NSWI170 Computer Systems

Ethical Guidelines

It is with great regret, but given the past experience, we feel the need to lay down certain author guidelines to prevent accidental misunderstandings in ethical conduct, especially when solving lab assignments and final tests. Please read them carefully.

All the solutions submitted for evaluation (i.e., to ReCodEx) or otherwise presented to the teacher should be written only by you. In other words, it is not OK to use the code of someone else, except for the libraries and code snippets that were explicitly given to you by teachers (e.g., funshield library).

Labs are conducted in a cooperative spirit, so it is perfectly normal to discuss the concepts used in the assignments with your peers. However, rewriting pieces of code from a person sitting nearby is not OK (not to mention the possibility of copying an incorrect code). Also, note that having intensive discussions with your classmates during the labs might disturb others so it might be better to consult your teacher instead of other students.

Cooperating outside the lab hours in the same manner as in the labs (i.e., discussing the concepts only) is still acceptable. It is our objective that you learn certain things, if somebody helps you with that by explaining things you need to learn, that is OK. It is not OK to retake any code of your fellow classmates nor have someone else write the code for you, not even if you cite the source properly. Re-writing the code using only different naming or formatting conventions is even worse than copying the code literally since you are putting an effort into disguising your actions, thus admitting your malintent.

Using AI-powered coding tools like ChatGPT or GitHub Copilot is strictly forbidden in this course. It is true that under certain circumstances, they might help you to learn; however, the potential for misuse is too great to ignore. If you are truly to benefit from these tools in your future jobs, you must first learn the coding skills yourselves, so you can later use these tools effectively.

Furthermore, we would like to ask you not to publish your solutions in any form (not even after the deadlines). Allowing others to cheat is considered also illicit conduct by the ethical codex and undermines our effort to keep the labs fair. In particular, do not save your code in a public GitHub/GitLab repository. If you use such repositories, make them private. Even if your intentions are honest, displaying solutions publicly will make our jobs more difficult next year.

Bear in mind that submissions are monitored semi-automatically for similarities. Also, beware that serious violations of ethical guidelines will lead to failing the course and a record of your activities will be filed into the PlagUE system for plagiarism evidence.

If you have any questions regarding these guidelines, ask your lab teacher or the course guarantor for clarification.

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