Workshop Guidelines

Purpose

• The goal is to improve the research. Strong comments identify weaknesses and suggest constructive paths forward. Displays of erudition are discouraged.

Format

• There will be no author presentation. The VWS team will have circulated a polished working draft in advance, and we will move directly into discussion.

• We begin with a brief round of introductions (i.e., the VWS team, author(s), and discussant(s)).

• The discussion then proceeds in three rounds.

• Round 1: Initial Critiques

  • Each discussant, in turn, provides a concise critique (~5 minutes) to initiate discussion (slides are not expected but are welcome).

  • After each critique, the author(s) are given an opportunity to respond.

  • This process repeats for all three discussants.

  • Audience members may submit questions or comments to the VWS team during the round. The VWS team will collect them for the open discussion.

• Round 2: Follow-Up and Deepening

  • Each discussant provides another critique (~5 minutes) to deepen the discussion.

  • Discussants may build on their initial comments, respond to the author(s)’ replies, or raise new points that emerged during the first round. If a response was unconvincing or raises further questions, discussants are encouraged to push the argument further and clarify remaining concerns.

  • This process repeats for all three discussants.

  • Audience members may continue submitting questions or comments for the open discussion.

• Round 3: Open Discussion

  • We then open the floor for broader discussion among all participants.

  • The VWS team will invite audience members to unmute and contribute their questions and comments directly.

  • Priority will be given to questions collected during the first two rounds, followed by additional contributions as time permits.

Participation

• All participants (including audience members) are expected to have read the paper and to provide constructive feedback.

• Written follow-up (e.g., citations, technical notes, additional thoughts) is welcome after the session.

• Participation is limited to the VWS team, authors, designated discussants, and Polarization Consortium members who have registered in advance.

Documentation

• We will post a single screenshot from the session on the workshop page for record-keeping purposes (i.e., the VWS team, author(s), and discussant(s)).