Subject: about late-submission
From: Akira Imada <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2010 06:37:15 +0200

Dear Sergei,

Maybe it would be better for me to neglect your 2nd e-mail addressed to me
today, but I dare to write this. I hope you will understand the below.

Sorry, anyway, for the long message like below. You may take no notice it as
usual, but I'd appreciate it if you'd do so only after reading it carefully
even if it is to take a long time.

The topic is late-submission to the ICNNAI-2010. We have still accepted
late-submission, as of today, even 3 weeks after the due date. But in your
case, the scenario is different. You had requested me to wait for your
submission by writing:

> I would like to ask you to give prof. Vladimir Golovko and me additional
time for finishing our paper to ICNNAI - 2010.

It was not bad, or I might say it was rather polite. And then, as you know,
I wrote immediately.

> Take your time. We might wait for the submission for one week, hopefully,
or, two weeks at the latest.

The problem was, what you should have done firstly was to write me
immediately with "thanks" at least, while what you did was, just took no
notice.

O.K. I was able to neglect your e-mail too, because this kind of behavior of
you is quite a normal one in Belarus.
What was worse, however, was you had kept silence even after our promised
2nd deadline -- "two weeks at the latest." Do you know what does it mean by
"at the latest?" So, I'd concluded that your impolite silence meant that you
finally gave it up. In a common sense, it also meant you have definitely
lost the chance.

Let me advice you. In such a case, you should first apologize, then excuse.
Don't be nervous. I've never heard "No. I'll not excuse you," when someone
say "Excuse me."

Today, you apologized for the first time by writing "... sorry for my late
response." Yes, this IS an APOLOGY.
But it was not only you. In the mean time, I keep receiving not a few
late-submissions, or requests of an additional time to prepare for a late
submission. Amazingly, some of them wrote their e-mail in Russian.

I was about to delete them as a spam without reading. But I was managed to
find it was a submission. I wrote them:

> Dear someone who sent us the email below,
>
> First of all, you should notice, the ICNNAI is not a local meeting but an
International Conference where official language is supposed to be English.
We are sorry to have to write this, but we cannot accept your submission
with the following reasons,
>
> (1) The submission due was over more than 2 weeks ago.
> (2) Submission should be in PDF format, not in DOC;
> (3) Authors information in the submission paper should be deleted; and
> (4) Submission should be via EasyChair,
>
> We guess none of the above was not made, and no explain nor excuse for
that, even in Russian in your e-mail. As such, we will not send your paper
to the review process which we have already started. If you want to submit,
nevertheless, try to write us again.

Then, one wrote an apology quite politely in English this time, and asked us
to allow them a re-submission. Some have not replied yet, at least so far. I
now show you the worst one.

>> (1) The submission due was over more than 10 days ago.
> I know.

>> (2) Submission should be in PDF format;
> Here attached.

I couldn't help laughing after reading this. How ignorant. Who do you think
could accept this kind of reaction except for Buddha?
Do you think is this a re-submission with an apology as well as an excuse?
Definitely no.

Then I am wondering which is better, negligence like you or arrogance like
the above?

Well, complaint aside, as saying goes "When in Babylon do as Babylons do," I
decided to give them a chance, believing it's not due to their bad will but
due to an ignorance.

You too have not been excused yet, though you still have a chance to make
it, if you want. Or don't worry, you might keep silence if you like. Anyway
Vladimir and I decided to accept such late-submissions, even if they
corresponded stupidly, only on condition that they re-submit correctly. This
is including yours despite your excuse. All these late-submission will
proceed to review procedure, if it's not crucially late.

Mamma Mia,
Akira Imada,
P.S.
You should also know that usually the condition under which a
late-submission is allowed. It should be a super-good paper which is called
"post-deadline-paper."  Ordinary or poor quality paper should follow the
rule.