Submit a Paper
Refereed papers explore techniques, tools, theory, and case histories
that extend our understanding of system and network administration.
They present results in the context of previous related work.
System administration is a broad topic, and good papers take a
variety of approaches. A few examples:
- Description/analysis of a new technique, tool, technology, or theory
- Applying an existing technique, tool, etc. in a novel way
- Critical analysis of the alternatives for solving a common problem,
including new recommendations
- New lessons learned from a detailed and honest evaluation
of a case history
The crucial component of all of these is something new or timely,
something that was not previously available, discussed, considered
or recognized.
The Program Committee is particularly interested in contributions
from full-time students. Cash prizes will be awarded at the conference
for the best refereed paper and the best refereed paper with a student as lead author.
Writing a refereed paper for LISA is a rewarding challenge. A
properly crafted paper can make a difference in the thinking or
practice of thousands of your colleagues. For the best possible
impact, your paper should be written so that it is understandable
by and relevant to a majority of our attendees. An ideal paper is
understandable by an intermediate-level system administrator while
containing ideas that will be new and timely for expert administrators.
It is particularly important to fit your own work into the context
of past work and practice. LISA papers must provide references to
prior relevant work and describe the differences between that work
and their own. Authors should browse proceedings of previous LISA
conferences for references and can use the online proceedings (going
back to 1993) at https://www.usenix.org/events/bytopic/lisa.html,
search the Usenix site for specific papers or topics at
https://www.usenix.org/publications/library/proceedings/, or
use the bibliography and resource page at Oslo University College
(https://www.iu.hio.no/SystemAdmin) to find references to related
work. The Program Chair and Program Committee members can also give
you tips on previous work that might be relevant (send email to
lisa04chair@usenix.org for help).
Proposal and Submission Details
Potential authors must submit the following items for review:
- An extended abstract of 500-1500 words (not counting figures
and references)
- A brief outline of the final paper
Full papers and papers lacking outlines will not be accepted.
Proposals can be submitted only by the author of the paper.
For administrative reasons, every submission must begin by listing:
- Paper title and names and affiliations of all authors.
Indicate whether each author is a full-time student.
- The author who will be the contact to the Program Committee.
Include his/her name, affiliation, paper mail address,
daytime and evening phone numbers, email address, and fax
number (as applicable).
- Whether the paper's lead author is a student (for awards purposes).
- Whether you would prefer to present the paper as a "long
talk" or a "short talk" (see below), if you have a strong
preference.
All abstract submissions must be electronic, in ASCII or PDF format
only. ASCII format is greatly preferred. Proposals must be submitted
using the Web form located on the LISA '04 Web site at
https://www.usenix.org/events/lisa04
Papers whose only purpose is to promote a commercial product will
not be accepted.
Proposals are due by April 20, 2004.
The Program Committee will judge submissions on the quality of the
written submission, the novelty of approach, and its technical
correctness. Be aware that the best abstracts provide many specific
details about the work they describe.
To aid authors in creating a paper suitable for LISA's audience,
authors of accepted papers will be assigned one or more "shepherds"
to help with the process of completing the paper. The shepherds
will read one or more intermediate drafts and provide comments
before the authors complete the final draft.
Like most conferences and journals, LISA requires that papers not
be submitted simultaneously to more than one conference or publication
and that submitted papers not be previously or subsequently published
elsewhere for a certain period of time. All submissions are held
in the highest confidence prior to publication in the conference
proceedings both as a matter of policy and as protected by the U.S.
Copyright Act of 1976. Copyrighted materials and papers or proposals
accompanied by nondisclosure agreement forms are not acceptable
and will be returned unread.
Presenting the Paper at the Conference
All accepted papers must be presented at the LISA conference by at
least one author. One author of each accepted paper receives
a discount on technical session registration. If the registration fee poses a hardship to the presenter, USENIX can offer a complimentary registration.
There are two lengths of presentations at the conference: 20 and
30 minutes (both formats include 5 minutes of Q&A). These "short"
or "long" talks are assigned to accepted papers based on the Program
Committee's judgment as to how straightforward the content is to
describe. Presentation length is not a reflection of perceived paper
quality, and it has no effect on the best paper competition.
Authors of an accepted paper must provide a final paper for publication
in the conference proceedings. Final papers are limited
to 16 pages, including diagrams, figures, references, and appendices.
Complete instructions will be sent to the authors of accepted papers.
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