Quick Facts
Important Dates:
- Submission deadline:
7th January 2019 (12pm (noon) PST / 3pm EST / 8pm GMT) - Notification:
30th January 2019 - Camera-ready deadline:
10th February 2019 - Video previews deadline (optional):
3rd March 2019
Submission Details:
- Online Submission: PCS Submission System.
- Camera-ready, 10 page submission in Extended Abstracts Format.
- Additional description of how the work will be presented at the conference.
- Optional: 5 minute video figure.
Please note: CHI 2019 is using a new version of Precision Conference System (PCS 2.0). You will need to create a new login/password for this system.
Selection Process: Juried
Chairs: Conor Linehan, Ann Light, Ben Kirman (altchi@chi2019.acm.org)
At the conference: Accepted alt.chi submissions will be presented in designated sessions at the conference.
After the conference: Accepted alt.chi submissions will appear in the Extended Abstracts proceedings in the ACM Digital Library.
What is alt.chi
alt.chi is a forum for controversial, risk-taking, and boundary pushing presentations at CHI. The CHI program committee formed alt.chi to act as a forum for innovative and insightful work that can go unrecognized through the standard review process. Contributions to alt.chi often innovate methodologically, critique accepted practices, or take on controversial questions. Moreover, alt.chi presentations are often innovative in format as well as content, and we wish to encourage authors to consider how they might present their work in alternative ways. Previous years have seen alt.chi contributions presented through theatre, carnival, music, poetry, and graphic novels.
alt.chi Commentaries
As contributions to alt.chi are often challenging and unusual, since 2014 they have benefited from reviewer commentaries. Where appropriate, reviewers may be asked revise their work as a short commentary to be published with the alt.chi submission and optionally presented in person following the authors’ presentation at the conference. These commentaries serve to amplify and enrich alt.chi presentations of provocative work.
Message from the alt.chi Chairs
alt.chi 2019 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 the main Papers track, whether for reasons of methodology, style or content. alt.chi hosts some of the most audacious and insightful presentations at the conference. This is the avant-garde of CHI. We invite the submission of bold, compelling, critical, and innovative works that challenge or re-imagine human computer interaction research and design. alt.chi 2019 is methodologically inclusive and accepts reports, reflections, analyses, designs, fictions and systematic inquiries. Especially encouraged are:
- Critical perspectives on HCI, design, and society
- Creative, subversive, and/or unorthodox research methods that explore HCI boundaries, quandaries, and paradoxes
- Works that explore the politics, economics, and practice of HCI and design – and propose alternatives
Explorations of novel methods through which to present HCI research – both in the submission and through the conference presentation
The vast majority of CHI Papers are inherently inappropriate for submission to alt.chi. In other words, work that can conceivably be accepted to the full papers track is entirely inappropriate for submission to alt.chi. alt.chi 2019 should be viewed as an opportunity to re-shape the conversation by introducing a vibrant intellectual community to a new way of doing work, unconstrained by traditional conference/paper formats.
alt.CHI returns to an open review Juried format for 2019.
Conor Linehan, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
Ann Light, University of Sussex, United Kingdom
Ben Kirman, University of York, York, United Kingdom
Email: altchi@chi2019.acm.org
Preparing and Submitting your alt.chi Submission
An alt.chi submission must be submitted via the PCS Submission System by January 7th, 2019 (12pm (noon) PST / 3pm EST / 8pm GMT). CHI 2019 is using a new version of Precision Conference System (PCS 2.0): https://new.precisionconference.com/. Please note that you will need to create a new login/password for this system. The alt.chi submission must include an Extended Abstract and may also include a 5-minute video figure.
Submissions should consist of a maximum 10-page paper in Extended Abstracts Format (including references), with an abstract of less than 100 words. Although deviation from the format may be required for some submissions, please ensure at a minimum the first page and references follow the strict requirements. If you want to do something unusual then check with us first at altchi@chi2019.acm.org. Submissions should not be accepted or under review anywhere else while in submission
Changes to submissions beginning from CHI 2018:
- The submission form will ask you to provide a description and justification of the method by which your alt.chi work will be presented at the conference. Submissions that thoughtfully link the content of the submission to a specified presentation format will be highly valued by the review process. Because alt.chi is intended as an alternative space at the conference, we strongly encourage authors to propose something other than standing and talking to a deck of Powerpoint slides.
- We welcome completely fresh submissions tailored to the specific goals and values of alt.chi. It is traditional, however, that authors of highly discussed papers that are submitted, but not accepted into the CHI Papers track may be invited to submit their work to alt.chi. In these cases, authors will be asked to submit a brief argument as to why they believe their submission will be a good fit for alt.chi.
Like many tracks at CHI, your alt.chi submission may include a short digital video figure or interactive illustration that is up to five minutes in length and no more than 200 MB final data size. Because not everyone who reads the submission may view the video figure or attend the presentation, 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 Selection Process
alt.chi follows a Juried process for 2019. During the period between submissions and notifications, members of the CHI community are invited to discuss the submission in a 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 pushes the field forward. After the discussion period, a jury of experts will evaluate the work based on:
- How well the work embodies alt.chi’s values of creativity, criticality, reflection, and originality.
- How coherent the work is conceptually, philosophically, and methodologically.
- How well the proposed presentation format suits the content of the submission and how likely it is to engage people at the conference.
- The extent to which the work expresses a voice and argument unlikely to be heard in the Papers track.
- The nature of the discussions that the submission provokes among reviewers.
Submissions should not contain sensitive, private, or proprietary information that cannot be disclosed at publication time; nor can submissions contain text of prior CHI reviews. Submissions should NOT be anonymous. However, confidentiality of submissions will be maintained during the review process. All rejected submissions will be kept confidential in perpetuity.
* all reviewers will be required to consent to a review agreement prior to participating in the selection process.
All alt.chi prospective authors with a paper submission will be expected to review at least two papers submitted to the conference during the review period.
Reviewing for alt.chi
From 8th January 2019 to 21st January 2019, alt.chi submissions are open for review. Although it is open, there are a few steps necessary for New PCS to allow access to the submissions:
- Please volunteer to review if you haven’t already. To do this, visit the volunteer page and select SIGCHI CHI2019, and enter a number of reviews for alt.chi.
- You will then have access to the “bidding” page. You will see a list of all available titles and abstracts. For any you wish to review, please select “want” or “willing”. You can bid on more papers at any time during the review period.
- The chairs will assign you every paper you bid on, unless particular papers are oversubscribed. This is not automatic but is done regularly. You will receive an email confirmation when a paper is assigned.
- Once assigned, you will have access to the submission, and any existing discussion and reviews through your reviewing page.
The deadline for reviews is 21st January 2019. However, as reviews are open, we encourage you to submit as soon as possible, to allow for discussion among the other community members. You may revise your review until 21st January.
AUTHORS TAKE NOTE: The official publication date is the date the proceedings are made available in the ACM Digital Library. This date may be up to two weeks prior to the first day of your conference. The official publication date affects the deadline for any patent filings related to published work.
Upon Acceptance of your alt.chi Submission
Authors will be notified of acceptance or rejection by 1st February 2019. Final versions of accepted alt.chi Extended Abstracts must be uploaded to Precision Conference System by 8th February 2019.
At the Conference
All accepted alt.chi submission will be presented orally in designated sessions at the conference.
After the Conference
Accepted alt.chi submission will be distributed in the CHI Conference Extended Abstracts, available in the ACM Digital Library, where they will remain accessible to thousands of researchers and practitioners worldwide.
