editor’s letter
DOI: 10.1145/1400181.1400182
Moshe Y. Vardi
Let us—together—
make cacm exciting
It’s been four months since we launched the
“new CACM.” By now, I hope it is quite clear
to our readers that the revamped flagship
publication of ACM has undergone a rather

dramatic transformation in both ap-

pearance and content. In my July edito-

rial I began explaining the new editorial

model of Communications, particularly

the Research Highlights section that

provides a bird’s-eye view of the breadth

and depth of computing research.

But there are several other innova-

tive editorial features to this publica-

tion. The Practice section targets pro-

fessionals in the software industry with

an emphasis on software engineering.

Articles published in this section frame

and define technical problems and

challenges ahead while helping readers

sharpen their own thinking and ability

to pursue innovative solutions. Practice

articles do not focus on industry news

or the latest solutions. Rather, they ex-

plore disruptive technologies that are

just on the verge of breaking through.

The editorial board of Communications’

Practice section also serves as the edito-

rial board of ACM Queue, enabling us to

benefit from their experience in creat-

ing great computing-practice content.

The third novel feature is the greatly

expanded News section, now publish-

ing a selection of brief news updates

and in-depth news articles on a broad

range of topics. The goal of this section

is to cover major developments in com-

puting in a broadly accessible manner.

As a monthly publication, Communica-

tions cannot offer the immediacy of the

mass media, but it can cover topics in

an increased depth, as befits its sophis-

ticated readership.

The fourth new editorial element is

the section featuring Review Articles

that describe new developments of

broad significance to the field and high-

light unresolved questions and future

directions. Unlike survey articles that

provide a detailed introduction to a

technical area, a Review article in Com-

munications offers a high-level perspec-

tive. This is consistent with our goal of

offering its readers a broad perspective

on new developments in computing.

Finally, the new editorial model in-

herits two successful features from its

previous model. The Viewpoints sec-

tion is dedicated to opinions and views

that pertain to issues of broad interest

to the community, typically, but not

exclusively, of a nontechnical nature.

This section consists of both regular

columns, some that have been appear-

ing in Communications for years and

some that are new to the magazine, as

well as unsolicited opinion pieces and

point-counterpoint editorial debates.

Finally, Contributed Articles features

unsolicited articles from the community

covering the abundant spectrum of the

computing field—its open challenges,

technical visions and perspectives, edu-

cational aspects, societal impact, signif-

icant applications, and research results

of high significance and broad interest.

Communications’ editorial policy toward

contributed articles has changed signif-

icantly with the July issue, as we now re-

quire that such articles be aimed at the

broad computing and IT community.

Unlike some other flagship publica-

tions, most of Communications’ con-

tent is produced not by professional

writers but by members of the com-

puting community. To succeed, Com-

munications must become a venue of

choice for computing content of the

highest quality. While many of Commu-

nications’ articles are solicited by mem-

bers of its editorial board, unsolicited

articles are crucial to our success. It

is important, however, to recognize

Communications’ unique role. It does

not aim to compete with ACM’s doz-

ens of scholarly journals or nearly 150

conferences. Communications enjoys

a uniquely broad readership; ACM’s

90,000 members consist of students,

educators, researchers, software devel-

opers, CTOs, and CIOs. Such a diverse

and international readership calls for

articles that are aimed at a broad rather

than specialized audience. Prospective

authors are advised to consult this issue,

or the three previous editions, for great

examples of this new editorial focus. In-

terested authors are advised to review

the recently revised Author Guidelines

( www.cacm.acm.org/guidelines) for de-

tailed information on how to position,

prepare, and submit manuscripts.

Let me end by repeating the last para-

graph of my January 2008 essay, “CACM:

Past, Present, and Future.” We live in a

consumer society, so it is easy to evaluate

products from a consumer perspective:

“Is Communications a satisfactory prod-

uct?” “Am I getting my money’s worth

for my ACM membership?” ACM, how-

ever, is not a consumer-product vendor,

it is a professional society. We are not

ACM customers, we are ACM members.

Communications is not a product, it is a

project. For this project to succeed, the

membership of ACM must collectively

undertake it. Let us—together—make

Communications the exciting publica-

tion it should be. Please write to me at

[e-mail].

Moshe Y. Vardi, EDIToR-IN-CHIEf