Call for Participation

Quick Facts

• alt.chi consists of both external and invited submissions
• Submission deadline: 9 January 2013 (5:00pm PDT)
• Discussion period: 16 January – 3 February 2013
• Notification: 10 February 2013
• Camera-ready deadline: 17 February 2013
• Submit to: alt.chi submission system (will open later this year)
• Submission format: Camera-ready, 10 page paper in Extended Abstract Format, including an abstract of no more than 100 words and a brief submission history of the paper. Optional 5 minute video figure. The work should be submitted to the alt.chi submission system. Submitted papers will be openly discussed by members of the CHI community in an online discussion forum. Authors are welcome and encouraged to invite members of the community to discuss their paper.
• At the conference: presenters have a 12-minute slot (including questions, stop after 10 minutes).
• Archives: Extended abstracts; DVD and ACM Digital Library

What is alt.chi?

alt.chi formed with the CHI program committee’s recognition that sometimes innovative and insightful work goes unrecognized through the standard process of review. Particularly where methodologically far afield, or critical of accepted practices, promising contributions may be systematically overlooked. Therefore, as part of a commitment to bring forth the year’s best work on human computer interaction, the program committee provides a procedural intervention in the conventional selection process: alt.chi.

Message from the alt.chi Chairs

alt.chi 2013 proudly continues the tradition of bringing substantive, thought-provoking, original work to CHI through an alternative approach. alt.chi is appropriate for submissions that prove difficult to assess through mainstream procedures, whether for reasons of methodology or content. Forum discussion allows dialogue about the potential significance of a submission, and Juried selection insures that high standards for excellence are maintained. alt.chi hosts some of the most audacious and insightful presentations at the conference. This is the avant-garde of CHI.

Therefore, we invite the submission of bold, compelling, critical, and innovative works that challenge or re-imagine human computer interaction research and design. alt.chi 2013 is methodologically inclusive and accepts reports, analyses, designs, and systematic inquiries – whether quantitative, qualitative, or both. Especially encouraged are works that speak to the conference theme of “changing perspectives” through explorations of areas currently outside the center of the field. alt.chi 2013 is an opportunity to re-shape the conversation by introducing a vibrant intellectual community to a new way of doing work. We invite you to change the game.

Daniela Rosner, UC Berkeley (soon University of Washington)

Amanda Williams, Wyld Collective, Ltd

alt.chi@chi2013.acm.org

Preparing and Submitting your alt.chi Submission

Submissions must be formatted in Extended Abstract Format. Submissions may not be more than 10 pages long, and the abstract within the Extended Abstract should be no longer than 100 words. alt.chi submissions should not be accepted or under review anywhere else while in submission. When submitting their paper for review, authors may indicate in the comment field if they have an interest in doing a short demo or show and tell.

We welcome completely fresh submissions tailored to the specific goals and values of alt.chi. However, authors may also submit controversial or compelling work not accepted in other tracks. In particular, authors of highly discussed papers that are submitted but not accepted into the CHI Papers and Notes track may be invited to submit their work to alt.chi. In these cases, authors will be asked to submit the reviews that their CHI submission has previously received, along with a brief explanation of why they believe their paper will be a good fit for alt.chi.

Optional Video Figure

Your submission may be accompanied by a short digital video figure or interactive illustration that is up to five minutes in length and no more than 100 MB final data size. Since not everyone who reads the paper may view the video figure, your submission must stand on its own without the figure, and will be reviewed as such. Some guidelines for creating video submissions can be found at: Guide to a Successful Video Submission.

alt.chi English Review

Alt.chi aims to attract unusual, interesting, thought-provoking work to be presented at CHI. Though we always select high-quality content, we encourage diversity in thinking, methodology, and application area — we want to attract presenters that you might not otherwise encounter at CHI!

We’re all about removing barriers to the presentation of great work, and one of those barriers involves language. We want to ensure that submissions to alt.chi are judged on the merits of the ideas, not the grammar of the writing.

If you want to take advantage of our English review service, here’s what you need to know:

• In order to request English review, email your paper draft to alt.chi@chi2013.acm.org. The subject line should include the phrase “[alt.chi english review]” — if it doesn’t include this, we don’t guarantee a quick response.
• The alt.chi submission deadline is 9 January, 2013. We ask authors who want to use our English review service to send drafts between 15 December and 31 December, 2012. We will ask that English reviewers return reviewed drafts by 4 January, 2013 in order to give the authors enough time to revise.
• English reviewers are providing an editorial service focused on grammar and clarity — they are not providing feedback on the content of the submission (that happens later, during the discussion period).
• Requests will be treated on a first-come, first-served basis. The sooner you send your request for English review, the sooner your work will be reviewed.
• After receiving an English review from our volunteers, it is up to you to alter your submission according to your reviewer’s suggestions.
• The English review service does not directly affect your submission’s acceptance or rejection.
• Our English reviewers are volunteers; please be patient.
• The English review service does not alter the submission process. You must complete your submission before the deadline, even if you have not received any feedback from the English Review Service team.

We hope you find this service to be genuinely helpful. This is a pilot program. We have never before tried this at CHI, and can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to continue this service indefinitely. Your feedback will help us decide how to handle this going forward.

alt.chi Decision Process

alt.chi is Juried for CHI 2013. During the period between submissions and notifications, members of the CHI community will be invited to discuss the submission in a public, non-anonymous, forum*. Anyone who is interested will be able to view and discuss your work. Authors will be encouraged to invite appropriate members of the CHI community to comment on their work, and the alt.chi committee will also invite discussions. We want to encourage discussion and debate on what makes a good alt.chi (or regular CHI) submission, and, ultimately, what makes for a fruitful conference experience. After the discussion period, a jury of experts will evaluate the work based on:

• How compelling it would be to an open-minded CHI audience.
• How well it embodies alt.chi’s values of creativity, criticality, reflection, and originality.
• The nature of the discussions that the submission produced.

The jury will be selected and named by the beginning of January 2013.

*all reviewers will be required to consent to a review agreement prior to participating in the selection process.

Upon Acceptance of your alt.chi Submission

Authors will be notified of acceptance or rejection by 10 February 2013. Final versions of accepted Extended Abstracts must be uploaded to PCS by 17 February 2013.

At the Conference

All accepted alt.chi papers will be presented at the conference.

After the Conference

Accepted alt.chi papers will be distributed in the CHI Conference Extended Abstracts, available at the conference on DVD and in the ACM Digital Library, where they will remain accessible to thousands of researchers and practitioners worldwide.