At the end of the quarter, CS106A staff runs analytic software over all the homework submissions to find sections of code that are copied from somewhere. We then look at the code more carefully to figure out what happened and who is involved. We have not done this yet for this quarter, so there's a chance for anyone who made a mistake earlier in the quarter to set the record straight before we find the honor code violations ourselves.
Essentially, our honor code policy says that you can exchange ideas with other students and the staff, but then you should take those insights and use them to write your own code. If you discuss the homework with other students or brainstorm in a big group during office hours, then incorporate those ideas into your code, that's completely fine. That is within the spirit of exchanging ideas and writing code.
In contrast, we'll say a type-1 honor code violation looks like someone had access to someone else's solution and used it as the basis of their solution. A type-2 honor code violation looks like two students collaborating on one copy of the code and then both submitting a version of that solution.
If you are concerned that you have a type-1 or type-2 case: fill out the retroactive citation form and explain what happened and where this code came from. You do not need to name names. The contents of this form will only be seeen by Nick and Elyse. In order for this to protect you from an honor code case, you need to be truthful and specific about what happened. Nick and Elyse will look at these responses and work out a fair assignment score, potentially retracting the assignment entirely.
Because of the time it takes to look through these, we need you to submit the form by 2pm on Monday, December 19th.