Let Reviewers Resolve Threads
REVIEW-LET-REVIEWERS-RESOLVE-THREADS
Summary
Leave nontrivial review threads for the reviewer to resolve after they confirm the concern was addressed. Authors should only close unambiguous mechanical threads, because resolution carries communication ownership.
Rule
Let reviewers resolve review threads unless resolution is unambiguous.
Why
Resolving a review thread is a communication act, not just a UI cleanup. If the author resolves a thread after a nontrivial change, the reviewer may miss the chance to confirm that the concern was actually addressed. Letting the reviewer resolve keeps ownership with the person who raised the question.
Helps
- Preserves reviewer trust and prevents important concerns from disappearing before they are rechecked.
Limits
Resolve only clearly mechanical threads yourself, such as typo fixes or duplicate comments, and leave a short note when the resolution might not be obvious from the diff.
Agent Instruction
Let reviewers resolve review threads unless resolution is unambiguous; thread resolution is a
communication act, not just a UI cleanup.Mechanisms
Supported by review-thread discipline, explicit "addressed in ..." replies, follow-up commits that name the concern, and PR summaries that call out remaining reviewer-owned threads.