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An open access journal in theoretical computer science |
Policies
Conflict of interest policy
An author is in conflict of interest with an editor or reviewer when belonging to one or more of the following groups: family member or close friend; current or past Ph.D. advisor/advisee; postdoctoral mentor/mentee within the last five years; person with the same affiliation; frequent or recent collaborator. Members of the Editorial Board and reviewers are requested to declare a conflict of interest with submissions when they are in conflict of interest with one of the authors.
Authors, editors, or reviewers that believe to have a conflict of interest for a reason not listed above are asked to contact one of the Editors-in-Chief.
Policy on P vs. NP and other long-standing problems
The study of long-standing open problems in theoretical computer science, and in particular of the P vs. NP problem, is in the scope of TheoretiCS. However, extraordinary claims must be supported by extraordinary evidence, and so submissions to TheoretiCS claiming to solve such problems must meet the highest standards of rigorousness and quality of presentation.
In particular, such submissions must not only be correct; they must also be presented in the clearest and simplest possible way, with no ambiguities, and in a clear grammatical language. The logic must be impeccable, and the presentation must follow the highest standards of expository writing. Reviewers should not have to invest additional time understanding the material because of poor or obscure notations, missing or unclear definitions, or any other reason.
In addition, such submissions must include a cover letter with a clear and convincing high-level explanation of the new ideas they contain, and why they solve a problem that has remained open despite decades of active study.
Submissions judged not to satisfy these criteria will be rejected without refereeing, and their authors will not be allowed to submit a new paper to TheoretiCS on the same topic until a period of one year has elapsed.
The goal of this policy is to ensure that the valuable reviewing resources of our community are used efficiently.
Policy on papers with a previous conference version
TheoretiCS welcomes the submission of full versions of papers that appeared in proceedings of conferences. Such versions should be revised and extended if necessary. The version submitted to TheoretiCS is expected to be the full and definitive version of the paper, and will be evaluated as such. Not only should it contain full proofs, it should also contain all necessary examples and explanations. The goal is to ensure that readers of TheoretiCS can understand the paper without undue effort. TheoretiCS intends to attract a broad audience which is wider than that of a specialized conference.