[Tutor] A rant about Tutor homework policy

[Magnus Lyckå]

At 11:07 2003-06-15 -0700, Sean 'Shaleh' Perry wrote:
>3) if no one responds a new reader of the list may send the "help" requested.
>Several times in recent weeks I have seen responses sent to a request I would
>not answer out of concerns of cheating.

I agree completely, but it might not just be a new reader.

I think I'm a pretty naive guy, and first of all, I'm technically
oriented. I tend to think more about the programming problem than
about the person asking. I guess I'll often find typical school
assignments odd and ask what the poster is really trying to
accomplish, since I do consider the context of problems, but it
wouldn't surprise me a bit if I've done a fair bit of school work
here. I'm not happy about that.

Please, Sean and others, ask politely if the poster is possibly
asking about a school assignment when it seems suspicious to you.
To stay quiet instead of responding means that quite honest attempts
to try to use Python in a serious way might not get the support it
deserves. Some time back, I got suspicious about Jen, who was
really trying to use Python for her mite (?) research. I'm happy
that I didn't just go silent on her, since I think she's just the
kind of user who could gain a lot from using Python.

I love the kind of free society that internet provides, but I am
concerned about the abuse of this freedom that occurs all the time:
SPAM, frauds and sabotage of different kinds. I certainly see these
things as serious threats to the free internet community.


--
Magnus Lycka (It's really Lyckå), magnus@thinkware.se
Thinkware AB, Sweden, www.thinkware.se
I code Python ~ The Agile Programming Language