blinding-protocol

name	blinding-protocol
description	Skill for enforcing review blinding — ensuring reviewers cannot see each other's reports, managing worktree isolation, handling optional author anonymization, and controlling unblinding at synthesis.

Blinding Protocol

Use this skill when setting up and enforcing blinding throughout the review process. Blinding is critical for honest, independent review.

Blinding Levels

The system supports three blinding modes, configured in .review-config.yaml:

Mode	What's Hidden	Use Case
Single blind (default)	Reviewers hidden from authors	Standard peer review
Double blind	Authors hidden from reviewers + reviewers hidden from authors	Top-tier venues (NeurIPS, ICML)
Open	Nothing hidden	Post-publication review

Structural Blinding (Worktree Isolation)

Blinding is enforced structurally through git worktrees, not through prompt instructions.

Setup

# Create isolated worktrees for each reviewer
git worktree add ../review-alpha agent-alpha-<slug>
git worktree add ../review-beta agent-beta-<slug>
git worktree add ../review-gamma agent-gamma-<slug>

Isolation Rules

Each reviewer's worktree contains:

• ✅ The full submission folder
• ✅ Their own reviewer profile (.review/profiles/reviewer-<role>.yaml)
• ✅ The review template
• ❌ NOT other reviewers' profiles (single reviewer only)
• ❌ NOT other reviewers' reports
• ❌ NOT the meta-review (until re-review phase)

Verification

Before dispatching any reviewer, verify isolation:

# Verify reviewer-alpha cannot see beta/gamma reviews
ls ../review-alpha/.review/rounds/round-*/review-beta.yaml 2>/dev/null && echo "BLINDING VIOLATION" || echo "OK"
ls ../review-alpha/.review/rounds/round-*/review-gamma.yaml 2>/dev/null && echo "BLINDING VIOLATION" || echo "OK"

Author Anonymization (Double Blind)

When blinding: "double" is configured:

Pre-Review Scrubbing

Strip author identity before distributing to reviewers:

anonymize_submission() {
  SUBMISSION="$1"
  ANON_DIR="$SUBMISSION/.review/anonymized"
  mkdir -p "$ANON_DIR"

  # Copy paper with author info removed
  if [ -f "$SUBMISSION/paper.tex" ]; then
    sed -e '/\\author/,/\\end{author}/d' \
        -e '/\\affiliation/d' \
        -e '/\\email/d' \
        "$SUBMISSION/paper.tex" > "$ANON_DIR/paper.tex"
  fi

  if [ -f "$SUBMISSION/paper.md" ]; then
    # Remove YAML frontmatter author block
    sed '/^authors:/,/^[a-z]/{ /^authors:/d; /^  -/d; /^    /d; }' \
        "$SUBMISSION/paper.md" > "$ANON_DIR/paper.md"
  fi

  # Remove cover letter (contains author identity)
  # Provide anonymized version or skip
  echo "Cover letter withheld for double-blind review" > "$ANON_DIR/cover-letter-note.md"

  # Keep metadata but strip author info
  yq 'del(.authors)' "$SUBMISSION/metadata.yaml" > "$ANON_DIR/metadata.yaml"
}

What Gets Anonymized

File	Anonymization
paper.tex/md	Author names, affiliations, emails removed
metadata.yaml	authors field removed
cover-letter.md	Withheld entirely
abstract.txt	Kept as-is (usually anonymous)
code/	Kept (may reveal identity — accepted risk)

Unblinding Protocol

After Editorial Decision (Phase 2)

When the AE issues a decision, unblinding occurs:

1. All 3 reviews are shared with all parties
2. For re-review: reviewers see the meta-review and all reviews
3. For rejection/acceptance: everything is visible in the final package

Unblinding Procedure

unblind_reviews() {
  ROUND="$1"
  REVIEW_DIR=".review/rounds/round-$ROUND"

  # Make all reviews available
  # (In practice, this means the Associate Editor and Revision Agent
  # can now read all review files)
  echo "Reviews unblinded for round $ROUND"

  # Update state
  echo "unblinded: true" >> ".review/rounds/round-$ROUND/meta-review.yaml"
}

What Gets Unblinded When

Phase	α sees	β sees	γ sees	AE sees	Revision Agent sees
Phase 1 (Review)	Own work only	Own work only	Own work only	—	—
Phase 2 (Synthesis)	Own work only	Own work only	Own work only	All 3 reviews	—
Phase 3 (Revision)	—	—	—	—	All reviews + meta
Phase 4 (Re-Review)	All reviews + meta	All reviews + meta	All reviews + meta	All re-reviews	—

Reviewer Identity

Regardless of blinding mode, reviewer identities are ALWAYS hidden:

• The Revision Agent addresses "Reviewer α/β/γ", not the persona details
• The response letter uses role labels, not expertise descriptions
• In the final package, reviewers are identified by role only

Configuration

In .review-config.yaml:

review:
  blinding: "single"    # single | double | open

Default is single — reviewers are anonymous to authors, but see author names.