1. Purpose

HighLoad.Fun is a competitive programming platform focused on code optimization. The goal is to write the most efficient solution for a given problem. This is not a CTF competition - we are here to find ways to speed up code, not to exploit weaknesses in generators or the platform.

2. Fairness

• Own work. Solutions must be your own. You may use publicly available algorithms and libraries, but submitting code written by another person as your own is prohibited.
• No external solution sharing.Do not share your solutions outside the platform (forums, chats, repositories, etc.). Sharing source code through the platform's Source Code Marketplace for RP is allowed - that's a core part of the game.
• Purchased code is for learning. Source code bought via the Marketplace is for studying and learning. Re-submitting purchased code as your own solution is prohibited.
• One account per person.Creating multiple accounts to gain unfair advantages, manipulate leaderboards, or circumvent penalties is prohibited.

3. Leaderboard Integrity

• Scores must reflect real optimization. Your leaderboard position must be earned through genuine code improvements, not by gaming the scoring system or exploiting test data patterns.
• RP must be earned honestly. Do not use coordinated accounts, fake interactions, or any other scheme to artificially inflate reputation points.

4. No Exploitation

• No generator abuse.Do not reverse-engineer, exploit, or abuse test generators to achieve scores that do not reflect genuine code optimization.
• No sandbox escapes. Do not attempt to break out of the sandbox, access unauthorized system resources, or interfere with the judging infrastructure.
• Report vulnerabilities, don't exploit them. If you discover a bug or vulnerability in the platform, report it. Exploiting it for personal gain is a serious violation.

5. Submission Limits

• Source code size. The total size of all source files in a submission must be less than 1 MB (1,048,576 bytes).
• Compiler flags. The compiler flags string must be at most 255 characters.

6. Levels & Reputation

Your Reputation Points (RP) reflect your skill and contribution. RP earning from challenges is tied to two different leaderboards - your best score across all languages for the challenge, and the global best in each specific language. All RP amounts are rounded to 2 decimals.

Earning RP from challenges

Let S be the score of your newly accepted solution (lower is better).

• Improvement RP (all-languages scope). Compared against your previous best on this challenge across every language.
  • First successful solve: RP = 10,000,000 / S
  • Later solve: RP = 10,000,000 / S - 10,000,000 / prev, where prev is your previous best in any language.
  • If S is not better than prev, you earn 0 improvement RP - even if it's your first solve in this language. Example: your all-languages best is C++ at 2000 and you submit Go at 1800. You earn 10M/1800 - 10M/2000 ~= 555.56, because Go 1800 beats your all-languages best. Submit Go at 2500 and you earn 0, because it does not beat 2000.
• Global record bonus (per-language scope). Stacks on top of improvement RP. Paid only when S beats every other user's best in the same language on this challenge.
  • bonus = 10,000,000 / S - 10,000,000 / prev_lang_best
  • No bonus if you are the first person to solve the challenge in this language - there is no prior record to beat.

Both mechanisms are awarded on the same submission, so one top-tier solve can pay out improvement RP and a language record bonus.

Earning RP from activity

• Daily login: +1 RP, once per 24 hours.
• Login streak: +3 RP every 7 consecutive daily logins. Missing a day resets the streak.
• Daily challenge: +5 RP for your first solve of the day's featured challenge.
• Bug bounty: admin-assigned - see rule 7 below.

Earning RP from likes

RP awarded per like depends on the liker's level. Novice likes are worth nothing, which is why multi-account like-farming does not pay off.

Levels

Levels are dynamic: each level's threshold is a fraction of the #1 non-admin player's RP, snapped down to the nearest 100 RP. For a level with fraction f: threshold = floor(f * topRP / 100) * 100.

• Levels can change. If the #1 player improves and your RP falls below the new threshold, your level drops.
• Current thresholds are shown on the home page.

7. Bug Bounty

We reward users who help improve the platform. If you find a bug - whether in the platform itself or in a challenge task - submit a report. Valid reports earn RP at the administrators' discretion.

• Describe the bug clearly: steps to reproduce, expected vs. actual behavior.
• If the bug is in a specific challenge, mention the challenge name.
• Do not exploit bugs for personal gain. Report first, earn RP honestly.

8. Respect

• Treat all community members with respect in discussions, comments, and code reviews.
• Harassment, hate speech, discrimination, or personal attacks are not tolerated.
• Give constructive feedback. Disagree civilly.

9. Content

• Challenge descriptions, articles, and comments must not contain illegal, offensive, or inappropriate content.
• Do not upload malicious code or content designed to harm other users or the platform.

10. Penalties

Violations will result in escalating consequences at the discretion of the administrators:

Administrators may apply any penalty level immediately for serious offenses.