# Plagiarism - rat out fellow student or keep quiet **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 22, 2015, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444 "2015-10-22T10:48:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/1 "2015-10-22T10:48:50Z")
If you caught a fellow student plagiarizing would you report it or stay quiet about it? My son came to me with this last night. He had to reply to to a message on a discussion board, and he questioned one of the statements made. He googled the questionable material and the first website that came up had almost word for word what had been posted on the board. The only difference is the compound sentence on the web site was broken into two sentences and a few adjectives were removed. The rest of the post was also copied, almost word for word from wikipedia. He decided he will not reply to this post, he can choose another one, and he doesn’t want to say anything. However, the school honor code states that students are not only responsible for their own honesty and integrity but also that of their fellow students. I’m not trying to sway him one way or the other, I’m glad it’s not my dilemma. Of course there’s a chance the instructor will catch it. If my son caught it so easily just trying to verify the information I’m sure the instructor will catch it too. What would you do? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/2 "2015-10-22T11:28:44Z")
The cheater won’t know he was the one who ratted him/her out. So what’s the dilemma? I’m guessing any instructor worth their salt will know about the crime anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Abner\_Ravenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Abner\_Ravenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abner_Ravenwood)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/3 "2015-10-22T11:34:12Z")
I noticed a student had copied and pasted several paragraphs directly from a web site for an online assignment for the Business Spanish class I took earlier this year. I decided to say nothing because I didn’t want to be a snitch. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/4 "2015-10-22T12:54:02Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > The cheater won’t know he was the one who ratted him/her out. So what’s the dilemma? > > I’m guessing any instructor worth their salt will know about the crime anyway. No, she won’t know. It could be anybody in the class who says something. He feels like he could ruin her chances of getting an education if he says something. On the other hand it is cheating. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/5 "2015-10-22T12:55:09Z")
If nobody reports plagiarism, it’s not going to get stopped, unless you have a professor with way more time on their hands. I’d use an anonymous email, drop a link to the forum post, a link to the wiki page, and a link to the website, and let the professor decide what to do from there. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/6 "2015-10-22T13:04:26Z")
> [@Sahirrnee](#): > > However, the school honor code states that students are not only responsible for their own honesty and integrity **but also that of their fellow students**. (bolding mine)…That’s just so wrong. Snitches get stitches. Students ought not be encouraged to rat out their classmates for these kinds of trivialities. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/7 "2015-10-22T13:04:43Z")
Could this be a set-up? A test of his integrity? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/8 "2015-10-22T13:18:51Z")
I’d post a response to the cheater’s post ratting her out and citing the sources that were copied. And not for one second would I feel guilty of “depriving someone of an education” because she isn’t getting one anyway–she’s copying other people’s work and taking credit for it. Nobody did this to her, she did it to herself. It’s not just cheating. It’s someone defrauding a system in order to get the diploma/certification or whatever when they don’t deserve it. The result is someone not competent in the field gets a certification saying they are. When it becomes known they are not in fact competent, then the certificate someone else relied on, and the institution that issued it, becomes worthless. Then everyone else who actually did the work has a less valuable credential. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/9 "2015-10-22T13:19:51Z")
How old are these kids? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/10 "2015-10-22T13:31:57Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Students ought not be encouraged to rat out their classmates for these kinds of trivialities. Where does it stop being trivial and start being meaningful? Should he refrain from telling everyone if he knows another student’s final essay is plagiarized? ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/11 "2015-10-22T13:46:04Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Snitches get stitches. > > Students ought not be encouraged to rat out their classmates for these kinds of trivialities. What is this, the Mob? Geez. Students today pledge to a honor code with the school. They should honor their pledges. And, it shouldn’t be “students against teachers”, which is what some are implying. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/12 "2015-10-22T13:54:45Z")
I wouldn’t bother, simply because wikipedia plagiarism is so fucking obvious. Plus, there’s a good chance that there’s already automatic plagiarism detection, since they often come with the platforms that are used for class discussion boards. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/13 "2015-10-22T13:55:39Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > How old are these kids? He’s 20, she’s probably around 40. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/14 "2015-10-22T13:56:25Z")
I attended a school with an honor code. It only worked because we, the students, took it seriously too. Report it, anonymously or not. As has been mentioned, the student who is cheating is not really getting an education, anyway, are they? Better to learn this lesson now than later in life, when the consequences can be a lot more serious. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/15 "2015-10-22T14:00:30Z")
Reply to the post in question, but cite it correctly. IME plagiarizing from Wiki is not the mark of the expert. Thus it tends to be self-limiting. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/16 "2015-10-22T14:11:56Z")
> [@Sahirrnee](#): > > He decided he will not reply to this post, he can choose another one, and he doesn’t want to say anything. However, the school honor code states that students are not only responsible for their own honesty and integrity but also that of their fellow students. Does the honor code specifically outline what it thinks it means to be honest and have integrity? If it’s just a pledge to to be responsible for one’s own and others, then it leaves it up to the student to determine what that means and to what lengths they should go to enforce it. In my mind, this is a situation where clearly the honesty and integrity of the other student is in question, but at the same time, the idea of tattling is a violation of my own concept of integrity. Now, certainly, I think plagiarism is a worse violation than tattling, but I also put a greater value on my own integrity than on others’. And it’s not a question of whether I would report the student anonymously or not; if anything, I think it’s of less integrity to snitch but not be willing to put my own name on it. So, the question to me is, if the honor code explicitly dictates that I should report it, then I would, because I’d pledged to uphold it, and I would do it by linking the source in the thread. If it’s not explicitly stated, then my own concept of not tattling would likely be the course I’d follow. Further, in this case, though the student may or may not be reported by another student or caught by the professor, if someone is going to cheat on something as simple as a forum discussion and in such a lazy way as essentially copying the first Google result, then that person is definitely going to get caught down the line. There’s simple tools out there that many high schools and universities use that compare papers to online resources and determine if they’re plagiarized. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/17 "2015-10-22T14:15:32Z")
I’d email the professor and let him/her know. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/18 "2015-10-22T15:08:32Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Where does it stop being trivial and start being meaningful? Should he refrain from telling everyone if he knows another student’s final essay is plagiarized? It stops being trivial if actual harm will be caused to someone else or themselves. And none of this, “But she is cheating herself of an education!”, BS. Her education, her decision, her consequences (sooner or later). So yeah, he should zip it and let the school/professor do his job. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/19 "2015-10-22T15:11:58Z")
If these message board post assignments are like the ones I’ve seen elsewhere, they are required for course points and may even be graded. So this student is harming others by artificially inflating the grading curve and inflating her own grade point average. You didn’t answer my second question, incidentally. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444/20 "2015-10-22T15:14:57Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > What is this, the Mob? Geez. What is this, Duddley Do-Right? > [@Icarus](#): > > Students today pledge to a honor code with the school. They should honor their pledges. This is not 1984. Students should not be made to Big Brother their classmates. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plagiarism-rat-out-fellow-student-or-keep-quiet/735444.md?page=2)