Respond to Reviews
Reply to your reviews during the author response (rebuttal) period
When a conference enables author responses, you can reply to your reviews in a discussion thread — clarify misunderstandings, answer reviewers' questions, and describe changes you've made. Reviewers and chairs can reply, and reviewers may update their reviews based on your response.
Post a Response
- Go to Submissions in the sidebar and open your submission
- Click "View Reviews" — the Discussion section appears below your reviews
- Check the status line: it shows your response deadline (or that the period hasn't opened yet)
- Write your response and click "Post Comment"
You can post more than one comment while the window is open — for example, a follow-up when a reviewer asks a question. You can also delete your own comments.
Who Sees Your Response
Your response is visible to the reviewers assigned to your paper, the editors, and the chairs. On blind-review tracks, reviewers appear as "Reviewer #1", "Reviewer #2", and so on — matching the numbering of the review cards above — and your comments may appear to reviewers as "Authors" rather than your name.
Tips for a Good Response
- Address reviewers by number ("Reviewer #2 asked about...") so everyone can follow the thread
- Be specific: point to the exact concern in the review and state what you changed or why you disagree
- Stay professional — chairs read the whole exchange when making decisions
- Watch the deadline: after it passes, the thread becomes read-only for you
Not seeing a Discussion section?
The conference may not have enabled author responses, or your reviews haven't been released yet. The status line will say "You will be able to respond once reviews are released" when the feature is on but reviews are still pending.