podc-writing-style
Use when drafting or revising the body of an ACM PODC paper — building the distributed-theory skeleton (an explicit model box, the result stated as a theorem up front, a proof architecture the reader can navigate, and the 10-page-merits discipline) so the merits case lands within the first 10 pages a PODC committee is guaranteed to read.
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill podc-writing-style --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.
# PODC Writing Style Write for a reader who will check your proof. A PODC paper is a **mathematical argument** about a **distributed model**, and the committee decides on the **first 10 pages after the title page** (the merits budget). The house style is therefore front-loaded: fix the model, state the result, then prove it — with the proof organized so a reviewer can find and verify each step. ## The first-page arc Lead with the result inside its model, in this order (see the worked example in `resources/worked-examples/01-introduction.md`): 1. **The problem inside a fixed model** — network (message-passing / shared memory), timing (synchronous / asynchronous / partial synchrony), fault model (crash / Byzantine / self-stabilizing), adversary (adaptive / oblivious), and the **cost measure** (rounds / messages / bits / space). 2. **Why the state of the art leaves a gap** — the best prior bound and exactly what it does not achieve in *this* model. 3. **The result, as a theorem** — an explicit bound and the resilience/assumptions it holds at, not "more efficient." 4. **Whether it is tight** — a matching lower bound elevates an algorithm to an optimality result, the venue's most valued
- The first-page arc
- The model box is non-negotiable
- Proof architecture
- The 10-page-merits discipline
- Prose that helps a proof-checking reader
- Anti-patterns (PODC-specific)
- Output format
What does the podc-writing-style skill do?
Use when drafting or revising the body of an ACM PODC paper — building the distributed-theory skeleton (an explicit model box, the result stated as a theorem up front, a proof architecture the reader can navigate, and the 10-page-merits discipline) so the merits case lands within the first 10 pages a PODC committee is guaranteed to read.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill podc-writing-style --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.