If somebody fails because I turn them in, then the damage to that person is specific and harmful.

And deserved.

Who would hire a graduate of Cheaters State University?

Political campaigns?

I can see where grades are important if one is applying to grad school, but outside the academic world they never EVER come up. Employers want to know if you have a degree (whihc means you passed your needed classes of course), but grades don't matter. What matters is what you know and what you do with that knowledge. Tying ones' sense of accomplishment to grades (and I've done it myself) is dicey because a professor who isn't clear about expectations or even one who is going through a bad month can give a bad grade which has little to do with the important thing, what you learned, and the bad grade is really all about them.

I see cheating as Bad Behavior. And, like for instance - here, if someone exhibits Bad Behavior, they're gonna get called on it, by whatever the parameters are. Here, those parameters are in thread then we go to the Stompies, etc. The parameters for vw are to report it to the prof. Which was the right thing to do, IMHO.

Who would hire a graduate of Cheaters State University?

I think this was how Rove's career took off actually. He was involved in a minor election, played some really nasty political tricks and got noticed.

And I am a bit of a grade whore

I don't think there is a cure for this one. At least none I've found yet.

And now I'm earwormed with "Ain't No Cure For Love."

And deserved

This.

And deserved.

Yeah, I'm not so righteous (note: righteous, not self righteous) in my moral choices that I'm going to fuck somebody else's life up to enforce my values.

Cheaters become incompetent at anything but cheating. That will catch up with them. (In most cases.)

As for the more general damage to academic probity or damage to an institution, I think of that on balance against fostering a culture of informing on others. That has its own - and to my mind even more -pernicious effects.

Moreover, the cheaters don't learn what they need to know to be a good nurse, and boy howdy is that going to be a problem when they go to take the licensing exam. Four years of nursing school down the toilet.

But what if they squeak by or manage to cheat on that too and some day I end up with a shitty nurse? Honor codes exist for a reason, not just "its good to be good".

There's a reason why snitch, tattletale, informer, rat, narc are all such unpleasant words.

Yeah, because people like to get away with shit. Vilifing the people who don't let you is just a means to that end.

The fact that they were doing it so openly and blatantly makes me think they're entitled little shits who never get called on anything. I'll admit a special hate-on for such folks.

And... any honor code I'm familiar with you turn them in or you're in violation yourself. If one has a problem with that one shouldn't agree to it in the first place.

in happier news, OTTERS WILL NOT BE MOVED! [link]

Who would hire a graduate of Cheaters State University?

Well if graduates of CSU don't want to go into politics, they can work at Enron or Haliburton.

Allegedly.