4 ms·

At the very least, the timestamp on the file (although, yes, timestamps can be spoofed, etc., etc.). In any case, I've always been pardoned when the "lateness"

At the very least, the timestamp on the file (although, yes, timestamps can be spoofed, etc., etc.). In any case, I've always been pardoned when the "lateness" is three seconds' worth of processing. But if I were waiting on line at the deadline to hand in a physical assignment (the closest analogy I can make), I think that most reasonable profs would not take issue with me if I didn't happen to get to the end of that line by the nanosecond specified. Of course, it's _possible_ that a prof could be a real stickler, with a huge digital clock on the wall and a hand on the submission box. But that, again, to me reflects only an extension of the way people are treated in huge classes (often largely freshmen) in college. If there are a handful of people in a seminar, "deadlines" have never in my experience been a thing in the same way.

cbsmith 7y ago
The timestamp on the file was a machine precise measure. So it seems to me like you're wanting the benefit of the machine precision there, without the disadvantages that come with it. I wouldn't suggest a measure where a prof was relying on a huge digital clock. I was trying to address a context that wasn't machine driven as you were advocating. There are simpler realities. A prof who will accept submissions until they leave for the day. For remote education, the physical mail thing is very real (or at least it used to be). If neither party is benefiting from machine precision, there's no reason for the onus to be on the professor or administrator to make allowances for that imprecision. It actually makes a lot of sense for that onus to be on the student.