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Comment by seiwyn | Hacker News Reader

If the teacher didn't bother enough to read the paper and fail him, maybe he deserves the degree that he got.

Though someone stated that (not sure if this is fact) there is no statute of limitations on plagiarism, I feel like when it comes to college papers there should be.

Regardless of the fact that legally, college students are adults, they are still very prone to making mistakes. I see no reason to punish this one simply because he had the misfortune of copying a paper from an internet blogger.

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"Regardless of the fact that legally, college students are adults, they are still very prone to making mistakes."

How is it that you define wholesale copying of someone else's work and passing it off as your own a "mistake"? You might as well call burglary a "mistake".

"I see no reason to punish this one simply because he had the misfortune of copying a paper from an internet blogger."

Holy chutzpah Batman! He chose of his own free will to copy someone's work rather than do the work himself (which is CLEARLY against the rules). But because the person he copied from is a blogger who has the means to expose his misdeeds, that's unfair?

Punching a hole in the wall is a mistake. Cheating on your wife is a mistake. Steering your car into a ditch, or into another car, is a mistake. People can do these things out of a sudden lapse of attention or outburst of emotion. Plagiarism isn't a mistake, it's premeditated and everyone knows not to do it.

Cheating on your wife is a mistake

I can't imagine the circumstances where that's true. In general, you'd have at least a few hours to decide and change your mind. In most cases it wouldn't happen at all unless you actively show your interest in that other person.

Maybe when you're drunk and a lady just throws herself at you out of nowhere? I don't know how I would call such a person though ... lucky bastard?

Humans are hard wired to eat, fuck, fight and flee; everything else takes deliberation. That said, you may be right and I'm not inclined to quibble this particular point :)

I'd like to see the teacher and school named too. If 1 plagiarist in a million is publicly ripped to shreds, it won't make a difference. If a school that possibly graduates thousands of plagiarists is discredited, more professors might actually do their jobs.

I don't think it's unethical to cheat if cheating becomes the norm. At some point, it becomes the fault of the system, not the participants, and the schools are higher up the food chain.

"Misfortune"? Seriously?

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