itcs-related-work
Use when positioning an ITCS paper against the theory literature — writing the delta that proves the model/question is genuinely new, covering the right STOC/FOCS/SODA/CCC/TCC lanes, and staying honest under lightweight double-blind where the reference list is not anonymized.
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill itcs-related-work --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# ITCS Related Work At ITCS, related work carries a heavier burden than at a depth venue: since **conceptual novelty is the selection criterion**, your positioning must prove the contribution is *genuinely new*, not merely stronger. A reviewer's most damaging finding is not "someone proved a better bound" — it is "**someone already asked this question**" or "this is a known model under a new name." The related-work discussion is where you win or lose the novelty claim, so it is a *load-bearing* part of an ITCS paper, not an obligatory appendix. ## Delta-first positioning Lead each comparison with the **delta**, not the citation: - Name the **closest prior model or question**, state what it did, and then state precisely what it **did not ask** that you do. "Prior work bounds the prover's computation; none bounds its memory of the interaction" is a delta. "Many works study interactive proofs [3-19]" is a dump. - Distinguish **new question** from **new answer**. If the question existed and you answer it better, say so honestly — and reconsider whether ITCS is the right venue (see [`itcs-topic-selection`](../itcs-topic-selection/SKILL.md)); if the *question* is new, make that the headl
- Delta-first positioning
- Cover the right lanes
- Honesty under lightweight double-blind
- Positioning the novelty claim itself
- Common failure modes
- Output format
What does the itcs-related-work skill do?
Use when positioning an ITCS paper against the theory literature — writing the delta that proves the model/question is genuinely new, covering the right STOC/FOCS/SODA/CCC/TCC lanes, and staying honest under lightweight double-blind where the reference list is not anonymized.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill itcs-related-work --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills, a repository with 909 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.