[Noseshine]

  The professor knows Melon did not write the essay

So the F actually is for not doing the work, not for the submitted paper. Whatever the professor said was not the reason why he gave an F, given the context it was aimed at the cheater! Which is why he gets an F.

[throwaway729]

That's part of the conceit of Melon -- that his dishonesty is somehow justified/excusable because someone else is also imperfect...

[Noseshine]

Uhm... what??? The professor had to evaluate somebody's work. He did exactly that, the guy didn't do the work => grade F. THE END.

What fantasies of your own do you bring into this? Get off those drugs!

PS: Each time you downvote - and I know it's you, nobody reads this old thread any more and definitely not to react within minutes - I see that you actually read my reply. Do you use http://www.hnreplies.com/ to get notified about replies? Nice to know I can still reach you.