Clarify when reviewer should answer survey

[joelnitta]

The reviewer guide as currently worded suggests that reviewers only need to fill out the Airtable form when they volunteer to review (as opposed to being requested by an editor); however it should be filled out when anybody reviews for the first time regardless of volunteering or being requested.

Also, as an editor, I might think that I need to manually request them to fill out the form, but this is done automatically by the bot. This detail should be mentioned in the guide for editors.

[mpadge]

Thanks Joel for picking up on these things 🚀 . Just to clarify:

The reviewer guide as currently worded suggests that reviewers only need to fill out the Airtable form when they volunteer to review (as opposed to being requested by an editor); however it should be filled out when anybody reviews for the first time regardless of volunteering or being requested.

When people are assigned as reviewers, the bot automatically asks then to fill out the form if they haven't. That's why it's not explicitly mentioned in the Guide. Given that, do you think we need to clarify anything else explicitly?

Also, as an editor, I might think that I need to manually request them to fill out the form, but this is done automatically by the bot. This detail should be mentioned in the guide for editors.

That's a good point, and will definitely be added to current text. Thanks!

[joelnitta]

Given that, do you think we need to clarify anything else explicitly?

I came to the Reviewer's Guide as an editor looking for clarity on this topic (when as an editor do I need to request the reviewer to fill out the form?). If you clarify in the Editor's Guide that the editor does not need to do this, it would technically resolve the problem for me as an editor. But the Reviewer's Guide still appears as if the survey is meant specifically for volunteers, which is not the case.

[mpadge]

I came to the Reviewer's Guide as an editor looking for clarity on this topic (when as an editor do I need to request the reviewer to fill out the form?). If you clarify in the Editor's Guide that the editor does not need to do this, it would technically resolve the problem for me as an editor. But the Reviewer's Guide still appears as if the survey is meant specifically for volunteers, which is not the case.

Ah, that makes sense then, thanks. I'll refine that phrasing too.

[joelnitta]

I need to think this through a bit more carefully to suggest new wording, but it seems to me right now the docs conflate reviewers who volunteer without being asked (paragraph starting with If you see a current submission that is particularly relevant to your interests...), and those that were requested via email from an editor and agreed to review. It's confusing because a given reviewer is probably coming via one of those two paths, not both.

[joelnitta]

"volunteer" is being used both in the sense of "to volunteer without being asked" and "to agree"