brycewang-stanford IMC Camera-Ready
Use this after an IMC Accept (or a successful One-Shot-Revision). The camera-ready is not just a de-anonymized PDF: it is where the availability declaration becomes a real public release, the Ethics statement is finalized, and the paper enters the ACM Digital Library proceedings. The shepherd is watching for the artifact you promised, and the Community Contribution Award is judged on what is public by the camera-ready deadline.
De-anonymization sweep (the reverse of submission)
Now the paper carries identity — completely and correctly:
- Restore author names, affiliations, and ORCIDs in the
acmartmetadata. - Restore acknowledgements: funders, grant numbers, and the operators/providers who granted vantage-point or data access.
- Convert third-person references to your own prior work back to first person where appropriate.
- Replace every anonymized dataset/tool link with the permanent public URL.
- Restore vantage-point and testbed attributions that were anonymized for review.
Permanentize the dataset and code
The shepherd checks availability; a link that rots is a failure:
[Archive] deposit the dataset/tool in a DOI-issuing archive (Zenodo/figshare/Software Heritage)
or a durable community archive; a personal homepage is not durable
[Version] tag the exact released version cited by the paper; note how updates will be versioned
[Schema] ship the documented schema/dictionary and a README with a runnable example
[License] attach an explicit license (e.g., CC-BY for data, OSI for code)
[Links] ensure every dataset/figure/tool reference in the PDF resolves to the permanent URL
Finalize the Ethics statement
The Ethics section moves from "what we did to be safe" (review framing) to a complete, citable record:
- State IRB approval/exemption with the determining body (now de-anonymized).
- Confirm the responsible-disclosure outcome and timeline for any vulnerability/exposure finding.
- Confirm the privacy/anonymization actually applied to the released dataset matches what the section claims.
Satisfy the shepherd
If your paper was assigned an availability shepherd, deliver before the deadline: the public artifact matching your declaration, the documented schema, and a working link. If your declaration was partial or none, ensure the stated justification is intact and, where possible, a privacy-safe derivative is released.
Community Contribution Award readiness (if applicable)
To keep eligibility, the dataset/tool/platform must be public and usable by the camera-ready deadline: documented, licensed, DOI-archived, and reusable by a stranger. "Coming soon" forfeits eligibility.
ACM production checks
[Template] final acmart camera-ready format, correct rights/permissions block, DOI, page numbers
[Metadata] title/authors/affiliations/ORCIDs/keywords/CCS concepts correct
[References] final bibliography clean; DOIs where available; the BBL matches
[Figures] vantage-point maps/plots legible in print and grayscale; captions self-contained
[Reproduce] the PDF's numbers match the released data + scripts (the shepherd may spot-check)
Common camera-ready failures
| Failure | Consequence | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Anonymized dataset link left in the PDF | Broken/incorrect availability | Replace with the permanent DOI URL |
| Promised artifact never published | Shepherding failure; award ineligible | Publish and archive before the deadline |
| Ethics section still in review framing | Incomplete record | Finalize IRB and disclosure statements |
| Missing rights/permissions block | Production reject | Insert the ACM-provided block |
| Figures illegible in print | Readability loss | Redraw for print/grayscale |
Calibration
- Camera-ready deadlines are cycle-specific (cycle 1 ~mid-April 2026; cycle 2 ~1 Sep 2026); confirm yours and calendar the artifact release before it.
- The exact rights form, template revision, and shepherding process vary by edition — confirm on the current camera-ready instructions.
Output format
[Camera-ready status] ready / blocked
[De-anonymization] names/affiliations/acks/links restored? yes/no
[Artifact] permanent DOI archive live? schema + license + README? yes/no
[Ethics] IRB + disclosure statements finalized? privacy claims match release? yes/no
[Shepherd] availability delivered as declared? yes/no
[Production] acmart + rights block + metadata + BBL correct? yes/no
[Fix queue] <ordered, before the camera-ready deadline>