@cheetah has actually a reputation of 70, which is quite high.
As most plagiarists have a low reputation (it's quite rare a high rep user doing plagiarism), it could flag them. And the effect would be real.
It doesn't, except when a user is banned, because its creator bet on education rather than punishment.
What a helpful post. Thank you. I have been apprehensive to flag a post for fear of retaliation. This explanation has helped ease some of those fears.
I would never flag someone for what I call trivial things like, opposing views or something one might deem offensive, none of that is any concern of mine. I'm more of a live and let live or a whatever floats your boat kinda person.
What I will flag, is someone out right stealing another's work and trying to pass it off as their own. I've run across this twice so far. I commented and asked for clarification first. It still amazes me that in this digital age folks think they won't get caught.