Lord_David's blog

By Lord_David, 3 years ago, In English

Right, so I'm not the best at making blogs but here's my attempt at proposing a coherent solution to cheating and cheating blogs.

  1. Add a report section: If someone suspects someone else of cheating they can submit the solutions of the people suspected of cheating. I then propose two options of further action: One of the people on the Codeforces team looks at those solutions and gives a final verdict. I think that might not be possible because they're probably busy people who'd rather spend time developing features for the site or making general improvement or helping with new rounds etc. The second option would be have the community decide. Have cases looked at anonymously by people over a certain rating and problems solved (to avoid high rated people with smurf accounts being able to decide the verdict.), when a case if being reviewed multiple people give their verdict on if the people are cheating and take action only in VERY overwhelming cheating verdicts to maximally limit false positives. Also if someone sees code being shared during the contest they can add it to the report section and a system can find the person that made that code and auto tag him as a cheater or "solution giver". Then if during the contest anyone submits the same code it can also auto flag them as cheating. (I also think this shouldn't apply to problems with a really simple solutions such as problems A since code there is often almost completely identical). If the Codeforces team implements this, I think it would help reduce cheating.

  2. Cheating blogs don't do anything: After every single contest there are multiple blogs talking about cheating for the next 2-3 days. They don't do anything to help. People exposed for cheating often keep on cheating and the only thing those blogs accomplish is annoy non-cheaters. The solution I proposed above would solve this problem and give people an official method of reporting cheaters. I also read this blog today and while the poster has his heart in the right place I don't think this would do much to help. Especially since it even has a Famous Cheaters section which goes to show how little blogs actually do to help with the underlying cheating problem. Another concern of mine in situations like this is false positives. In the comment section there were already arguments about whether or not someone was a cheater. For that reason blogs about cheating do more harm to the community than help.

  3. Cheating: This bit is for the people cheating. Cheating does nothing to help you. There are many reasons someone might want to cheat. You might want to show off to your friends, you might want to have a high rating to use it as a selling point at a job interview, you might think it'll help you get into university/collage if you have a high rating and add that to your application. But in the end it forms who you are, if you take the easy route and cheat you won't accomplish anything. If you show off to your friends with an unearned rating you aren't the best friend and I think your friends would agree if they were to find out about you cheating. If you need it for a job interview, think about what happens if you get the job, what happens when you face difficult problems at work and can't simply copy someones solution? If you've always taken the easy way and suddenly can't you won't last long at that job. The same goes for university/collage. Higher education is hard, much harder than competitive programming and the punishment for cheating there could ruin your life/plans if you get caught. Don't take the easy way, struggle though improvement like everyone else. You'll thank yourself for it in the end.

  4. Final thoughts: At the end of the day cheating will always exist for whatever reason someone thinks they have to cheat. The best thing you can do is focus on your own improvement. Rating means nothing, your abilities is what matters. You might have a bad contest and lose rating or get a lower rating due to mass cheating, but that doesn't change what you can and can't do. If you improve your rating will also improve regardless of what others do.

Thanks for reading!

  • Vote: I like it
  • +52
  • Vote: I do not like it

| Write comment?
»
3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

Buddy, just wanted to come clean here, what I am trying to do is I know not perfectly accurate but it still works towards the betterment of this site. I have not posted those names there without proper proof and revision, and I will try not to even in the future but some measure has to be implemented before this thing starts to fester. Right now the only thing we can do is write blogs and expose people and what better first step is there ?

  • »
    »
    3 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +5 Vote: I do not like it

    I understand that all of this is done due to the love of competitive programming and fairness, but it's been attempted by many others and has had minimal result. The cheating problem has only gotten worse. Some people while reporting cheaters even post the links to Youtube channels posting solutions in contest or telegram channels posting solutions essentially helping advertise those sources. (I know you're not doing such things, but I have seen this happen multiple times by others). A more permanent codeforces team endorsed solutions need to be made. (I proposed what I think would work best in this blog). It's great that you're trying to combat cheating and spending your personal free time on this. It's a noble cause, just think that this method doesn't help combat cheating effectively.

    • »
      »
      »
      3 years ago, # ^ |
        Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

      I am just doing what I can until the CF team implements smth otherwise. Your blog outlines good solutions which we may even see in the future. I would be happy to take down my blog as it was never my intent to spoil the blog section like this, but it hurts to see progress get hindered due to these cheaters.

      • »
        »
        »
        »
        3 years ago, # ^ |
          Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

        honest people still reaches pupil,specialist,expert,... .Please dont make it execuse for your failure

        • »
          »
          »
          »
          »
          3 years ago, # ^ |
            Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

          121632894 Jul/07/2021 19:12 cpforfunCmnt B — Customising the Track GNU C++17 (64) Skipped 358 ms 1600 KB. Says the person cheating

          • »
            »
            »
            »
            »
            »
            3 years ago, # ^ |
            Rev. 2   Vote: I like it +11 Vote: I do not like it

            you can also get skipped verdict by resubmitting, and 121634404 shows that was the case