywhere, not just code. My mom left a sticky note on the microwave explaining how to reheat soup like it was a NASA manual. I've noticed people at work write emails that are basically essays because they don't trust the receiver to get the point. It's like everyone is scared someone won't understand the obvious stuff so they over explain everything. But then the real tricky stuff with no explanation? That's where the problems always start.
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