Don't use negative variable & function names

Between the title & this: Use positive variable and function names

which was easier to read?

Here’s another example:

const isNotActive = user.status !== 'active';
 
if (!isNotActive) {
  // they're online
}
 
if (isNotActive) {
  // they're offline
}

Compared to this:

const isActive = user.status === 'active';
 
if (isActive) {
  // they're online
}
 
if (!isActive) {
  // they're offline
}

Did you notice the cognitive effort you had to do when negating the negative statement?

When we have a boolean variable - a teammate will likely need to check the opposite. Which means they’d have to negate the negative 🫠

We want to be sympathetic towards each other and keep the cognitive load for reading code as low as possible. Keep your variable/ function names positive!