itcs-supplementary

ITCS Supplementary

ITCS gives you three places to put content — the body, the appendix (part of the

submitted PDF), and the full version on arXiv/ECCC/ePrint — and the split is governed by one

rule: anything a reviewer must read to judge the paper lives inside the submitted PDF. Because

ITCS has no hard page limit and no rebuttal, the appendix is generous but load-bearing:

you cannot promise "details in the full version" for a proof that decides acceptance, and you

cannot answer later if a reviewer cannot follow. This skill decides what goes where.

The governing principle: decision-criticality

Sort every piece of content by whether a reviewer needs it to decide:

• Body (first ~10 pages): everything needed to grasp the contribution and judge its

novelty — the model, the motivation, the main theorem statements, proof ideas, and the

novelty delta. This is the merits window the PC actually reads (see

[itcs-writing-style](../itcs-writing-style/SKILL.md)).

• Appendix (same PDF): the complete proofs of central claims, full definitions, and any

technical development too long for the body. This is not optional reading — it is where the

"complete proofs of all central claims" requirement is satisfied.

• Full version (arXiv/ECCC/ePrint): the permanent, exhaustive record — extended discussion,

additional corollaries, alternate proofs, and the same central proofs mirrored. It may contain

more, but nothing decision-critical may live only here.

The rule that trips people up

> No central proof may live only in the external full version. The PC is not obligated to

> open your arXiv posting. A reviewer who reaches "the proof of our main theorem is in the full

> version [ref]" and stops there will — correctly — treat the claim as unproved in the

> submission. Put every load-bearing proof in the submitted PDF's appendix.

Deferring to the full version is acceptable only for genuinely peripheral content: a fourth

corollary, a longer historical discussion, an alternate proof of an already-proved result.

Use the no-page-limit generously but honestly

ITCS's lack of a hard limit is a gift with a catch:

• Do put full proofs in the appendix rather than compressing them into unreadability. A dense,

unverifiable body proof is worse than a clear appendix proof with a body sketch.

• Do not pad the merits window. The first ~10 pages are judged on clarity of the idea; extra

length there dilutes the innovation. Push technical bulk to the appendix, not into the intro.

• Signpost precisely. Every deferred proof gets an explicit "proof in Appendix C" and every

appendix section says which body claim it discharges. A reviewer should never hunt.

Content-placement table

| Content | Body (~first 10pp) | Appendix (same PDF) | Full version only |

|---|---|---|---|

| Model & definitions | Yes (core ones) | Full/edge-case variants | — |

| Main theorem statements | Yes | — | — |

| Proof ideas / sketches | Yes (a paragraph each) | — | — |

| Complete proofs of central claims | Idea only | Yes (required) | Mirror allowed, not sole home |

| Novelty delta / related work | Yes (the deltas) | Extended comparison | — |

| Routine calculations | Reference | Yes | — |

| Peripheral corollaries, alt proofs | — | Optional | Yes |

| Finite separating objects (graphs/codes) | Small ones inline | Larger ones | — |

Anonymity and the full version

Posting a full version is encouraged under lightweight double-blind, but keep the split

consistent with the anonymity strategy (see [itcs-submission](../itcs-submission/SKILL.md)):

• The submitted PDF (body + appendix) omits author names, affiliations, and emails.
• The arXiv/ECCC/ePrint full version may be non-anonymous — that is permitted and normal.
• Do not let a cross-reference in the submission point at the named preprint in a way that reads as

a deliberate identity reveal; a neutral "a full version is available" is enough.

Output format

[ITCS content-split status] clean / decision-critical-content-misplaced
[Merits window] model+motivation+results+deltas within ~10 pages, no padding? yes/no
[Appendix] complete proofs of ALL central claims present in the submitted PDF? yes/no
[Full-version leak] any load-bearing proof deferred ONLY to arXiv/ECCC/ePrint? list them
[Signposting] every deferred proof cross-referenced to its appendix section? yes/no
[Fix queue] <ordered; move any decision-critical content into the PDF first>