Developer Over-Explanation as a Sign of Insecurity


When Devs Send You a Wall of Text….

i get worried when a dev drops a novel in slack. not because i hate reading.
i recognize why they wrote it.
over-explaining isn't about detail → its self-protection.

every extra paragraph is a shield. they're answering questions you haven't asked yet → bracing for criticism.
this usually comes from past toxic managers. or worse → it comes from you.

if your team over-explains, ask if they feel safe.



This article was originally published on https://craftengineer.com/. It was written by a human and polished using grammar tools for clarity.
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