I regret reviewing for AAAI [D]

Why did I sign up to review when it’s not reciprocal?

Am I an idiot? Am I dumb to sacrifice some of my precious time outside of work to review these papers when I don’t even have to? Yes.

I tell myself I’m giving something to the community. But all I’m really doing is pissing off the authors as I reject their papers.

I really wanted to accept one of them too. But, it wasn’t as well done as I’d hoped. Strong reject.

Nobody made me sign up. Nobody even asked me personally. They sent a lovely form email that goes to everyone who’s published there.

I let feeling important convince me to do it. How dumb of me!

At least it’s only a couple of papers and a small amount of my time. And I’m learning something new reading stuff slightly outside my direct field, that I would never normally read otherwise. And I get to hone the skill of critical reading, thinking, and generally understanding how a paper should (or should not) be put together.

Maybe it was a good idea after all.

How does everyone else feel about non-reciprocal reviewing? I imagine those that agree to do it are in the minority.