FSE Submission
Run this audit before uploading to the FSE HotCRP site. FSE research papers are published as
journal articles in PACMSE (Proceedings of the ACM on Software Engineering), so the
submission is judged like a journal manuscript that also earns a conference slot. Every number
below was read from the FSE 2026/2027 research-papers calls on 2026-07-09 via search renderings
of the conf.researchr.org URLs (see resources/official-source-map.md); treat them as a
one-cycle snapshot and reopen the live call first.
The two-step deadline
FSE separates paper registration from paper submission, and both are AoE:
- Registration locks in title, abstract, authors, and conflicts a week early (FSE 2026:
4 September 2025). Miss it and the system will not accept the PDF later.
- Submission uploads the anonymized PDF (FSE 2026: 11 September 2025). FSE 2027's single
research deadline is 2 October 2026.
Register with the real title and abstract, not a placeholder — the abstract drives reviewer
bidding, and a registered abstract that diverges from the final paper quietly worsens your PC
match.
Format and page budget
- ACM Primary Article Template, unmodified, in the single-column review format. This is the
ACM path, not IEEE — do not carry an IEEEtran habit over from a sibling venue.
- Page budget (verify per cycle): FSE 2027 posts ≤18 pages for all text and figures plus
4 pages for references only. There is no separate unlimited appendix; anything reviewers
must read to judge the paper lives inside the budget.
- Margins, font size, and spacing are fixed by the template; editorial compression, not template
tampering, is how you recover space.
Double-anonymous "heavy" sweep
FSE runs heavy double-anonymous review: anonymity is preserved through all reviewing and
discussion, and even a later Major Revision response letter must stay anonymous. Because SE papers
lean on tools, repositories, and mined data, the leak surface is wide:
# Mechanical pass on the submission PDF and any anonymized artifact archive
pdfinfo paper.pdf | grep -Ei 'author|creator|producer'
pdftotext paper.pdf - | grep -nEi 'github\.com/[a-z0-9-]+|gitlab|zenodo\.org/record|acknowledg|grant' | head
unzip -l artifact.zip | grep -Ei '\.git/|\.DS_Store|/home/|/Users/' | head
grep -rni 'university\|@[a-z0-9.]*\.edu\|our (tool|group|lab)' artifact/ --include='*.md' | head
The SE-specific leaks: a tool named after your lab, a screenshot showing a username, a data-
availability link pointing at a personal GitHub, commit metadata inside a zipped repository, and
issue-tracker URLs in the evaluation. Re-host artifacts behind an anonymizing service before
upload.
Open science at submission time
FSE expects sharing by default under an open-science policy. Concretely for the submission:
- Provide an anonymized artifact link or upload anonymized material, and add a Data
Availability statement describing what exists and where it will live after acceptance.
- If you genuinely cannot share (industrial confidentiality, human-subjects limits), say so and
why — a missing availability story reads as a scored weakness, not a neutral choice.
- Cache LLM outputs and pin mining provenance now; these cannot be reconstructed at review time.
Desk-risk triage
| Finding at audit time |
Severity |
Real fix |
| Main text over the page budget |
Desk-reject-grade |
Cut or move to the artifact; reference pages do not absorb body text |
| Template altered (margins, shrunk font) |
Named desk-reject ground |
Recompile clean, recover space editorially |
| Identity leak in PDF, artifact, or tool name |
Anonymity violation |
Re-anonymize and re-host; scrub PDF metadata |
| Abstract/paper not registered by the earlier date |
No submission slot exists |
Nothing fixes this post-AoE — calendar it now |
| No availability statement, no artifact |
Scored against the paper |
Add the statement + an anonymized package |
| Same study under review elsewhere |
Dual-submission exposure |
Withdraw one venue; verify the current concurrent-submission wording |
Final-week order of operations
- Freeze the body early; references can churn, the argument cannot.
- Register title/abstract/authors/conflicts well before the registration cutoff.
- Build the anonymized artifact and place its link and Data Availability statement in the paper.
- Run the mechanical anonymity checks on the final PDF and the final archive, not drafts.
- Fill every HotCRP field — topics that match your evidence, conflicts for every coauthor's
institution and recent collaborators — a day early; late conflicts are the classic midnight
failure.
- Re-download the uploaded PDF and read it cold to confirm it is the file you meant.
Reverify each cycle
- Whether the year runs one deadline or two (FSE 2024 used two; 2025-2027 post one).
- The page budget and which ACM template revision is required.
- Supplementary handling, artifact-track timing, dual-submission wording, and any AI-disclosure
rule — all cycle-volatile; none should be assumed stable.
Output format
[FSE submission status] ready / blocked / needs work
[Registration] title/abstract/authors/conflicts locked by the earlier deadline? yes/no
[Format] pages used (body/refs), ACM template compliance
[Anonymity] clean / leaks: <where>
[Open science] artifact link present? Data Availability statement present?
[Fix queue] <ordered, with owners and dates before the AoE cutoff>
1---2name: fse-submission3description: Use when auditing an ESEC/FSE research-track submission for HotCRP readiness, covering the mandatory paper-registration step, the ACM Primary Article Template page budget, double-anonymous "heavy" anonymity, the open-science Data Availability statement, PACMSE publication, and desk-reject triage before the AoE cutoff.4---56# FSE Submission78Run this audit before uploading to the FSE HotCRP site. FSE research papers are published as9**journal articles in PACMSE** (Proceedings of the ACM on Software Engineering), so the10submission is judged like a journal manuscript that also earns a conference slot. Every number11below was read from the FSE 2026/2027 research-papers calls on 2026-07-09 via search renderings12of the `conf.researchr.org` URLs (see `resources/official-source-map.md`); treat them as a13one-cycle snapshot and reopen the live call first.1415## The two-step deadline1617FSE separates **paper registration** from **paper submission**, and both are AoE:1819- **Registration** locks in title, abstract, authors, and conflicts a week early (FSE 2026:20 4 September 2025). Miss it and the system will not accept the PDF later.21- **Submission** uploads the anonymized PDF (FSE 2026: 11 September 2025). FSE 2027's single22 research deadline is 2 October 2026.2324Register with the *real* title and abstract, not a placeholder — the abstract drives reviewer25bidding, and a registered abstract that diverges from the final paper quietly worsens your PC26match.2728## Format and page budget2930- **ACM Primary Article Template**, unmodified, in the single-column review format. This is the31 ACM path, not IEEE — do not carry an IEEEtran habit over from a sibling venue.32- **Page budget (verify per cycle):** FSE 2027 posts **≤18 pages** for all text and figures plus33 **4 pages** for references only. There is no separate unlimited appendix; anything reviewers34 must read to judge the paper lives inside the budget.35- Margins, font size, and spacing are fixed by the template; editorial compression, not template36 tampering, is how you recover space.3738## Double-anonymous "heavy" sweep3940FSE runs **heavy** double-anonymous review: anonymity is preserved through *all* reviewing and41discussion, and even a later Major Revision response letter must stay anonymous. Because SE papers42lean on tools, repositories, and mined data, the leak surface is wide:4344```bash45# Mechanical pass on the submission PDF and any anonymized artifact archive46pdfinfo paper.pdf | grep -Ei 'author|creator|producer'47pdftotext paper.pdf - | grep -nEi 'github\.com/[a-z0-9-]+|gitlab|zenodo\.org/record|acknowledg|grant' | head48unzip -l artifact.zip | grep -Ei '\.git/|\.DS_Store|/home/|/Users/' | head49grep -rni 'university\|@[a-z0-9.]*\.edu\|our (tool|group|lab)' artifact/ --include='*.md' | head50```5152The SE-specific leaks: a tool named after your lab, a screenshot showing a username, a data-53availability link pointing at a personal GitHub, commit metadata inside a zipped repository, and54issue-tracker URLs in the evaluation. Re-host artifacts behind an anonymizing service *before*55upload.5657## Open science at submission time5859FSE expects sharing by default under an open-science policy. Concretely for the submission:6061- Provide an **anonymized** artifact link or upload anonymized material, and add a **Data62 Availability** statement describing what exists and where it will live after acceptance.63- If you genuinely cannot share (industrial confidentiality, human-subjects limits), say so and64 why — a missing availability story reads as a scored weakness, not a neutral choice.65- Cache LLM outputs and pin mining provenance now; these cannot be reconstructed at review time.6667## Desk-risk triage6869| Finding at audit time | Severity | Real fix |70|---|---|---|71| Main text over the page budget | Desk-reject-grade | Cut or move to the artifact; reference pages do not absorb body text |72| Template altered (margins, shrunk font) | Named desk-reject ground | Recompile clean, recover space editorially |73| Identity leak in PDF, artifact, or tool name | Anonymity violation | Re-anonymize and re-host; scrub PDF metadata |74| Abstract/paper not registered by the earlier date | No submission slot exists | Nothing fixes this post-AoE — calendar it now |75| No availability statement, no artifact | Scored against the paper | Add the statement + an anonymized package |76| Same study under review elsewhere | Dual-submission exposure | Withdraw one venue; verify the current concurrent-submission wording |7778## Final-week order of operations79801. Freeze the body early; references can churn, the argument cannot.812. Register title/abstract/authors/conflicts well before the registration cutoff.823. Build the anonymized artifact and place its link and Data Availability statement in the paper.834. Run the mechanical anonymity checks on the *final* PDF and the *final* archive, not drafts.845. Fill every HotCRP field — topics that match your evidence, conflicts for every coauthor's85 institution and recent collaborators — a day early; late conflicts are the classic midnight86 failure.876. Re-download the uploaded PDF and read it cold to confirm it is the file you meant.8889## Reverify each cycle9091- Whether the year runs one deadline or two (FSE 2024 used two; 2025-2027 post one).92- The page budget and which ACM template revision is required.93- Supplementary handling, artifact-track timing, dual-submission wording, and any AI-disclosure94 rule — all cycle-volatile; none should be assumed stable.9596## Output format9798```text99[FSE submission status] ready / blocked / needs work100[Registration] title/abstract/authors/conflicts locked by the earlier deadline? yes/no101[Format] pages used (body/refs), ACM template compliance102[Anonymity] clean / leaks: <where>103[Open science] artifact link present? Data Availability statement present?104[Fix queue] <ordered, with owners and dates before the AoE cutoff>105```
brycewang-stanford