You tried to submit a review and Rhythm refused it, or you tried to delete a review team, round, bucket, submission, or contact and could not. This page explains why Rhythm refuses some reviews, and why you cannot delete a record while reviews still point to it.
Scope
This applies when you submit a review in the Portal or the Console, and when you delete review teams, rounds, buckets, submissions, spaces, or contacts. Editing an existing review runs fewer checks than submitting a new review, and those differences are noted below.
Why a Review Is Refused
Rhythm refuses a review for one of the reasons below, in roughly the order you are most likely to see them.
1. The Space Is Not Open
Check. If the message says the space is not open, the space itself is not open right now. This only stops you from submitting a brand-new review; changing or deleting a review you already submitted does not check whether the space is open.
Fix. Confirm the space's status with your Submissions administrator. A reviewer cannot change it.
2. The Round Does Not Match the Submission
Check. If the review form will not open, the submission you are trying to review may not be assigned to any round right now. If the form opens but Rhythm refuses the review and names a different round, the submission moved after you started reviewing it.
Fix. Reopen the review from the submission's current location instead of using an old link or browser tab. After a submission moves on, you cannot submit a review for an earlier round.
3. The Round Is Closed or Its Deadline Has Passed
Check. If the message says you are submitting past the round's deadline, the round is closed or its review deadline has passed. This can look like a permissions issue because of how the message is reported, but the problem is timing, not access.
Fix. Ask your review administrator whether the round's deadline can be extended, or whether you should review in a different round that is currently open.
4. A Score Was Given for a Criterion That Does Not Apply
Check. If the message names a criterion that "is not part of the review criteria for this space," a score was recorded for a criterion that does not apply to this review's round or bucket.
Fix. This is usually a form or configuration issue, not something you can fix as a reviewer, so report it to your review administrator. Rhythm only checks this when you submit a new review; changing an existing review is not checked again against the current criteria.
5. A Required Score Is Missing
Check. If the message says a required criterion is missing, at least one criterion that applies to this review has no score. Rhythm names only the first missing criterion, even when more than one is missing.
Fix. Go back through the review form and make sure every applicable criterion has a score before you submit again.
6. A Score Is Above Its Maximum
Check. If the message says a score exceeds the criterion's maximum, one of your scores is higher than that criterion allows.
Fix. Change the score so it is within the criterion's maximum, then submit again. Rhythm only runs this check when you submit a new review; an existing review can be edited to a score above the maximum without the same refusal.
7. No Team Is Assigned to the Bucket
Check. If the message says no review team is assigned to a bucket in a round, no one has been set up to review that bucket.
Fix. Ask your review administrator to assign a review team to that bucket for that round. See Set Up a Review Team.
8. The Reviewer Is Not on the Assigned Team
Check. If the message says the reviewer is not on the review team for the bucket or round, the person reviewing is not currently on the team assigned to review it.
Fix. Confirm with your review administrator that you are on the correct team for this bucket and round. Rhythm checks team membership when you submit, so being added later does not fix a review that was already refused; after you are added, submit the review again.
9. A Second Review for the Same Submission and Round
Check. If the message says you have already submitted a review for this submission and round, it means exactly that. Each reviewer can submit only one review per submission per round.
Fix. Reopen your existing review instead of starting a new one. The review form is designed to find and reopen the existing review rather than create a duplicate, so you should rarely see this message unless something unusual happened, such as two attempts submitted close together.
10. Duplicate Scores for One Criterion
Check. Rhythm refuses a review when the same criterion is scored twice within that review.
Fix. Check the review form for a criterion that appears, or was scored, more than once, and remove the duplicate.
11. Editing an Abstract Reports an Invalid Round
Check. Editing an abstract in the Console can fail with a validation message about an invalid Round value, even though the abstract's edit form does not show a Round field you can change. This usually means the required review setup for that abstract's space, such as rounds or buckets, is missing or incomplete. It does not mean anything is wrong with the abstract itself.
Fix. Ask your review administrator to confirm that the space has a starting round, default bucket, and the rest of the review settings configured. Once review setup is complete, the abstract should save normally.
Why a Record Will Not Delete
You cannot delete a review team, round, bucket, submission, space, or contact while any review still refers to it. This protects reviews that have already been recorded, so they do not point to a missing record.
Fix. Find what still depends on the record you are trying to delete. For a review team, round, or bucket, check whether reviews have been submitted against it; for a submission, space, or contact, the same applies. You cannot force the deletion while a review still refers to the record. You would need to resolve or remove the dependent reviews first, which is rarely something to do routinely.
If the Review Center Shows the Wrong Title
The title shown at the top of the Portal's review center comes from the submission space's title, not only from the source event's name field. If you update an event's name but the review center still shows the old title, edit the submission space's title directly instead of expecting the event name change to carry over on its own.
When to Contact Support
Contact your review administrator first for questions about team assignments, round deadlines, or criteria, because your association configures those choices. Contact Rhythm Support if the refusal message does not match any cause above, or if you believe the review should be accepted and it is still refused after you check with your administrator. Include the exact message, the submission, round, and bucket involved, and whether you were reviewing as yourself or as staff on someone else's behalf.