FOCS 2013 – Submission Server is Open

The FOCS 2013 submission server is open, the main site is up and submission deadline is in two weeks!

Please read the call for papers before submitting your paper especially as it has changed since last year. In essence, we are experimenting with less regulation on our part (as far as formatting) and more responsibility on the part of the authors (as far as presentation). ]

Let me quote a couple of sentences that I want to emphasize:

… authors should keep in mind that their submission will be evaluated not only by experts in their subarea but also by the entire PC. The submission should be addressed to a broad spectrum of theoretical computer scientists, not solely to experts in the subarea.

Following these guidelines will assist us in getting your submission assigned to the most appropriate PC members, and it will assist the entire PC in evaluating your submission. But these guidelines are not only about the selection process but also about the essence of FOCS/STOC. These are conferences that are meant to bring together the entire TOC community and to inform its members on the activity in sub-areas.

With similar motivation in mind, FOCS 2009 asked for a short (up to two pages) brief description:

Ideally, the brief description should be an informal description of the most interesting ideas in the paper. The contents may range all the way from a discussion of the conceptual contributions of the paper, to a sketch of the key ideas in the proof of the simplest non-trivial statement of the main result. In other words, the brief description should provide the same understanding conveyed in a brief conversation or presentation.

I found this an interesting idea at the time, and as far as I know the main objection raised against this idea was that this kind of brief descriptions should not be separate of the paper, but rather part of the paper. I agree, and encourage you to make it part of your submission.