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Is finding information about problems in the comments during the contest cheating?
By SSRS_, history, 2 years ago, In English

In the latest Round Codeforces Round 810 (Div. 1), I heard that some people posted the original problem of Div.1 E in the comment section of the contest blog during the contest. Some people might have noticed it and gained an advantage.

The person who made the comment should probably be considered a cheater. But how about the people who went to the comment section and saw the comment? Should they also be considered cheaters?

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2 years ago, # |
← Rev. 2   Vote: I like it +21 Vote: I do not like it

Didn't the person who made the comment do the right thing?

If there's an original problem, it's fair to let everyone know.

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    2 years ago, # ^ |
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    I meant "during the contest". Sorry for not making it clear.

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      2 years ago, # ^ |
      ← Rev. 3   Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

      Well, before the comment there were already more than 20 people passed the problem (most in same country). But how did they know there exists an original problem?

      So we have to assume that except for this thread, there are lots of other channels for communication.

      Instead of benefiting a small group of people, it's better to publish it and make the round unrated.

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        2 years ago, # ^ |
          Vote: I like it -16 Vote: I do not like it

        You can't exclude the possibility that they all saw the problem from the same online judge and might have attempted it. If one has attempted a problem, it is much easier to remember it.

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        2 years ago, # ^ |
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        see this to know how they got the code

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2 years ago, # |
← Rev. 2   Vote: I like it -18 Vote: I do not like it

The system of "cheating" probably didn't account for such a situation. I would be inclined to say that posting during contest is cheating, but the "crime" of cheating pales in comparison to exposing what has happened.

Edit: also given how blatant the issue is, and that it appeared in the hardest problem of a round. I believe his actions were justified, partly so that people would not waste time on this problem and contest as a whole.

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    2 years ago, # ^ |
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    I believe his actions were justified...

    Does "him" refer to the person who made the comment, or the person who saw the comment?

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      2 years ago, # ^ |
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      The person who made the comment.

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    2 years ago, # ^ |
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    Exposing what has happened can totally be done after the contest has ended or quietly in the clarification section during the contest. Publishing such links while the contest is happening is effectively undermining it.

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2 years ago, # |
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Do you mean the situation of #810? To me, trying to find a solution I learned before in an old comment seems not that bad.

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2 years ago, # |
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Auto comment: topic has been updated by SSRS_ (previous revision, new revision, compare).

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2 years ago, # |
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Of course. But it's hard to tell who saw the comment. But clearly those who published the comment should be punished.

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2 years ago, # |
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They posted something that already existed, they didn't come and post their solution so I don't know if this should be considered cheating because it is mostly problem setters fault that a problem already exists somewhere

Imagine someone posting link of a problem(not solution) of ongoing contest in comments you can't punish them

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2 years ago, # |
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Auto comment: topic has been updated by SSRS_ (previous revision, new revision, compare).

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2 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +16 Vote: I do not like it

Stealing a solution form anywhere on the internet is not fair, but should not be considered as cheating.

The reason is quite simple: the solution was in the internet before the contest started, any any contestant is allowed to use any code from the internet if this code was there before the contest time.

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    2 years ago, # ^ |
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    That's not the point of this discussion, "stealing" a solution from another place on the internet is perfectly fine when it was published before the contest (and without copyright problems).

    In this case they're talking about sharing a link to the same problem on a different site during the contest, which in my opinion is totally cheating both from the commentor and also the people who read it and went to the problem (you shouldn't look at the comments of the contest blog during the contest, there's nothing you should find there, and sharing links to a problem or any other resource during a contest is cheating)

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    2 years ago, # ^ |
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    actually the solution searched online by most Chinese users is from a blog written by Flying2022(rank 10) during the contest, see this for details

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2 years ago, # |
← Rev. 2   Vote: I like it +62 Vote: I do not like it

Yes, it should — any problem-related communications during ongoing contest (incl. publicly in comments), except for clarification section, should be deemed cheating. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem technically possible to distinguish those who found solution on their own and those who saw it in a comment...

Maybe it's time to at least partially restrict commenting/blog posting during contests?

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2 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +24 Vote: I do not like it

In codeforces, you cannot use pre-writeen code witch is not written by you, so it is technically cheating.

If you find a similar problem during the contest, what you should do is to DM the problemsetters and report the issue.

But to the people who are dismay at the fact that they got a low ranking because of the 'cheaters', do not feel angry with anyone. Please read on, I'll tell you my opinions.

Life is always unfair, let us suppose in future's NOI, a rare algorithm need to be used for a problem. If you coincidentally know it, maybe you can go to the top university and have a better future. For people who doesn't know the algorithm at all, no matter how clever they are, it's impossible to solve the problem. Do you think the contest rusult should be 'unrated' and hold another contest? That sort of thing will never happen. Nothing can do to make the result fair.

What you need to do is to try your best.

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    2 years ago, # ^ |
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    You can use someone else's code if it was published before round (see here).

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    2 years ago, # ^ |
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    In codeforces, you cannot use pre-writeen code witch is not written by you, so it is technically cheating.

    Actually nope. In mike's third party code rules, he said:

    Solutions and test generators can only use source code completely written by you, with the following two exceptions:

    1. the code was written and published/distributed before the start of the round,

    2. the code is generated using tools that were written and published/distributed before the start of the round.

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    2 years ago, # ^ |
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    ok, I made a mistake, sorry about that.

    In fact, it's meaningless to discuss if they are cheaters. If use pre-written code don't break the rules, they certainly can do it. But it is a waste of time for them, they don't get anything except vanity.

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2 years ago, # |
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If the testers give the same problem on internet, I confidently dare to cheat.

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2 years ago, # |
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hmm isn`t Div1 Unrated now?

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