Have to put out a shameless plug here for Hacker School. I looked forward to code reviews there because I learned so much from them. This is to the point that it actually surprised me reading your comment about how code reviews have been unpleasant for you. Would be great if more workplaces could adopt that kind of mindset and set of values as well.
In short, code reviews don't have to be bad, from personal experience.
1. I never said I've had unpleasant experiences with code reviews, I said they're too often wielded as a bullying tactic. This is something that can be recognized without actually being a part of the bullying tactic.
Furthermore, your comment attempts to subvert my statement by implying my observation is more about bad personal experiences and less about thoughtfulness.
2. The context for which code reviews has been used is not throwing up some code on a random website and asking random strangers to look over it for educational purposes.
The context is one of a professional environment where code is typically required to be reviewed by another professional before being allowed into the general codebase in an attempt to both educate about the current codebase, catch possible inefficiencies, and to try and maintain some form of quality control with respect to the mechanical aspects of the code.
These are completely different contexts. On a site like Hacker School the worst you're going to get is people mouthing off about shit. In a professional environment, the worst you'll get is fired. Very different environments.
Hacker School is not a random website where you throw up code to have random strangers look at it. It is a three-month-long "writer's retreat for programmers," where you are sitting and working with other developers every single day, just like in a workplace, except that you're working on what you like and won't be fired.
Code reviews are in person and could easily become unprofessional or attacking--but they don't because there are very strong social rules about how to conduct them effectively and with improvement in mind rather than criticism.
I respect the point about thoughtfulness vs personal experience, but you should at least make the effort to look up what Hacker School is before making comments about it.
