1 min lesson
Respect the constraints you can't see
Use "Respect the constraints you can't see" to tell the cases apart, then choose a response for each one.
Step 1 of 2
Respect the constraints you can't see
You are critiquing work real people shipped under pressure, possibly the people in the room. Lead with what's working before you cut and frame fixes as trade-offs rather than verdicts.
“This is wrong, the spacing is all over the place.”
Reads as someone who has never shipped under a deadline.
“The information density is strong here. If I owned it I'd unify the spacing to a 4px scale, though I'd want to know if the cramped rows were a deliberate density call first.”
Reads as a peer who respects the work and the unknowns.
The reviewer may push back or add context: “we actually had to support 14px because of a localization constraint.” The right move is to absorb it and revise on the spot - “that changes it; given that, I'd protect the line height instead and let the container grow.” Both halves matter. Have a real opinion and change it cleanly when the facts change. That is truth-seeking in miniature and it is exactly what the values round is also watching for.