2023Q3 Minutes

• Item-1: A board discussion for an upcoming 3 year proposal to assist with all ACL conference locations to assist in balancing out the locations around the globe.
  • Todo: Will develop a centralised process of joint call for bids, incorporating SIGDAT, *ACL in first instance, working towards incorporation of AFNLP and ICCL (David, Jenn)

• Item-2: Conference participation and registration policy for authors of accepted papers + Creating policy for discounted/sliding scale virtual registration
  • Todo: Will formulate a policy that “at least one author of each accepted paper must register for the conference by the early registration deadline”. Will discuss how to operationalize the policy in EMNLP2023 with SIGDAT officers (Iryna, Emily)

• Item-3: Professional help to make software improvements for the OpenReview-to-proceedings process
  • The exec approved the funding of the development work.
  • Concerns re paying community members for service.
  • Look forward to further information from Katrin about Jordan proposal.

• Item-4: Revisiting the ACL anonymity policy
  • Todo: (1) Will form a working group to review the ACL anonymity policy that includes people taking different positions. The working group should review the old policy and do a broad survey in the community. (2) Encourage/popularise use and citation of anonymous preprints. (3) Will come up with protocols re citing anonymous preprints. (Iryna)

• Item-5: Create a committee to manage investments
  • Todo: Create a Financial Advisory Committee. Issue call for volunteers at ACL Business meeting. Hopefully finalize selection of volunteers and empanel committee at the end of August. (Emily)

• Item-6: Create a committee/hire an additional person to track, process, and manage awards (discounts for attendance, best paper awards, etc)
  • Since 2020 all certificates should be pdfs.
  • Todo: Will create a (non-exec) role of "awards officer" (3 year term). We still need more info from David/Jenn on what exactly this role is supposed to entail, before calling for candidates for this position.

• Item-7: Remembering colleagues who have passed away
  • Standard treatment: a single-slide memorium in closing session or business meeting for each one who passed away.
  • Allow one-month lead time for longer-format commemorations.
  • ACL Exec to make call as to who/how should be commemorated rather than PC Chairs being forced to make that call.
  • Update the policy on obituary (Shiqi)

• Item-8: Authorship policy of ACL
  • Todo: Form a working group to come up with a proposal for an Authorship Policy of ACL (Chengqing).

• Item-9: Improve hybrid conference experience
  • ACL 2023 is trying some of the hybrid-conference working group ideas e.g., virtual attendees will present to in-person audiences via computer/TV screens at the conference venue (but only 8 screens available currently). PCs will collect data on how many in-person participants attended these virtual papers.
  • The most complex part of scaling this idea will be the hardware limitations / #screens available at the venue.
  • Another potential solution discussed: have slightly longer (2-5 minute) spotlights for all papers (even if many more parallel sessions needed) because this allows virtual presenters to be seamlessly interleaved via zoom spotlight talks. And then have discussion "panels" per paper group/cluster related to the same topic (where virtual presenters can also join for more/longer Q&A on their paper). And then we continue to posters in the room + gathertown (and we can also have the small #screens per room for rotating virtual posters to interact with in-person attendees)?
  • Having a virtual chair is for each conference to: ensure a good experience, manage the technology, and organize events outside of the venue’s time zone.
  • Discussions on pros/cons of having an all-virtual conference every year.