Help ! The AboutHydrology mailing list was shutdown by Google

The groups was restored. Many thanks to who have helped !!!

Dear Subscribers,


The AboutHydrology mailing list connects nearly 6000 researchers, students, and practitioners in the field of hydrology and related sciences. However, since the beginning of December, it has been flagged as suspicious by Google and subsequently disabled. We are actively working to have this decision overturned and the list reactivated. While some of you may have been inconvenienced by AGU session announcements, marking the posts as "spam" has caused unintended consequences that affected many individuals.

For those who are impatient, please note that unsubscribing from the list is a simple and viable option if you no longer wish to receive emails. In the future, if you find yourself overwhelmed with emails, we kindly request that you unsubscribe without causing trouble for others. Who knows how to contact Google for solving the issue, please write privately to abouthydrology <at> gmail.com or contact themselves their Google people to support the group reactivation.
If Google does not reactivate the mailing list, we will explore migrating the list to another platform but obviously, it will require some time

The AboutHydrology managing group

Code Washing

 This time, I want to address the concerning issue of students inappropriately reusing open-source code without a clear understanding of open-source licenses.

It's crucial for students to grasp the essence of open source licenses, understanding that they are not just permissions to copy but guidelines for responsible use. Engaging with open-source code should involve a genuine learning process, encouraging students to comprehend and apply the principles embedded in the code they explore.

Merely having access to code doesn't grant the right to take it, make superficial changes, or translating from a programming language to another, remove original authors, and claim the altered code as their own. While open source encourages learning through code exposure, wholesale copying with only minor alterations, especially without restructuring for object-oriented code, doesn't constitute "creating a new code base."

In such instances, phrases like 'I looked at Mickey Mouse code, but I am using my own code' are, at the very least, misleading and likely a form of plagiarism. I term this practice "code washing." My plea: steer clear of it and adhere to ethical behavior.

The notion of "code washing" not only undermines the integrity of individual work but also compromises the collaborative spirit of open source. It's essential to emphasize that acknowledging and respecting the original authors not only aligns with ethical standards but also fosters a culture of transparency and collaboration in the coding community.