Why Your arXiv Submission is Stuck: A Deep Dive into Delay Times
Counting ArXiv Delays
Frustrated by my arXiv submission being stuck on hold, I analyzed over 60,000 papers from 2015 to 2026 to find the cause. While overall delays haven't increased, I discovered that specific categories like cs.CY and physics.pop-ph face significantly longer waits, likely due to reclassification needs. This data reveals that your submission time depends heavily on your chosen subject category.
So if you're submitting to a new arXiv subject, don't rely on the time to announcement being the same as you're used to.
- jszymborski
Just wanted to say that the plots are so nice. They perfectly balance visual noise and information density, _and_ they're aesthetically pleasing.
- jazzpush2
Yes, the daly time recently is absolutely ridiculous. Been waiting on a preprint that's already been accepted in a top journal for seemingly no reason.
- bagrow
I'd like to see a cumulative version of that power law plot. How many papers had a delay of at least X days.
I have been bit by several inexplicable, long delays recently. In my case, I suspected the reason was choosing stat.ml as primary and cs.lg as cross-list, which, after my time in purgatory, was flipped (without asking me, of course). My choice was completely defensible.
It's almost like peer review all over again!