[mattgreenrocks]

> I'm actually a little shocked HNers think regularly coping and pasting code snippets off the web is ok

I'm not surprised.

Ever observe threads about software engineering? They're profoundly anti-intellectual. HN is not the place to get any sort of engineering advice, I'm afraid. It's tailored towards self-promotion via programming. The difference may seem small, but the motives are quite different: mastery (as a developer) vs getting it done.