How reviews work
Reviews on ARC Commons are submitted by verified academic researchers and moderated before publication. Our goal is a trustworthy review system that protects both contractors and the researchers who rely on them.
Who can leave a review?
Any researcher who has verified their institutional email address can submit a review. This ensures that all reviews come from people with legitimate academic affiliations.
Named vs. anonymous reviews
Reviewers may choose to post under their name or anonymously.
- →Named reviews enter a brief moderation queue and are published after a short admin review, typically within 1–2 business days.
- →Anonymous reviewsrequire identity verification before publication. We check that the reviewer's identity and institutional affiliation can be confirmed via an institutional directory or professional profile. The reviewer's name and contact information are never shared publicly, but are retained in our admin records. Anonymous reviews may take a few additional days to process.
What we moderate for
We review submissions to ensure they:
- ✓ Come from a verified academic researcher
- ✓ Describe a genuine professional experience
- ✓ Do not contain defamatory, discriminatory, or irrelevant content
We do not edit the content of reviews beyond removing content that violates these policies. Negative reviews that meet these criteria are published.
Reviewer privacy
Regardless of whether a review is posted anonymously or under a name, the reviewer's full identity is retained in our private admin database. This is necessary for verification and dispute resolution purposes, and is never shared with contractors or other users.
To leave a review, verify your institutional email and visit the contractor or workshop provider's profile.