The Ecological Society of Japan (ESJ) asks for very strict adherence to guidelines and deadlines to those who propose sessions, submit abstracts, and present posters and talks in our annual meetings. No additions or changes will be accepted after the deadlines. Individual requests, such as arranging presentation dates and times or editing author lists or abstract text, cannot be accommodated. Ultimately, this is because it is not fair to hardworking volunteers, without whose contributions the meeting registration fees would be much higher.

A rich conference program is possible thanks to volunteering by ESJ members

ESJ annual meetings are organized by multiple committees of members who typically volunteer for several years to learn different necessary tasks. Even though we have increasingly adopted programs prepared by online contractors, the key aspects are planned and implemented by these volunteers. This is because many tasks, like organizing the scientific program and screening symposia, workshops and other sessions, can be done only by professional ecologists. Finding judges for poster and oral presentation awards also requires the insight of professionals to ensure fairness. We as a society cannot ask them to do any extra work to accommodate individual special requests.

Although the registration process is mostly automated, post-deadline requests would have to be handled manually. In recent years, more than 2,000 people attend each annual meeting. To operate a scientific meeting of this size, ESJ has made most of the registration and submission processes online and automatic. This would add an unfair burden to our volunteer staff and likely cause errors in the final program. Like any other big academic societies holding meetings of this size, we do not accept special requests from individuals. We want to be fair to everyone, whether it is a senior professor, mid-career veteran, or young student.

It is unfair to other participants if special circumstances of certain individuals are accommodated.

Every year we receive many emails requesting additional registrations or changes, referring to a variety of circumstances, such as illness, computer problems, obligations to co-authors, accidental errors, or even the hard work of research over the past year. At first thought, making special accommodations for just one person might not seem like a big deal. But the organizers have to handle more than 1,300 presentations and ~2,000 people, so one out of dozens can multiply to become quite a large number. It also is likely to cause extra work that may require additional adjustments. Most importantly, we cannot make decisions to accept or reject everyone's requests in a way that is fair to everyone.

Plan early and everyone is happy.

This is why we maintain a policy of strict adherence to deadlines and do not accommodate individual requests after deadlines. None of this is personal. Please start preparing early to avoid problems. That way, there is no need to panic, even if your computer suddenly breaks down.

We understand that even if you plan carefully in advance, you may still encounter unfortunate situations that keep you from attending the meeting at the last minute. We appreciate your every effort to avoid creating holes in the programs, especially for oral sessions. But, just as for other large meetings, if you do not show up for your presentation, there is no refund for registration fees nor adjustments to the program.

We ask for your understanding and cooperation in the management of our annual meetings so that they are sustainable and affordable due to our member volunteers’ hard work.

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The Organizing & Planning Committees of the annual meeting of ESJ