As of October 2026, ARR service is performed by either designated service contributors provided by the submitting authors, or volunteers. The qualification requirements are the same, and so are most of the guidelines for the reviewer / AC roles, with some small differences outlined in this document.

The sign-up processes for the contributors occurs during paper submission, in coordination with authors. Please see here.

What is the ARR service pool?

This is a list of reviewers or chairs who have in the past served at ARR. People on this list may receive invitations to volunteer service, especially in big cycles. Being on this list does not mean that you will be assigned, unless you also indicate your availability in a specific cycle. And even then, it also depends on the current qualification requirements and the expertise needs in a given cycle.

Q: Do I have to be in the volunteer pool to serve as a designated contributor?

No. This is completely independent. If you have signed up as a volunteer, but then find that you need to serve as a designated contributor in a given cycle, the designated contributor preferences will override the volunteer preferences for that cycle.

Q: What are the benefits of being in ARR service pool?

you help the new authors who have not yet had the chance to build their network
as with any reviewing, you may receive outstanding reviewer/chair awards, including a chance to win a free virtual registration for a conference you would otherwise not attend
unlike designated contributors, you may agree to only review resubmissions
unlike designated contributors, you may choose your max load
those who have served at ARR in the past and completed at least 10 high-quality reviews, have thus built up the credentials for manual verification for the new qualifications criteria

Q: What if I have an emergency as a volunteer reviewer/chair?

If you are delayed but will submit your reviews, please indicate so in the delay form asap. If you have an emergency that prevents you from completing the reviews, please file the emergency form asap, so that the chairs will be notified and look for a replacement. Unlike designated service contributors, volunteer reviewers are not obligated to provide a replacement.

Can volunteer reviewers/chairs be found ‘irresponsible’, and what happens then?

Yes. In particular, this would apply in cases of non-submission of (meta-)reviews on time without due warning, and egregious cases of unprofessional tone and LLM policy violations. Irresponsible reviewers/chairs would then be disqualified from serving as a designated contributor for a cycle.

Volunteers still need to meet the qualifications criteria. The sign-up process depends on whether you are qualified by your degree and publications, or your past service:

for the degree and publications-based candidates, please use the automated checker. If you pass the test, there is an option in the end of the form to enroll in the volunteer service pool. This only means receiving invitations to review; you still have to indicate availability for specific cycles to receive assignments, and even then the assignments also depend on the needs in the given cycle.
for the manual verification, please indicate that you’d like to volunteer when you apply for manual verification. If you are approved, you will be added to the service pool.

What is the minimum service load I can set?

At present, the smallest max load is 4 submissions per cycle.

How do I pause my membership in the volunteer pool?

You can indicate yourself as unavailable until a certain date in the availability form.

Q: How do I completely remove myself from the standing reviewer pool?

You can now simply request that too in the availability form.