1. Introduction

Welcome to paperdirect.online, a comprehensive Conference Management System (CMS) designed to support the full lifecycle of academic conferences — from abstract submission and peer review through to publication.

This document constitutes a binding agreement between you ("User") and PaperDirect governing your access to and use of the platform. It combines our User Policy, Privacy Policy, and Submission Policy into a single, unified document for clarity.

Important: By registering an account or accessing any part of this system, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to all terms in this policy. If you do not agree, you must not use the platform.

2. Definitions

Term	Meaning
System / Platform	The paperdirect.online web application and all associated services
User	Any registered individual, including Authors, Reviewers, Editors, Admins, and Super Admins
Content	Papers, abstracts, reviews, scores, comments, and any other material uploaded to or generated within the system
Super Admin	Platform-level administrator responsible for creating conferences and managing the system
Conference Admin	An administrator appointed to manage a specific conference
Author	A registered user who submits papers or abstracts to a conference
Reviewer	A registered user assigned to evaluate submissions
Editor	A registered user who assigns reviewers and oversees the review process
Personal Data	Any information that identifies or can identify an individual

3. System Roles & Responsibilities

PaperDirect operates a role-based access model. Each role carries specific responsibilities and permissions within the platform.

3.1 Super Admin

• Manages the platform
• Creates conferences and assigns Conference Admins
• Configures platform-level settings

3.2 Conference Admin

• Manages conference webpage and committee members
• Handles submissions and manages peer review
• Makes acceptance/rejection decisions
• Manages conference media and publishes accepted papers

3.3 Editor

• Assigns reviewers to submissions
• Ensures fair and unbiased evaluation
• Monitors review progress

3.4 Reviewer

• Evaluates assigned papers fairly and confidentially
• Declares conflicts of interest

3.5 Author

• Submits original work following conference guidelines
• Ensures all co-authors have approved the submission
• Responds to revision requests promptly

4. Acceptable Use

Users are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and use the platform strictly in accordance with this policy. The following conduct is strictly prohibited:

• Uploading false, misleading, or fraudulent content
• Violating the intellectual property rights of any third party
• Attempting unauthorized access to any part of the system, other accounts, or server infrastructure
• Disrupting, degrading, or impairing system operations or other users' access
• Using automated tools, bots, or scrapers without explicit written consent
• Misrepresenting your identity, affiliation, or role
• Harassing, threatening, or abusing other users through any platform feature
• Using the platform for any unlawful purpose

5. Academic Integrity

All users are expected to uphold the highest standards of scholarly conduct. The following are strictly prohibited:

• Plagiarism: Presenting another's work, ideas, or data as your own without proper attribution
• Duplicate Submission: Submitting the same work simultaneously to multiple venues without disclosure
• Fabrication or Falsification: Inventing or manipulating research data, results, or citations
• Ghost Authorship: Including individuals as authors who did not contribute, or omitting genuine contributors
• Coercive Citation: Pressuring authors to add citations for non-academic reasons

Suspected integrity violations may result in rejection, removal of published work, account suspension, or referral to the author's institution.

6. Information We Collect

6.1 Personal Data

• Full name, email address, and institutional affiliation
• Country of residence and contact details
• Profile photo (optional)
• Occupation and academic/professional title

6.2 Academic & Conference Data

• Submitted papers, abstracts, and supporting files
• Review scores, comments, and recommendations
• Registration and payment information
• Attendance records and session participation

6.3 Technical Data

• IP address and approximate geographic location
• Device type, operating system, and browser information
• Login timestamps and activity logs
• Session cookies and local storage tokens

7. How We Use Your Data

Your data is used solely to operate and improve the platform. Specific purposes include:

• Creating and managing your user account
• Facilitating conference registration, paper submission, and review workflows
• Assigning reviewer roles based on declared expertise
• Sending submission confirmations, review decisions, and deadline reminders
• Publishing accepted papers in conference proceedings
• Maintaining platform security and preventing abuse
• Generating anonymized aggregate statistics to improve the platform
• Complying with legal obligations

We do not use your data for advertising, commercial profiling, or any purpose not listed above.

8. Data Sharing

Your personal data may be shared only with the following parties, and only to the extent necessary:

• Conference Administrators — to manage the conference you have registered for or submitted to
• Assigned Reviewers — author identity is shared only in open review models; otherwise, submissions are anonymized
• Program Committee Members — for organizational and decision-making purposes
• System Administrators — for technical support and platform maintenance
• Publishing Partners — for accepted papers only, limited to authorship and paper content

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to any third party for commercial purposes, under any circumstances.

9. Data Storage & Security

All data is stored on managed server infrastructure protected by industry-standard security measures, including:

• Encrypted data transmission (HTTPS/TLS)
• Password hashing using strong cryptographic algorithms
• Session-based authentication with secure token management
• Role-based access controls limiting data visibility
• Regular security monitoring and activity logging

While we implement reasonable technical safeguards, no system can guarantee absolute security. Use a strong, unique password and report any suspected unauthorized access promptly.

10. Data Retention

• Active conference data is retained for the duration of the conference and a reasonable period thereafter
• Following conference closure and publication, conference data will be removed or archived after notifying the Conference Administrator
• Account data is retained for as long as your account remains active
• Minimal metadata (paper titles, authorship records, acceptance status) may be retained indefinitely for publication records, academic integrity, and audit purposes

11. Your Rights

Subject to applicable law, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Right to Rectification: Correct inaccurate or incomplete data via your profile settings
• Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your account and associated personal data, subject to retention obligations
• Right to Restriction: Request that we limit processing of your data in certain circumstances
• Right to Data Portability: Request a structured, machine-readable copy of your data
• Right to Object: Object to processing of your data for specific purposes

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at admin@paperdirect.online. We will respond within 30 days.

12. Account Deletion

You may request account deletion at any time via your profile dashboard. Upon deletion:

• Your personal profile data will be removed or irreversibly anonymized
• Your access to the platform will be revoked immediately

We may retain submitted papers, authorship records, and review records (anonymized where possible) for academic integrity, conference documentation, and financial compliance purposes.

13. Notification Preferences

You may manage your notification preferences from your account dashboard. Regardless of your preferences, we reserve the right to send security alerts, submission decisions, and critical administrative messages. You remain solely responsible for meeting submission deadlines regardless of whether you receive reminder notifications.

14. Submission Policy

14.1 Submission Types

Conferences may accept full papers, short papers, abstracts, and posters, as configured by the Conference Administrator.

14.2 Originality Requirements

All submissions must be original work that has not been previously published. Submissions must not be under simultaneous review elsewhere unless the conference explicitly permits this and you have disclosed it.

14.3 Authorship

• All listed co-authors must have read and approved the submission
• Every listed author must have made a genuine intellectual contribution
• The submitting author takes responsibility for obtaining consent from all co-authors

14.4 Formatting Requirements

• Submissions must comply with conference-specified formatting guidelines
• Files must be complete, readable, and in an accepted format
• Non-compliant submissions may be desk-rejected without review

15. Peer Review Process

The review model (single-blind, double-blind, or open) is determined per conference and disclosed on the conference page. Reviewers are assigned based on expertise and absence of conflicts of interest. Final acceptance and rejection decisions rest with the Conference Administrator.

16. Confidentiality

All submissions are treated as confidential during review. Reviewers must not share submission content with unauthorized parties, use unpublished content for their own research without author consent, or discuss submissions outside the review process. This obligation survives the conclusion of the conference.

17. Revisions & Final Submission

Conditionally accepted papers may require revisions. Authors must address all reviewer comments within the revision deadline and ensure the camera-ready version meets all conference formatting standards. Failure to submit a compliant camera-ready version by the deadline may result in exclusion from the proceedings.

18. Acceptance & Publication

Accepted papers may be published in the official conference proceedings, made available via the conference website, or recommended for affiliated journals. Publication is conditional on at least one author completing conference registration and fulfilling the presentation requirement.

19. Presentation Requirement

At least one registered author must present accepted work at the conference. Failure to present without prior written approval from the Conference Administrator may result in exclusion of the paper from the proceedings.

20. Withdrawal Policy

Authors may withdraw submissions before a final decision is issued by contacting the Conference Administrator. After acceptance, withdrawal requires written justification and may not prevent inclusion in an already-finalized proceedings volume.

21. Intellectual Property

Authors retain full copyright ownership. By submitting, authors grant the conference a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, distribute, and archive the accepted work. This does not transfer copyright to PaperDirect. PaperDirect retains all rights to the platform software, design, and infrastructure.

22. Ethical Compliance

All users must comply with applicable ethical standards, including IRB or ethics committee requirements for research involving human subjects, applicable data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, PDPA), disciplinary ethical guidelines, and all applicable laws. PaperDirect reserves the right to remove content that violates ethical standards.

23. Cookies & Tracking

PaperDirect uses session cookies (for authentication) and preference tokens (for functional preferences such as cookie consent). We do not use third-party advertising cookies or behavioral tracking. Disabling cookies will prevent login and use of core platform features.

24. Third-Party Services

PaperDirect may use third-party services for email delivery, payment processing, and aggregate analytics. Third-party services are governed by their own privacy policies. We do not store payment card details on our servers.

25. International Data Processing

Your data may be stored and processed in a jurisdiction different from your country of residence. By using the platform, you consent to such transfers. We take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for international data transfers.

26. Liability Limitations

The platform is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranty. To the maximum extent permitted by law, PaperDirect disclaims liability for data loss due to technical failures, missed deadlines, unauthorized account access resulting from user negligence, and decisions made by Conference Administrators or reviewers. Our total liability shall not exceed registration fees paid by the affected user in the preceding twelve months.

27. Account Security

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials. Use a strong, unique password, never share your credentials, log out on shared devices, and report any suspected unauthorized access to admin@paperdirect.online immediately. You are liable for all activity conducted through your account unless unauthorized access occurred despite reasonable precautions.

28. Policy Violations & Enforcement

Violations may result in a formal warning, rejection or removal of submissions, temporary or permanent account suspension, notification of the user's institution, or referral to legal authorities. Users may contest enforcement decisions by contacting admin@paperdirect.online.

29. Policy Updates

We may update this policy at any time. Material changes will be communicated by updating the "Last Updated" date, displaying a notice on the platform, and sending notifications to registered users where required by law. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree with a material change, delete your account before it takes effect.

30. Contact Information

PaperDirect System Administration
Email: admin@paperdirect.online
Platform: paperdirect.online

We aim to respond to policy inquiries within 5 business days and data rights requests within 30 days.

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By creating an account or using paperdirect.online, you confirm that you are at least 18 years of age, have read and understood this policy in its entirety, and agree to be bound by its terms.