Anyone else frustrated with MOSS still being the default in 2026?
I’ve been talking with instructors lately, and it seems like a lot of them are still relying on MOSS for similarity checking even though it hasn’t really evolved in decades. The biggest concerns I keep hearing are:
- sending student code off‑site (FERPA/GDPR headaches)
- slow turnaround during peak times
- opaque preprocessing
- no way to self‑host or integrate into modern workflows
I’ve been experimenting with a fully open‑source, self‑hosted alternative called YAM (Yet Another Measure of Software Similarity). It re‑implements the classic MOSS winnowing algorithm but uses modern tooling, supports multiple languages, and runs locally so nothing leaves your institution.
If anyone else is exploring alternatives or wants to see how it works, the project is here:
https://gitlab.com/sylvan.wood.carving-group/yam.git
Mostly curious how other CS educators are handling similarity detection these days, especially with AI‑generated code becoming more common. Are you sticking with MOSS, rolling your own tools, or trying something new?