topcoder releated question -- > cheating

[sohel]

Can any one tell me the catagories that fall into cheating in topcoder.

There was a contest recently 'google code jam india', and in that contest i was disqualified for cheating.

But, I don't think I did anything 'bad'.

I opened a 250 point, coded it and submitted it for 208 points.
Then I opened 1000 point which i failed to solve.

So, what is it that i did against the law.

[Cho]

You better send an email to them to ask why they think you was cheating.
Most brobably they think you collaborated with somebody else.

[Krzysztof Duleba]

Maybe somebody else was using the same IP and they didn't like it.

[sohel]

Maybe somebody else was using the same IP and they didn't like it.

I think that could be a reason.
My brother also participated in the contest and when he finished i used the same pc and thus same ip.

But we got a completely different set of questions.

Can you tell me what to do now.
The next round is tomorrow, there is only a small amount of time left.

[Krzysztof Duleba]

I don't think there's much you can do except writing to them. If I were you, I'd attach links to my TC, UVa and all other profiles to proove I'm not an anonymous cheater. Your problem is that it's never easy to admit that such decision was a mistake.

You should also try at TC forum (TC is much closer to GICJ than UVa is) and maybe ask TC to help you out.

[shamim]

Maybe somebody else was using the same IP and they didn't like it.

If they mind to this, shouldn't they make it clear some where, Coders should not log in from same PC.

No such mentioning was made anywhere.

[shamim]

You better send an email to them to ask why they think you was cheating.
Most brobably they think you collaborated with somebody else.

Right now, I am logged into the India Google CodeJam arena, it seems that some other people also suffered.

Sadly, the admin there isn't responding to any queries, although it shows that they are logged in.

[misof]

I agree with Krzysztof, use the board at TC: http://forums.topcoder.com/?module=Main
and send an e-mail to gcji@topcoder.com as quickly as possible.

[sohel]

I agree with Krzysztof, use the board at TC: http://forums.topcoder.com/?module=Main
and send an e-mail to gcji@topcoder.com as quickly as possible.

I already opened a thread at TC and you took part in that too --> thanks.

I also mailed them at the given address, but they are not replying.
What can I do now?
Little time left...

-- sohel

[Krzysztof Duleba]

Call them?

[sohel]

http://forums.topcoder.com/?module=Thre ... 5&start=15

They have deactivated my account from topcoder as well.
You can see the replies from the admin and myselft in shamim's post.

My advice to all is never teach or inspire anyone, otherwise you will be punished for cheating.

Will uva close my account too.

i use scanf("%d", &n) to take input.
.. so you guys have to devise your own method to take input. If you use scanf(), then you will be cheating.

-- sohel

[sumankar]

My advice to all is never teach or inspire anyone, otherwise you will be punished for cheating.

And why so? Letting yourself down based on second hand opinion
is not the best thing to do.

Will uva close my account too.

I'am planning to create a poll. Guess they will

i use scanf("%d", &n) to take input.
.. so you guys have to devise your own method to take input. If you use scanf(), then you will be cheating.
-- sohel

Liar! Liar! You just stole Dennis' method. But maybe TC will just
eliminate Dennis for using that

[shahriar_manzoor]

I think if TC really wants to remove cheaters they should go to ICPC forms. Start different regional centers, email questions and data there and ask respectable bodies to conduct the contest. Otherwise one such unfair elimination is too much to bear. Because when judge data is wrong and people suffer that is one thing but now you are eliminating someone with a cheater tag with his name.

I know Shamim and Sohel and when they are saying thay have not cheated I am confident they have not done it.

It is not difficult to know all the reasonably good contestants of the world, TC can try to do that as well.

[shahriar_manzoor]

Long ago I heard from a renowned ACM ICPC Coach the following thing

"The contest should either be open book or closed book cannot be in between", then I did not understand what it means but now I do

although current ICPC goes somewhere in between I am not a supoorter of that. Because as problemsetters we should be able to set problems which requires new thinking and not just a copy paste from previous codes. It is true that UVa contest has some conventional problems but that is only for our lack of time and voluntary nature of this site. After all the efforts if a problem becomes similar with another problem that is just a mere accident.

To detect cheating all the problems in a contest should be unique. It is absurd to expect that two people's LIS, Floyd-W code will always be different. Both of them can copy it from corman that thus write the same code let alone shamim's case of being direct tutor.

I am and will not write it to topcoder forums because I don't have any intension to get into direct urgue with them and Because at present they are a more popular and better site than UVa.

But surely instead of arranging so many contest they could just switch to contest with new problems (Easy problems can be new too) if they really want to detect real cheaters.

[Krzysztof Duleba]

I don't think that originality of problems has anything to do with the issues that TC have with cheaters.