Student Posters Frequently Asked Questions

The co-chairs Student-Posters:
Charles van der Mast, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Willemien Visser, INRIA, France
CHI2000-StudentPosters@ACM.ORG

Student Posters

1. Can I get the deadline extended?
2. Do you really mean that?
3. What if I cannot generate exactly the standard format?
4. What size paper should I use?
5. Can my paper be less than 2 pages?
6. Can my paper be more than 2 pages?
7. Do figures count in the two page limit?
8. It is easy for me to get some color screen shots, so should I include them so the reviewers can see my system?
9. Why do I have to submit paper and electronic versions?
10. What formats should I use for the electronic copy?
11. Should I send materials in original size for the sketch of my poster?
12. How will my submission be assigned for review?
13. How will my submission be reviewed?
14. When do I hear the final decision?
15. Will I be able to register for the conference at the early registration fee once I hear that my submission is accepted?
16. Will I be able to change the two page description after acceptance?
17. If I have a student poster accepted, what are my responsibilities at the conference?

1. Can I get the deadline extended?
No! We will not extend the deadline no matter who you are and no matter what your excuse is. If your submission is not physically in the office of the designated Co-Chair by 5:00 PM (17:00) local time at receiving address on [Thursday, January 8, 1999] we will not be able to include it in the review process. We anticipate many submissions and we have a very tight schedule, so we simply cannot tolerate any delays in processing submissions.

2. Do you really mean that?
Yes! There really and truly is a firm deadline. Even if you send it by courier and they promise to deliver it on time, if it's not here by that deadline it will be rejected. The moral of the story is: plan ahead! Send it early with few extra days as a safety margin.

3. What if I cannot generate exactly the standard format?
Try to match it as much as possible. This is an area where common sense should prevail. We might reject your two-page paper if you use a tiny font to squeeze 8 pages of text into the 2-page limit, but we will certainly not reject you just because your printer doesn't have a Times Roman font. Find a serif font that matches as closely as possible, and try to make the general characteristics match (e.g., use Helvetica-like sans serif font for subtitles, use the specified font sizes and page layouts). The better your paper matches the specifications, the happier you will be when you see it in print.

4. What size paper should I use?
For submissions, you can use any standard letter-sized paper, such as A4 or 8.5 x 11 inch paper. Please keep the dimensions of the printed text to the proceedings format no matter what size paper you use.

5. Can my paper be less than 2 pages?
In principle, yes. But if you do not have enough to say to fill the two pages think about whether you are really ready to submit this work.

6. Can my paper be more than 2 pages?
Absolutely not! We have already figured the price of publishing based on the number of pages allocated to the different categories. Two pages is the limit for student poster submissions.

7. Do figures count in the two page limit?
Yes - the two page limit is imposed on everything that will actually appear in the CHI 2000 Extended Abstracts if your submission is accepted.

8. It is easy for me to get some color screen shots, so should I include them so the reviewers can see my system?
Color plates are expensive to reproduce. You should include them only if they provide critical support for your submission. If black and white figures can support your points just as easily, consider including them instead. We cannot guarantee at this stage that color figures can be included into the CHI 2000 Extended Abstracts. Color figures must appear on a separate page at the end of the manuscript. However, consider saving the color shots and using them in your display if you are submitting a student poster or use them as slides if you are submitting a two-page paper.

9. Why do I have to submit paper and electronic versions?
The paper version will be used for the printed proceedings if your submission is accepted. Variations between computer systems mean that if we were to print your electronic version it might not produce acceptable camera-ready copy (it might extend over more than two pages, for example).

Because of the short reviewing cycle, we will use the electronic version to help accelerate the reviewing process.

10. What formats should I use for the electronic copy?
Because the two-page papers will be reviewed by email, we need electronic copies that we can email easily while still preserving your formatting. We will be using Rich-Text Format (RTF) for this. The file should be an attachment to an email message and emailed to chi2000-studentposters@acm.org with the subject line CHI 2000 Poster: title (where "title" is the title of your extended abstract).

11. Should I send materials in original size for the sketch of my poster?
No. Present the poster in reduced size (one single page) to indicate the layout of the poster combined with short descriptions of the various parts and/or reduced size graphics. The sketch should provide a good overall feeling of the visual quality of the poster.

12. How will my submission be assigned for review?
Each reviewer will select the keywords describing areas in which they have expertise. We have also asked them to identify (via the keywords) those areas in which they have no experience. We will use the matching phrases you provide to identify appropriate reviewers.

13. How will my submission be reviewed?
Briefly, your submission will be assigned to 3 reviewers. The reviewers will provide evaluations both in the form of scores (e.g., for overall quality), and in comments. The actual accept/reject decisions will be made at a meeting of the Co-Chairs and associate chairs in February based on the reviewer comments.

14. When do I hear the final decision?
Authors will be notified of acceptance or rejection by email by mid-March (or by surface mail sent by [15 March 1999] if they do not have email).

15. Will I be able to register for the conference at the early registration fee once I hear that my submission is accepted?
Yes! Authors of student posters will be notified of acceptance and will be allowed to register at that time at the early fee.

16. Will I be able to change the two page description after acceptance?
No. Publication schedules do not permit revisions. If accepted, the two-page submissions will be printed as received.

17. If I have a student poster accepted, what are my responsibilities at the conference?
Prior to the start of the Main Conference (4-6 April), authors will set up their poster with any accompanying material (handouts of papers, handouts of the display, etc.). Later, there will be a scheduled time when poster authors need to be at their poster. We encourage authors to spend as much time as possible at their posters - especially during conference breaks - as many attendees use this time to browse through the posters. We encourage you to post the times you will be present at your poster for discussion.