Ccfddl Conference Update

ccfddl Conference Update

Add newly available conference editions and newly announced deadline information to ccfddl/ccf-deadlines.

This skill is intentionally limited to maintaining the latest conference edition. It is not a general historical-data cleanup or PR-review workflow.

Scope

Use this skill when asked to:

• check whether conferences need a new edition added
• maintain the latest conference deadlines
• find newly announced conference editions
• add newly published deadlines for the latest edition
• periodically update the repository with new conference-year information

Do not use this skill for:

• general historical-data cleanup
• arbitrary correction of old conference entries
• reviewing existing PRs
• broad repository refactoring
• speculative future deadlines

Use the ccfddl-pr-review skill for existing pull requests.

Core strategy

For each conference under consideration:

1. inspect the latest edition currently tracked
2. inspect historical timing
3. estimate whether the next edition is likely to have announced relevant information yet
4. skip conferences that are clearly too early
5. search official sources only after the conference enters a reasonable announcement window
6. create an update only when current official information supports it

Historical timing controls when to search.

Official primary sources control what to write.

Never turn historical timing into factual repository data.

Phase 1: Repository discovery

Determine:

• the latest edition currently tracked
• latest known submission round when applicable
• previous several editions when available
• historical submission months
• historical CFP or announcement timing
• historical conference months
• whether the conference is annual or follows another cadence

Prefer multiple historical editions when available rather than relying on one unusual year.

Phase 2: Search gating

Before web research, estimate whether it is reasonably likely that the next edition has published relevant information.

Useful signals include:

• typical month when the next edition's website appears
• typical CFP publication month
• typical abstract/submission deadline month
• typical lead time between CFP publication and submission deadline
• typical conference month
• annual or multi-round cadence
• how recently the latest tracked edition occurred

Historical data is only a search-gating heuristic.

Early-skip rule

If the next edition is clearly too early based on historical cadence, do not perform web research for that conference.

Classify it as:

too early to check

Examples:

• CFPs normally appear around December and it is currently May
• deadlines normally occur around March of the conference year and the next cycle is still far away
• the current edition has just taken place and historical next-edition announcements occur months later

This optimization does not assert that no next-edition page exists. It only means a current check is not justified yet.

Conservative search window

Do not wait until the exact historical announcement date.

Start official-source checking once the conference enters a reasonable pre-announcement window, using a conservative lead buffer appropriate to that conference's historical cadence.

Do not apply one rigid global rule to every conference.

Historical data must never become repository data

Historical dates may answer:

Should we check now?

They must never answer:

What is the new deadline?

Never derive or predict submission deadlines, abstract deadlines, timezones, conference dates, locations, rounds, or URLs from previous editions.

If previous deadlines cluster around a particular season, that can justify checking official sources around that season. It cannot justify inserting a guessed date.

Phase 3: Official discovery

For conferences that pass the search gate, search current primary sources.

Preferred source order:

1. official conference website
2. official Call for Papers
3. official Important Dates page
4. official submission-system page linked by the conference
5. official ACM / IEEE / USENIX / AAAI / organizer page
6. official sponsoring-organization page

Secondary sources may be used only to locate the official source.

Do not treat deadline aggregators, search snippets, blogs, Reddit, social posts, cached third-party pages, prior repository entries, or AI summaries as authoritative evidence.

Confirm the next edition

Before changing anything, verify that the official source refers to the exact next edition.

Confirm:

• conference name
• year
• edition if numbered
• relevant track
• relevant submission round

Be careful with sites that retain old content under a reused domain.

Do not confuse the main conference with workshops, tutorials, demos, posters, artifact evaluation, journal tracks, industry tracks, or co-located events.

Determine whether an update is actionable

An update is actionable when current official information exists that should be represented in the repository.

Examples:

• the next conference edition is officially announced
• a submission deadline is published
• an abstract deadline is published
• a new submission round is published
• a previously TBD field now has an official value
• an official URL for the new edition is available

If the next-edition page exists but relevant information remains TBD, TBA, To be announced, Coming soon, or equivalent, do not guess.

Follow repository conventions for representing unknown information.

Decide whether to add the edition

Do not require every possible field to be known if repository conventions permit partial or TBD entries.

However:

• every populated factual value must have current official support
• unknown values must remain unknown
• do not copy unknown values from a previous edition
• do not create a new edition solely from a historical prediction

Follow existing repository conventions for when a new conference year should first be added.

Verify all available fields together

When adding or updating the latest edition, verify all relevant officially published fields together, including when applicable:

• conference year
• official URL
• conference dates
• location
• abstract deadline
• submission deadline
• timezone / AoE
• submission round
• relevant notes

This avoids multiple unnecessary PRs when one official page already provides all relevant information.

Timezone rules

Treat timezone as part of the deadline.

Verify it directly from the current official source.

Never inherit timezone from the previous edition without current evidence.

Pay special attention to AoE, UTC, UTC offsets, local time, daylight-saving transitions, and 11:59 PM deadlines.

If the official source is ambiguous, do not invent precision.