With the help of several experienced and respected members of the community (thank you!), a rule has been formulated that allows the use of third-party code under certain conditions. Please read the text carefully.

The following text will become part of the updated contest rules. The next contest will already be held under the updated rules. Thus, there are about two days left to clarify details if something is unclear.

Solutions and generators may contain code that was not written by you only in two cases:

this code was written and published/distributed strictly before the start of the round, this code was generated using tools that were written and published/distributed strictly before the start of the round.

Any use of third-party code must not violate licenses or copyrights of third parties. Remember that even publicly available code is not always free! At the request of the copyright holder, code that violates a license or copyright may be considered a rule violation.

If any modifications are made to the code from points (1) and/or (2), all such changes must be made exclusively by you personally.

In case of disputes (doubts about the publication time, suspicion of violating the no-communication rule during the round, etc.), the burden of proof of compliance with the rules lies entirely with the participant.

At present, the only reliable way to prove compliance with this rule is to have the used code published on the internet and available in cached versions of well-known search engines.

For example, using code from the website http://e-maxx.ru/ or from Wikipedia is allowed (if the code was written and published/distributed strictly before the start of the round). Compliance in this case is easily verified using search engine caches. Similarly, using code from a book or article published before the contest is allowed. On the other hand, the use of internal team templates (for example, for the ACM-ICPC finals) is not allowed if there is no reliable and objective way to prove the time when this code was written.

This rule in no way relaxes the prohibition on communication, discussions, or any other form of interaction between participants on any topics related to the problems during the round.

Russian veria rule: https://mirror.codeforces.com/blog/entry/8790

Introduction to Electicode

Recently, I came across a platform called Electicode and decided to try it for practicing algorithms.

Electicode is a competitive programming website where users can solve problems and participate in contests, similar to Codeforces and other well-known platforms.

Main Features

The platform offers:

problems of various difficulty levels a contest system a rating system support for popular programming languages

Overall, it provides the basic functionality you would expect from a competitive programming platform.

Pros of Electicode Simplicity and usability The interface is clean and not overloaded. Beginner-friendly The problems seem more approachable for beginners compared to Codeforces. Less pressure Due to a smaller community, contests feel more relaxed. Cons of Electicode Smaller community Compared to Codeforces, the activity level is lower. Fewer problems and contests The amount of content is still limited. Less discussion and editorial content This is important for learning, and currently it is lacking. Comparison with Codeforces

Codeforces:

huge problem archive very active community regular contests high level of competition

Electicode:

easier to get started less stressful environment less content overall Personal Opinion

In my opinion, Electicode is a good platform for beginners who are just starting in competitive programming.

It can be used as a first step to get comfortable with problems and contests, and then gradually move to Codeforces for more serious practice.

Conclusion

Electicode does not replace Codeforces, but it can be a good addition, especially for beginners.

I'll be talking about people who use AI assistants to solve problems. Please familiarize yourself with the AI ​​rules: https://mirror.codeforces.com/blog/entry/133941. And I'm talking about AbdGraph, for example; it solves everything using AI. And please don't look at my rating; I just started working at Codeforces :)

Hello everyone!

I run a YouTube channel where I publish solutions to programming problems in C++.

My channel: https://www.youtube.com/@CPP_PROGRAMING

I also want to ask: please don't focus on my current rating (556). What I really want is fairness and honest treatment.

Thank you for your attention and support!