thedixitjain ATC Camera-Ready
Use this after a conditional accept. Final acceptance is gated by the shepherd, so the camera-ready is not just formatting — it must fold in every required revision and pass the shepherd's sign-off, then satisfy ACM Open Access production. ATC 2026 publishes in the ACM Digital Library (a change from the old USENIX proceedings model), so the metadata and cost steps are new relative to pre-2026 USENIX ATC.
Satisfy the shepherd first
- Treat the shepherd's required-revisions list as binding for acceptance. Fold each change into
the camera-ready and keep the description-of-changes (see
atc-author-response) in sync with what actually landed. - Do not use the de-anonymization pass to quietly re-expand scope; the shepherd is checking that the paper the PC accepted is the paper being published.
- Get explicit shepherd sign-off before treating the paper as final.
Systematic de-anonymization
The submission was double-blind; the camera-ready is not. Reverse every anonymization deliberately:
[Authors] add the author list, affiliations, and ORCIDs
[Self-cites] restore first-person references where accurate ("our earlier system X [12]")
[System name] restore the real system/product name if you used a neutral placeholder
[Artifact] swap anonymized/blind-mirror links for the public, DOI-issuing archive
[Acks] add acknowledgments and funding/grant lines held out for blind review
[Metadata] set real PDF author/title metadata (it was scrubbed for submission)
Cross-check: search the final PDF for leftover placeholders ("Anonymous," "System-X-anon," blind URLs) — a stray one is the classic camera-ready miss.
Format and production
- Keep the two-column format (178 × 229 mm text block, 10pt) and the page budget; the camera-ready may allow the same or a slightly extended limit — confirm the exact camera-ready page allowance on the call (待核实).
- Which template file the SIGOPS edition mandates (the USENIX template vs. ACM
acmart/equivalent) is 待核实 — verify before recompiling, since ACM production checks depend on it. - Embed all fonts, check figure resolution and color-blind legibility, and confirm the PDF passes the venue's automated production/format checker.
ACM Open Access metadata and cost
ATC 2026 papers publish under ACM Open Access:
- Complete the ACM rights/e-rights form, author and affiliation metadata, ACM CCS concepts, keywords, and the abstract as it will index in the ACM DL.
- Budget for the transition APC — subsidized for 2026 (reported around US$250 for ACM/SIG members and US$350 for non-members); confirm the current figure, member split, and any waiver on the ACM/SIGOPS terms.
- Ensure the artifact links are permanent (DOI-issuing archive), since the published paper cites
them and the AEC badges attach to this version (see
atc-artifact-evaluation).
Presentation and legacy-media note
USENIX ATC historically posted free proceedings, slides, and talk videos; under ACM Open Access the proceedings are openly available via the ACM DL, and the conference is in Hong Kong, 15-18 November 2026. Confirm the current slides/video policy and the presenter requirement (at least one author presents) on the venue page.
Pre-submission checklist
[Shepherd] all required revisions folded in and signed off? yes/no
[De-anon] authors, affiliations, self-cites, system name, acks, artifact links restored?
[Leftovers] no "Anonymous"/blind-URL/placeholder strings in the final PDF?
[Format] two-column template, page allowance, embedded fonts, production checker passed?
[ACM OA] rights form, metadata, CCS/keywords complete? APC handled?
[Artifact] permanent DOI link cited; badges attached to this version?
Output format
[Camera-ready status] ready / blocked on shepherd / blocked on production
[Shepherd] required revisions folded + signed off? yes/no
[De-anonymization] complete and leftover-free? gaps: <where>
[ACM Open Access] rights form, metadata, APC done? artifact DOI permanent?
[Fix queue] <ordered, with the camera-ready deadline>
Source: brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills → ATC-Skills/skills/atc-camera-ready/SKILL.md