> The issue is that some consultants have actually been hired to do homework > for students without knowing that they were doing so. Been there, got caught like that, finished the project, collected the money. Then sent a copy of all paperwork to the College. Not strictly ethical behaviour, but then neither was the client's and there was no confidentiallity agreement. > > No one is objecting to students asking questions or receiving assistance in > understanding how to complete their assignments. > Agreed, but why do they hide behind anonymous email accounts such as Hotmail ? Are they afraid that if we see .edu we are going to ignore them? I also observe that a lot of bandwidth is lost in inappropriate replies because responders are unaware of the location and budget of the person asking the question and misunderstand the project status i.e. One-Off learning exercise as opposed to a design destined for production. Why is location and budget important? Well not everyone on this list lives in a country where all components are readily available and importation is not a viable option due to shipping costs, customs duty etc even if they have access to foreign exchange. Climbing off soapbox and lowering head back down below the parapet. Regards Chris Carr -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.