Not every submission starts in Submissions. Conference abstracts, award applications, membership applications, certification applications, and accreditation reports can start in another Rhythm application, then come here for review. Rhythm handles this by creating a mirrored submission in the right review space, then keeping that mirror updated when the original record changes.
Submissions & Reviews is a separate application from the one that creates those source records. Having Awards & Nominations, or using abstract submissions for an event, does not automatically mean your Rhythm account includes Submissions & Reviews. Features that belong to Submissions & Reviews, such as manually assigning reviewers from a review space, are available only after that application is part of your account.
Which Records Mirror, and Where
Rhythm mirrors five kinds of records, each into its own kind of space:
| Source record | Mirrors into | When |
|---|---|---|
| An event's abstract | That event's abstract space | The space exists and is open. Only one abstract space per event receives abstracts; a second abstract space for the same event receives nothing |
| An award application | That award's application space | The space exists and is open |
| A membership application | Every open membership-application space whose restrictions the application matches | The application's status is under review |
| A certification application | Every open certification-application space whose restrictions the application matches | The application's status is pending approval |
| An accreditation report | Every open accreditation-report space whose restrictions the report matches | The space exists and is open |
Event abstracts and award applications mirror into one specific space tied to that event or award. Membership applications, certification applications, and accreditation reports can mirror into multiple spaces at the same time because Rhythm checks each open space of the right kind separately.
A draft record has nothing to mirror until it is submitted. Rhythm does not create a submission for a draft, so a console query will not find it in Submissions. After the record is submitted, the mirrored copy exists as a real submission and behaves like any other submission in queries and reports.
Tip
If Reviews Overview looks like it shows two entries for the same event or review, check whether two submission spaces share the same name. Rhythm allows separate spaces to use the same label, so those spaces can look like a duplicate of one review.
Space Restrictions and Filters
You can restrict a membership-application space by membership type, package, application type, and chapter. You can restrict a certification or accreditation space by program. When no restriction is configured, every record of the right kind qualifies. When a restriction is configured, only matching records mirror into the space, and Rhythm removes an existing mirror after it stops matching.
A space can also use broader filters, such as a rule set that checks facts about the record or a written expression. If either filter is turned on but broken, or if it is missing a usable list, Rhythm treats every record as not belonging. That can remove mirrors that are already in the space.
Warning
Changing something a rule or restriction depends on, such as a contact's chapter or a membership's type, does not make Rhythm re-check whether a mirror still belongs. Rhythm re-checks only when one of the watched fields described below changes. If you change a restriction and expect submissions to move into or out of a space right away, you will likely need to repopulate the space instead of waiting for it to happen on its own.
Only Open Spaces Receive Mirrors
Mirroring writes only into open spaces. Rhythm skips closed spaces entirely, and reopening a space does not catch up on changes that happened while it was closed. If you reopen a space and expect it to reflect current records, you need to repopulate it.
What Triggers a Re-Mirror
Rhythm does not watch every field on a source record. It re-mirrors a record only when the record's number, date, owner, identifier, name, notes, round, bucket, or override flag changes. Rhythm does not notice changes to other fields, including a status change by itself.
This has two practical consequences:
- A membership application, certification application, or accreditation report that changes into the status mirroring looks for, such as under review or pending approval, does not appear in a space until another watched field changes or you repopulate the space.
- Moving an abstract to a different event, or an award application to a different award, does not move its mirror to the new event's or award's space. The mirror stays where it is.
How a Mirror's Fields Are Kept
When Rhythm mirrors a record for the first time, it copies the source record's number, date, name, owner, and notes to the new submission and marks it submitted. Each time Rhythm mirrors that same record later, it copies those fields again from the source and overwrites the mirror. This includes any staff edits made directly to the mirror's number, date, name, owner, or notes.
Rhythm avoids rewriting the mirror every time mirroring runs by keeping the mirror's existing number. It also keeps the mirror's existing date when the source date falls on the same calendar day as before. When the source date changes to a different day, Rhythm copies that new date to the mirror. If nothing on the mirror would actually change, Rhythm skips the write entirely.
Tip
Rhythm fixed a display issue that could show an event abstract's submission date differently in different places. Going forward, the date you see should be the same wherever it appears. If you are looking at an abstract from before the fix and the dates still disagree, trust the date on the Details tab, which matches the record's original creation time.
After a mirror exists and reviewers have given it a status, such as approved, declined, or alternate, mirroring no longer changes that status. Only a brand-new mirror starts out submitted.
Bucket and Round
If the source record has a bucket, round, or override flag that belongs to the mirror's space, mirroring copies those values to the mirror. Because a record mirrored into more than one space can carry only one bucket and one round at a time, those values can belong to and take effect in at most one space.
When a new mirror does not have a bucket and round yet, and the space has review settings, Rhythm places it in the space's default bucket and starting round. This happens only when the mirror is missing placement. If a mirror already has a bucket and round, Rhythm leaves it alone.
Attribution
Every change mirroring makes is recorded in the submission's history under the name Submission Sync Agent. When you review a submission's history, this helps you tell an automatic change from one a person made.
Related
To learn how a placed mirror is sorted into a bucket and given reviewers, see How a Submission Gets Its Bucket and Its Reviewers. To learn when a mirror is removed instead of kept, see Removing and Protecting Submissions.