--- name: icalp-submission description: Use when auditing an ICALP (EATCS) Track A or Track B submission for HotCRP readiness, covering the correct-track submission server, abstract registration before the full-paper deadline, the 15-page extended-abstract page budget with a clearly labelled appendix / full version, lightweight double-blind anonymity, the no-simultaneous-submission rule, and the single annual February AoE cutoff. --- # ICALP Submission Run this audit before uploading to the ICALP HotCRP site. ICALP — the EATCS International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming — is a **pure theory venue** publishing open-access in **LIPIcs**, with a **single annual deadline** and **two tracks** on **separate HotCRP servers**. The paper is judged on its **theorems and proofs**, so this audit is about format, anonymity, and the body/appendix split, not about a runnable artifact. Every number below was read from the ICALP 2026 (53rd, Royal Holloway) call on 2026-07-09 via search renderings of the CFP (see `resources/official-source-map.md`); treat them as a one-cycle snapshot and reopen the live call. ## Pick the right track first ICALP has two tracks on **two different HotCRP sites** — submitting to the wrong one is a real, avoidable failure: - **Track A — Algorithms, Complexity and Games** → `icalp2026-a.hotcrp.com`. - **Track B — Automata, Logic, Semantics and Theory of Programming** → `icalp2026-b.hotcrp.com`. If you are unsure, resolve it with `icalp-topic-selection` before touching HotCRP; the tracks have different program committees, and Track B carries a rebuttal while Track A does not. ## The two-step deadline ICALP separates **abstract registration** from **full submission**, both AoE: - **Abstract registration** (ICALP 2026: **3 February 2026**) locks title, abstract, authors, and conflicts a few days early. Miss it and the system will not take the PDF later. - **Full submission** (ICALP 2026: **6 February 2026**, AoE) uploads the anonymized PDF. Register with the *real* title and abstract — the abstract drives PC bidding, and a placeholder quietly worsens your reviewer match. ## Format and page budget - **Extended abstract of at most 15 pages**, **excluding** the bibliography and a **clearly labelled appendix**. The appendix may hold omitted proofs or a **full version**, read at the PC's discretion. - **LIPIcs `lipics-v2021` document class** is an option but not required *at submission* in recent cycles (confirm per cycle); the **camera-ready must be LIPIcs** — so many authors write in LIPIcs from the start. - The 15-page limit is on the **main body**; do not pad the body to 15 and dump every proof into an unread appendix (see `icalp-supplementary`). Reviewers judge on the body. ## Lightweight double-blind sweep ICALP runs **lightweight double-blind** review: submissions are anonymous and self-references must be **third person**. This is a *lightweight* regime — the goal is an unbiased first read, not making authorship undiscoverable — but the mechanical leaks still cost you: ```bash # Mechanical pass on the submission PDF pdfinfo paper.pdf | grep -Ei 'author|creator|producer' # scrub identifying metadata pdftotext paper.pdf - | grep -nEi 'acknowledg|thanks|this work was supported|grant (no|number)' | head pdftotext paper.pdf - | grep -nEi 'in our (previous|earlier) (work|paper)|as we showed in' | head pdftotext paper.pdf - | grep -nEi 'github\.com/[a-z0-9-]+|/home/|/Users/' | head ``` The theory-specific leaks: an acknowledgements block, a grant number, "in our previous work [12]" (rewrite as "in the work of [12]"), and an arXiv/ECCC identifier that de-anonymizes. It is fine for a full version to exist on arXiv — just do not point at it in a way that breaks the blind. ## The no-simultaneous-submission rule ICALP forbids **prior publication** and **simultaneous submission** to any other conference or journal. A paper concurrently under review at STOC, FOCS, SODA, LICS, or a journal is ineligible. Posting a **full version on arXiv/ECCC/HAL is allowed and normal** — that is not "publication." ## Desk-risk triage | Finding at audit time | Severity | Real fix | |---|---|---| | Body over 15 pages (excluding refs + appendix) | Format-reject-grade | Compress the body; move detail to the appendix, not into the body count | | Submitted to the wrong track | Mis-review / reject | Withdraw and resubmit to the correct HotCRP server before the deadline | | Author identity leaks (metadata, acks, first-person self-cite) | Anonymity violation | Scrub metadata, remove acks, rewrite self-citations in third person | | Abstract not registered by the earlier date | No submission slot exists | Nothing fixes this post-AoE — calendar it now | | Headline theorem has no complete proof anywhere | Soundness-fatal | Write the full proof into the appendix / full version before upload | | Same result under review at another venue | Dual-submission violation | Withdraw one venue | ## Final-week order of operations 1. Confirm the **track** and the correct HotCRP server. 2. Register title/abstract/authors/conflicts before the earlier registration cutoff. 3. Freeze the 15-page body; make sure every theorem it states is fully proved in the appendix / full version. 4. Run the anonymity + page-budget sweep on the *final* PDF, not a draft. 5. Flag **student-only authorship** in HotCRP if eligible for the best student paper award. 6. Re-download the uploaded PDF and read it cold to confirm it is the file you meant. ## Reverify each cycle - Both tracks' exact AoE dates and whether they share one deadline. - The page budget and whether the LIPIcs class is mandatory at submission this cycle. - The anonymity wording, the no-simultaneous-submission wording, and any AI-disclosure rule — all cycle-volatile. ## Output format ```text [ICALP submission status] ready / blocked / needs work [Track] A (algorithms/complexity/games) / B (automata/logic/semantics) — correct server? yes/no [Registration] title/abstract/authors/conflicts locked by the earlier deadline? yes/no [Format] body pages (<=15 excl. refs + appendix), LIPIcs class y/n [Anonymity] clean / leaks: [Proofs] every headline theorem fully proved in appendix / full version? yes/no [Fix queue] ```