Hi! I got a message stating that "Your solution 123456789 for the problem 9999H significantly coincides with solutions tourist/987654321, jiangly/987654322."

Anyone who has looked that that one blog has seen numerous comments like this. Obviously, except for a few cases, no change has been carried out.

Of course, sometimes you didn't cheat, and you followed all the regulations. False positives happen.

Here are some things that you shouldn't (and should) say in order to make a genuine request for Mike to review your case.

1. do NOT over-emphasise your rating.

"pls pls pls give my rating back (emoji) i need it i was so close to expert"

First of all, it feels fake.

Besides, obsessing over rating is a common trait of cheaters — if you aren't cheating, you can get the rating back in a few rounds anyways. What's the worst that could happen? You could get back anyways, if you aren't cheating.

2. do NOT say "I didn't mean it, it must have been accientally leaked blah blah blah"

It is your responsibility to safeguard your code — and prevent cheating. If you code your solutions and don't prevent others from copying, you are guilty as well. This applies also to ideone issues. Read carefully, and avoid it next time.

3. do NOT say "this will never happen in future please give my rating back blah blah blah"

A murderer goes to court, sobs and says that this will never happen again, blah blah blah. Does this change anything? No, the murderer is still behind bars for their remaining lifetime.

You are no different. You still have to take responsibility. So take it.

4. DO give concrete sources or links if you want your review to be considered.

Mike will NOT take the time to plough through the Internet. Make his life easier, and he'll make yours easier.

e.g. DO — "the common source is [insert public link, or anything that decisively proves your innocence]"

DON'T — "we both copied segment tree template" with zero info

5. do NOT nudge Mike.

"MikeMirzayanov It has been a month without update. Do you plan to address it?"

No, he doesn't. He does look at the blog and review cases; if he didn't take action, forget it.

Overall, be nice. Don't be annoying about it, and leave a good impression.

Final thing: your history has a great impact on your CP career. If you cheated once, your credibility plummets. So stay away from cheating, and have a good day