When the organization running an event approves your abstract, it invites you to confirm whether you will present it. This article explains how to accept or decline the invitation in the Portal, and what to do if the event uses an older confirmation form.
Before You Begin
Prerequisites
- Your abstract must be approved and waiting for a presenter response. You’ll see this in the abstract’s status.
- Anyone named on the abstract can respond for the presenter, including the submitter, main presenter, or a co-author. You do not have to be the main presenter.
Accept or Decline
- Go to My Event Abstracts in the Portal.
- Find the abstract that is waiting for your answer. Its status shows that it has been approved and is awaiting a response.
- Select Accept or Decline on that row, or open the abstract and select Accept Invitation to Present or Decline Invitation to Present.
- Complete and submit the form that appears. The questions depend on how the organization set up the event, so you might provide travel details, recording consent, an updated biography, or only your answer.
Tip
A form always appears at this step because the organization must choose one before presenters can accept or decline this way. The form may only show confirmation text and collect nothing else.
Result
Rhythm records your answer, and the person who originally submitted the abstract receives an email confirming whether it was accepted or declined.
Tip
If the event’s approval process does not use a separate decline form, you’ll see the same form whether you accept or decline. Submit the form anyway; Rhythm records the answer you selected, even though the form looks the same.
Why You Might See a Confirmation Form Instead
Some events still use an older confirmation process instead of separate Accept and Decline buttons. For these events, your invitation opens one confirmation form to complete and submit, rather than two response buttons.
Warning
On this older confirmation path, submitting the form always confirms the abstract. You cannot record a decline through this form, so contact the organization running the event directly if you need to withdraw or decline.
If It Fails
- "There was an error:" followed by a message about the abstract's status. The invitation has usually already been answered by you or by someone else named on the abstract. Check the abstract’s current status; if it already shows an answer, no further action is needed.
- You submitted an answer, but it looks like it was overwritten by a different one. If more than one person named on the abstract answers the same invitation, Rhythm keeps the most recently submitted answer. Coordinate with your co-authors or the submitter before responding if more than one of you might answer.
- The form won't load. Reload the page. If the form still does not load, the event’s approval process may not have a form configured for this step; contact the organization running the event.