How would the Online Chess Life work?

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Date: 11 Jun 2008 04:25:35
From: samsloan
Subject: How would the Online Chess Life work?

How would the Online Chess Life work?

Bill Goichberg continues aggressively to push his =93New Plan=94 to turn
Chess Life into an online publication, but he has failed to explain
how this would work.

The current Chess Life of 80 pages, if converted to PDF Format, would
be a 86 megabyte download.

86 megabytes is a big download, even for those of us with cable
Internet access, as I have. 86 MB is an impossible download for
anybody using dialup. I would be interested in seeing statistics. How
many USCF members have Internet access, how many have dial-up, how
many have cable, how many have DSL? Many USCF members probably access
the Internet from the public library. The library probably gives them
only 30 minutes. It is not practical to read Chess Life that way.

What would the format be? For photographs, the standard for print
publications is at least 300 dpi. However, for normal HTML access,
standard is 72 dpi. This is because computer screens are 72 dpi. Does
Bill Goichberg anticipate that most USCF members will download Chess
Life each month and then print it out on his home printer? Have you
ever tried to print out even one page at 300 dpi? It takes a long
time. Do you know what the price of ink for most printers is now? The
cost of just printing Chess Life every month on your home printer,
just for the ink alone not to mention the time and inconvenience, will
be considerable.

I believe that most USCF members do what I do, which is flip through
the magazine when we first receive it and then put Chess Life aside,
planning to read it later but rarely getting around to it. However, if
online, most members will not even look at it.

Frankly, I doubt that Bill Goichberg has even thought about these
problems. He is just pushing ahead with an online Chess Life, as
though this were a magic bullet.

Perhaps Bill Goichberg wants to convert Chess Life to HTML Format, and
convert all the pictures to 72 dpi. That would make it more readable,
but then the assumption is that the member will only read it on his
computer screen, and never actually download it. It will also require
an additional staff member to perform the time consuming task of
converting Chess Life from PDF to HTML. So, the USCF will have to hire
a new person. The cost of this extra person will probably eliminate
the savings by his =93New Plan=94. Remember that Goichberg is claiming
that his =93New Plan=94 will =93save=94 $86,000 per year. How much will this=

new person cost? By the way, people who do this sort of work expect to
be paid well.

One way to answer these questions would be for Bill Goichberg to
produce one issue of Chess Life in the online format that he proposes.
Then we could all look at it and see if we like it. Just take the
current, already published, issue of Chess Life and post it online.
Then we will all be able to see if like it and are willing to give up
our paper printed Chess Life to be replaced by this. We will also be
able to see how many members even look at it.

I will bet that Bill Goichberg cannot produce even one acceptable
issue of an online Chess Life. Frankly, I do not believe that
Goichberg has even thought about these issues. Goichberg lives a
vagabond life, traveling from chess tournament to chess tournament and
horse racing track to horse racing track. He does not put down roots
long enough to be familiar with these issues.

The Goichberg =93New Plan=94 will send us into a black hole from which
there will be no return. If Gouchberg gets a majority of the votes at
the USCF Delegates Meeting in Dallas on August 9, 2008, that will be
it and that will be, in the opinion of many, the end of Chess Life
magazine as we know it.

Would it not be a good idea to have the answers to these questions
before the meeting and the vote?

Sam Sloan

Date: 15 Jun 2008 01:13:09
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Jun 15, 1:20 am, johnny_t <[email protected] > wrote:
> samsloan wrote:
> > [quote="Mulfish"]All of this debate about which medium is better is
> > rather pointless, since it is a matter of personal preference. Some
> > despise print, some despise on-line, and some prefer one but are
> > flexible. That's the only really relevant reality.[/quote]
>
> > You miss the whole point. The point is that Bill Goichberg wants to
> > offer the online version of Chess Life at $12 less than the print
> > version.
>
> > The concern is that so many members will chose the cheaper online
> > version that there will not be enough subscribers to the printed
> > version and the printed version will cease to be published.
>
> > When that happens those subscribers will drop out and the only members
> > left will be those who get the online version, most of whom will be
> > members only so they can play in rated tournaments.
>
> > Soon, there will be so few of those that even the online version of
> > Chess Life will cease publication and before long the entire
> > organization will fold.
>
> > Sam Sloan
>
> But Sam you miss the whole point. As with your mythic members that will
> drop because there is no print CL, there are all they mythic members
> that will join because membership is 12 dollars cheaper.
>
> The question is who has more mythic members???

The only people like that will be those who want to play in a rated
tournament who are willing to pay $29 to join the USCF but would not
have been willing to pay $42 to join the USCF.

There will no doubt be some for whom the difference between the $29
rate and the $42 rate is vital, but I think their numbers will be
small.

I do not believe that there will be anybody who wants to join the USCF
just to get a $29 online Chess Life and does not want to play in a
rated tournament.

Sam Sloan

Date: 13 Jun 2008 20:59:41
From: pdboddy
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Jun 13, 9:15 pm, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote:
> [quote="Mulfish"]All of this debate about which medium is better is
> rather pointless, since it is a matter of personal preference. Some
> despise print, some despise on-line, and some prefer one but are
> flexible. That's the only really relevant reality.[/quote]
>
> You miss the whole point. The point is that Bill Goichberg wants to
> offer the online version of Chess Life at $12 less than the print
> version.
>
> The concern is that so many members will chose the cheaper online
> version that there will not be enough subscribers to the printed
> version and the printed version will cease to be published.
>
> When that happens those subscribers will drop out and the only members
> left will be those who get the online version, most of whom will be
> members only so they can play in rated tournaments.
>
> Soon, there will be so few of those that even the online version of
> Chess Life will cease publication and before long the entire
> organization will fold.
>
> Sam Sloan

Yes, and after a long while, the sun will use up it's fuel and go
supernova. :P

Seriously though, this is a bit of paranoia, isn't it?

DriveThruRPG offers discount prices on PDF versions of popular
roleplaying games. Usually 1/4 to 1/3 off the paper versions. Do you
see Wizards of the Coast (and thusly, Hasbro) going bankrupt? Or
White Wolf? Steve Jackson Games? DriveThruRPG does a brisk business
in selling the pdfs, and the gaming companies do just fine putting out
the paper versions. Done well, a magazine can do the same. And
there's an advantage to having pdf version, in that you can always,
always, always offer your back catalogue, long after the original
print run has vanished.

It's only proper to offer a lower price on something many people see
as ephemeral, you can't hold or smell a pdf file, there's almost a
visceral bliss or joy holding and reading a book or magazine,
something that's missing from a pdf. And, as many people might
acknowledge, there are a few drawbacks to pdfs, namely a difficulty
some people having reading a computer screen for lengths of time that
people might take to read a magazine or book.

The future of publishing, whether it be novels, newspapers or
magazines, is going to be a melding of print and electronic. Some
people will pay extra to have a physical copy, while others will
happily download pdf (or whatever future file formats become the
"lingua franca" of the online world). If you cannot offer both, then
you will not be reaching the maximum number of subscribers.

But, I doubt this path will make you happy. You sound like the type
who'll pout sourly if this direction succeeds, but be the first to
say, "I told you so!" should it fail.

Date: 13 Jun 2008 18:15:09
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

[quote="Mulfish"]All of this debate about which medium is better is
rather pointless, since it is a matter of personal preference. Some
despise print, some despise on-line, and some prefer one but are
flexible. That's the only really relevant reality.[/quote]

You miss the whole point. The point is that Bill Goichberg wants to
offer the online version of Chess Life at $12 less than the print
version.

The concern is that so many members will chose the cheaper online
version that there will not be enough subscribers to the printed
version and the printed version will cease to be published.

When that happens those subscribers will drop out and the only members
left will be those who get the online version, most of whom will be
members only so they can play in rated tournaments.

Soon, there will be so few of those that even the online version of
Chess Life will cease publication and before long the entire
organization will fold.

Sam Sloan

Date: 13 Jun 2008 10:27:53
From: pdboddy
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Jun 13, 12:45 pm, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote:
> Chess Life is currently sent to the printers in PDF Format. Therefore,
> no conversion would be required to put it on line.
>
> However, the file is large, 85 Megabytes for the current issue. It
> would be time consuming and expensive to download and print it. Also,
> someone could and, no doubt, someone would simply download and post it
> on the Internet, so USCF membership would no longer be required to get
> it.
>
> Sam Sloan

Obviously, if 85 megs is too large for downloading, then some
conversion is necessary.

And it is possible to restrict the pdf to USCF membership only, and if
someone were to distribute it, it is possible to know who, and to take
steps to rectify the situation.

But, as with anything, there are no guarantees that the magazine,
print or pdf, won't be stolen.

Date: 13 Jun 2008 09:45:30
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

Chess Life is currently sent to the printers in PDF Format. Therefore,
no conversion would be required to put it on line.

However, the file is large, 85 Megabytes for the current issue. It
would be time consuming and expensive to download and print it. Also,
someone could and, no doubt, someone would simply download and post it
on the Internet, so USCF membership would no longer be required to get
it.

Sam Sloan

Date: 13 Jun 2008 09:32:19
From: pdboddy
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Jun 11, 10:49 pm, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote:
> You apparently fail to understand that our magazines already have
> editors. Dan Lucas is the editor of Chess Life and Glenn Petersen is
> the editor of Chess Life For Kids.
>
> Do you plan to fire them and replace them with yourself, or do you
> plan merely to convert the existing magazines into PDF or HTML format?
>
> Sam Sloan

I was speaking to your statement that they would have to hire a new
person to do the work, and I pointed out that I could do it for less
than the figure you stated. As could any number of experienced folks,
who would likely undercut me. That's IF they decided it was worth
hiring an extra body.

The current editors could certainly do the job. Converting the
existing magazines to pdf is child's play, converting it to HTML is
simply tedious. No firing is required or necessary.

Date: 13 Jun 2008 08:45:35
From: pdboddy
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Jun 11, 11:16 pm, [email protected] wrote:
> The advantages of PDF are that the editor can generate a file after
> the issue is done with no additional effort, and the experience of the
> "electronic" recipients will be as close as possible to that of the
> "real" subscribers. The disadvantages are heavy load on bandwidth (at
> both ends), and the absence of things that some people have come to
> expect from on-line material, like hyperlinks and interactive boards.

Actually, the latest versions of PDFs allow hyperlinking, including
mailto links. And Acrobat 9 offers embedded flash, so it won't be
long before a pdf can offer interactive boards and chat rooms. :)

The biggest issues with offering a magazine on pdf is the bandwidth
load, especially for popular magazines.

Date: 11 Jun 2008 20:16:06
From:
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

samsloan wrote:
> You apparently fail to understand that our magazines already have
> editors. Dan Lucas is the editor of Chess Life and Glenn Petersen is
> the editor of Chess Life For Kids.
>
> Do you plan to fire them and replace them with yourself, or do you
> plan merely to convert the existing magazines into PDF or HTML format?
>
> Sam Sloan

Sam, you apparently don't understand the concepts of "work" and "pay,"
having had little experience with either. Reformatting all the CL
articles and columns for HTML would significantly increase the
editor's workload. Doubling might be an exaggeration, but x1.5 is
probably a fair estimate. If you ask an employee to do half again as
much work, you're going to have to pay him more.

There is an alternative, of course: stuff the text into HTML and post
the pages any old way. This would result in a crudsite. I believe you
have some experience with those.

The advantages of PDF are that the editor can generate a file after
the issue is done with no additional effort, and the experience of the
"electronic" recipients will be as close as possible to that of the
"real" subscribers. The disadvantages are heavy load on bandwidth (at
both ends), and the absence of things that some people have come to
expect from on-line material, like hyperlinks and interactive boards.

I realize that contact with reality is painful for you, Sam, but it
you want to have any influence on this discussion you should ditch the
paranoid delusions (maybe Marcus can use some extras?), and address
the facts.

Date: 13 Jun 2008 08:58:53
From: Mike Murray
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:16:06 -0700 (PDT), [email protected] wrote:

>The advantages of PDF are that the editor can generate a file after
>the issue is done with no additional effort, and the experience of the
>"electronic" recipients will be as close as possible to that of the
>"real" subscribers. The disadvantages are heavy load on bandwidth (at
>both ends), and the absence of things that some people have come to
>expect from on-line material, like hyperlinks and interactive boards.

All too often, a PDF reminds me of a lumbering fat man in a room full
of delicate furniture not designed for someone of his frame.

Date: 11 Jun 2008 19:49:33
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

You apparently fail to understand that our magazines already have
editors. Dan Lucas is the editor of Chess Life and Glenn Petersen is
the editor of Chess Life For Kids.

Do you plan to fire them and replace them with yourself, or do you
plan merely to convert the existing magazines into PDF or HTML format?

Sam Sloan

Date: 11 Jun 2008 19:37:53
From: pdboddy
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Jun 11, 7:25 am, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote:
> The current Chess Life of 80 pages, if converted to PDF Format, would
> be a 86 megabyte download.

It could be a lot more, and it could be a lot less. It depends on how
many images, their size and complexity, how many different fonts are
used, page size, the list goes on. But, from reading further down
below, they use QuarkXPress, it should be very easy to get a
manageable sized pdf. You could even make multiple versions of the
pdf, one with minimal graphics and larger font sizes to make it easy
on the eyes to read off of a computer screen (or a device like
Kindle), as well as making a full colour, all-the-bells-and-whistles
pdf that could then be printed on demand, at a place like Lulu.

> 86 megabytes is a big download, even for those of us with cable
> Internet access, as I have. 86 MB is an impossible download for
> anybody using dialup. I would be interested in seeing statistics. How
> many USCF members have Internet access, how many have dial-up, how
> many have cable, how many have DSL? Many USCF members probably access
> the Internet from the public library. The library probably gives them
> only 30 minutes. It is not practical to read Chess Life that way.

Uhm, 86 mg with cable access (even crap cable access that Rogers
Canada has) is easy. And it's not like you have to watch every second
of the download. People wait four weeks for a monthly magazine,
surely they can wait 30 minutes, or 30 hours for that matter.

> What would the format be? For photographs, the standard for print
> publications is at least 300 dpi. However, for normal HTML access,
> standard is 72 dpi. This is because computer screens are 72 dpi. Does
> Bill Goichberg anticipate that most USCF members will download Chess
> Life each month and then print it out on his home printer? Have you
> ever tried to print out even one page at 300 dpi? It takes a long
> time. Do you know what the price of ink for most printers is now? The
> cost of just printing Chess Life every month on your home printer,
> just for the ink alone not to mention the time and inconvenience, will
> be considerable.

They could use a print on demand partner, like Lulu.com. They could
offer free versions of the magazine for download, and full colour jobs
printed at Lulu for a decent price. They don't have to pay for
warehousing, and they don't have to put the whole thing together
themselves, and members wouldn't have to print it off on their own
home printer.

As for the cost, I could probably set up a pdf magazine, and work
things out with a printer company, and do it for less than the 86,000
you mentioned. Heck, there are lots of people who could undercut my
bid. Yes, people doing this expect to get paid well, but once the
initial setup is done, doing the monthly/bimonthly/yearly schedule of
a magazine is easier.

Date: 11 Jun 2008 13:48:10
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Jun 11, 3:54 pm, J=FCrgen R. <[email protected] > wrote:
> "samsloan" <[email protected]> schrieb im Newsbeitragnews:05286865-567f-=
[email protected]...
> On Jun 11, 11:52 am, J=FCrgen R. <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > [...]
>
> > >I keep asking,
>
> > You talk but you don't listen
>
> > > Do you know
> > > of any other organization that has made this transformation
> > > successfully?
>
> > Yes: the Swiss, French and English Chess Federations.
>
> You have not been keeping up.
>
> The English Chess Federation has been cited above as an example of
> exactly of what happens when they divest their magazine.
>
> The English Chess Federation now consists of a small group that meet
> regularly to discuss issues but which has absolutely no impact or
> influence any more.
>
> Sam Sloan
>
> =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
>
> How do you expect anybody to take you seriously?
>
> Nothing that you say has any basis.

I am just quoting Grandmaster Raymond Keene.

Perhaps you may have heard of him.

Sam Sloan

Date: 11 Jun 2008 23:56:00
From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?J=FCrgen_R.?=
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

"samsloan" <[email protected] > schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:[email protected]...
On Jun 11, 3:54 pm, J�rgen R. <[email protected] > wrote:
> "samsloan" <[email protected]> schrieb im
> Newsbeitragnews:05286865-567f-43a9-9fea-22e8e944e1a8@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
> On Jun 11, 11:52 am, J�rgen R. <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > [...]
>
> > >I keep asking,
>
> > You talk but you don't listen
>
> > > Do you know
> > > of any other organization that has made this transformation
> > > successfully?
>
> > Yes: the Swiss, French and English Chess Federations.
>
> You have not been keeping up.
>
> The English Chess Federation has been cited above as an example of
> exactly of what happens when they divest their magazine.
>
> The English Chess Federation now consists of a small group that meet
> regularly to discuss issues but which has absolutely no impact or
> influence any more.
>
> Sam Sloan
>
> ===============================================
>
> How do you expect anybody to take you seriously?
>
> Nothing that you say has any basis.

I am just quoting Grandmaster Raymond Keene.

Perhaps you may have heard of him.

Sam Sloan

======================================================

Yes, I have heard of him. He isn't as completely unreliable as you
are, but it's close.

Date: 11 Jun 2008 09:33:03
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Jun 11, 9:29 am, SBD <[email protected] > wrote:

> It seems to me that the USCF is trying to fix its financial problems
> and come into the Electronic Age. That could be suicidal.

Exactly.

I am a Libertarian and, as a Libertarian, I believe that Bill
Goichberg has every right to commit suicide.

Provided that he does it himself. The rest of us members should not
have to drink his cool-aid.

Just about every long time insider has expressed the view that the
ultimate result of this plan, if it passes, will be to scuttle Chess
Life.

Fortunately, Mike Nolan reports over on the USCF Issues Forum that
powerful forces are assembling to scuttle the Goichberg proposal. I am
like the Pope, to the extent that I have no army. However, there are
chess organizers out there who do have armies and, even as I write
this, they are assembling the troops to defeat the Goichberg "New
Plan".

Just because powerful groups are now assembling to try to kill the
Goichberg "New Plan", that does not mean that anybody should be
sanguine about this.

It is to be noted that the Goichberg "New Plan" was passed by the
board 6-0 and only became known to the general chess-playing public
after I discovered it in the confidential BINFOS and broadcast it.
Even now, few members know about it except those who have been reading
my stuff.

It is a well-known personality characteristic of Bill Goichberg that
when he is convinced of something, he does not care whether everybody
else disagrees with it. He is convinced that he is right and everybody
else is wrong. This is fine as long as he is running the Continental
Chess Association, where he has to suffer the losses if he is wrong
and gets to enjoy the profits if he is right. However, this tendency
to go ahead with a plan even though almost everybody else is telling
him that he is wrong, makes him unsuitable to be the president of a
membership organization like the USCF.

Sam Sloan

Date: 11 Jun 2008 09:19:20
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Jun 11, 11:52 am, J=FCrgen R. <[email protected] > wrote:
> [...]
>
> >I keep asking,
>
> You talk but you don't listen
>
> > Do you know
> > of any other organization that has made this transformation
> > successfully?
>
> Yes: the Swiss, French and English Chess Federations.

You have not been keeping up.

The English Chess Federation has been cited above as an example of
exactly of what happens when they divest their magazine.

The English Chess Federation now consists of a small group that meet
regularly to discuss issues but which has absolutely no impact or
influence any more.

Sam Sloan

Date: 11 Jun 2008 21:54:43
From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?J=FCrgen_R.?=
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

"samsloan" <[email protected] > schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:05286865-567f-43a9-9fea-22e8e944e1a8@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
On Jun 11, 11:52 am, J�rgen R. <[email protected] > wrote:
> [...]
>
> >I keep asking,
>
> You talk but you don't listen
>
> > Do you know
> > of any other organization that has made this transformation
> > successfully?
>
> Yes: the Swiss, French and English Chess Federations.

You have not been keeping up.

The English Chess Federation has been cited above as an example of
exactly of what happens when they divest their magazine.

The English Chess Federation now consists of a small group that meet
regularly to discuss issues but which has absolutely no impact or
influence any more.

Sam Sloan

===============================================

How do you expect anybody to take you seriously?

Nothing that you say has any basis.

Date: 11 Jun 2008 08:03:07
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Jun 11, 10:27 am, The Historian <[email protected] >
wrote:
>
> There are no "secret moves" in chess.

Not that you know of anyway. That is the reason your rating is 1571
and you have not been a member for four years.

http://uschess.org/msa/MbrDtlMain.php?12672893

There is lots of secret opening analysis in chess. Do you think
Grandmasters give away all their opening secrets when they write for
Chess Life? Every grandmaster has secret moves they are waiting to
spring on their victims. That is the reason they are grandmasters.

>> Does the magazine of the League of American Bicyclists teach you how to ride a bicycle? Does is contain any
> > information that people would be willing to pay money for?
>
> LAB is an advocacy organization:

Exactly my point, the League of American Bicyclists advocates more
bicycle lanes. It makes sense for them to give away their online
publication, and then hope that you join them to get the printed and
more easy to read version.

If that was the Goichberg plan, it would make some sense. However,
Goichberg wants to get people to subscribe at $29 per year just to get
to read the online version of Chess Life. I keep asking, Do you know
of any other organization that has made this transformation
successfully? The one example we have, Inside Chess, ceased
publication not long after it went online.

Sam Sloan

Date: 11 Jun 2008 11:57:58
From: Mike Murray
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:03:07 -0700 (PDT), samsloan
<[email protected] > wrote:

>If that was the Goichberg plan, it would make some sense. However,
>Goichberg wants to get people to subscribe at $29 per year just to get
>to read the online version of Chess Life. I keep asking, Do you know
>of any other organization that has made this transformation
>successfully? The one example we have, Inside Chess, ceased
>publication not long after it went online.

Consumer Reports lets one subscribe to both the online and print
version ($26 + $18) or just the online ($26)

Date: 11 Jun 2008 17:52:05
From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?J=FCrgen_R.?=
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

[...]
>
>I keep asking,

You talk but you don't listen

> Do you know
> of any other organization that has made this transformation
> successfully?

Yes: the Swiss, French and English Chess Federations.

> The one example we have, Inside Chess, ceased
> publication not long after it went online.
>
> Sam Sloan

Date: 11 Jun 2008 10:09:02
From: Ray Gordon, creator of the \pivot\
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

not 86mb.

Btw, I suggested doing this five years ago or so. I consider it an
inevitability.

Those who want a printed version of the magazine can print it.

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Beware! VH-1's "The Pickup Artst" was FRAUDULENT. Six of the eight
contestants were actors, and they used PAID TARGETS in the club. The paid
targets got mad when VH-1 said "there are no actors in this club" and ruined
their prromised acting credit. What else has Mystery lied about?

Date: 11 Jun 2008 15:57:06
From: =?Windows-1252?Q?J=FCrgen_R.?=
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

None of the problems you raise below is real. The diatribe
shows, once again that you have no idea what you are
talking about. PDF, HTML, printing speed - as usual you
are off by a factor 10 or more.

"samsloan" <[email protected] > schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:[email protected]...
How would the Online Chess Life work?

Bill Goichberg continues aggressively to push his �New Plan� to turn
Chess Life into an online publication, but he has failed to explain
how this would work.

The current Chess Life of 80 pages, if converted to PDF Format, would
be a 86 megabyte download.

86 megabytes is a big download, even for those of us with cable
Internet access, as I have. 86 MB is an impossible download for
anybody using dialup. I would be interested in seeing statistics. How
many USCF members have Internet access, how many have dial-up, how
many have cable, how many have DSL? Many USCF members probably access
the Internet from the public library. The library probably gives them
only 30 minutes. It is not practical to read Chess Life that way.

What would the format be? For photographs, the standard for print
publications is at least 300 dpi. However, for normal HTML access,
standard is 72 dpi. This is because computer screens are 72 dpi. Does
Bill Goichberg anticipate that most USCF members will download Chess
Life each month and then print it out on his home printer? Have you
ever tried to print out even one page at 300 dpi? It takes a long
time. Do you know what the price of ink for most printers is now? The
cost of just printing Chess Life every month on your home printer,
just for the ink alone not to mention the time and inconvenience, will
be considerable.

I believe that most USCF members do what I do, which is flip through
the magazine when we first receive it and then put Chess Life aside,
planning to read it later but rarely getting around to it. However, if
online, most members will not even look at it.

Frankly, I doubt that Bill Goichberg has even thought about these
problems. He is just pushing ahead with an online Chess Life, as
though this were a magic bullet.

Perhaps Bill Goichberg wants to convert Chess Life to HTML Format, and
convert all the pictures to 72 dpi. That would make it more readable,
but then the assumption is that the member will only read it on his
computer screen, and never actually download it. It will also require
an additional staff member to perform the time consuming task of
converting Chess Life from PDF to HTML. So, the USCF will have to hire
a new person. The cost of this extra person will probably eliminate
the savings by his �New Plan�. Remember that Goichberg is claiming
that his �New Plan� will �save� $86,000 per year. How much will this
new person cost? By the way, people who do this sort of work expect to
be paid well.

One way to answer these questions would be for Bill Goichberg to
produce one issue of Chess Life in the online format that he proposes.
Then we could all look at it and see if we like it. Just take the
current, already published, issue of Chess Life and post it online.
Then we will all be able to see if like it and are willing to give up
our paper printed Chess Life to be replaced by this. We will also be
able to see how many members even look at it.

I will bet that Bill Goichberg cannot produce even one acceptable
issue of an online Chess Life. Frankly, I do not believe that
Goichberg has even thought about these issues. Goichberg lives a
vagabond life, traveling from chess tournament to chess tournament and
horse racing track to horse racing track. He does not put down roots
long enough to be familiar with these issues.

The Goichberg �New Plan� will send us into a black hole from which
there will be no return. If Gouchberg gets a majority of the votes at
the USCF Delegates Meeting in Dallas on August 9, 2008, that will be
it and that will be, in the opinion of many, the end of Chess Life
magazine as we know it.

Would it not be a good idea to have the answers to these questions
before the meeting and the vote?

Sam Sloan

Date: 11 Jun 2008 06:38:30
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Jun 11, 9:29 am, SBD <[email protected] > wrote:

> It seems to me that the USCF is trying to fix its financial problems
> and come into the Electronic Age. That could be suicidal, or it could
> rejuvenate the organization.

This is precisely the problem. Goichberg is taking an enormous risk.
Problem is, he does not seem to realize it. Almost every long time
USCF insider has come out against this plan. For starters, every
former USCF President is against it.

If the plan fails, it will kill the organization. If the plan
succeeds, benefits will be small. That is the reason that there is
such tremendous opposition. But, Goichberg is so bull-headed that he
is pushing forward with it, not willing to listen to what anybody else
has to say.

Sam Sloan

Date: 11 Jun 2008 06:29:51
From: SBD
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Jun 11, 8:03 am, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote:

> organization that charges a subscription fee for their online
> publication?
>
> Or, are you advocating that the USCF should start giving away Chess
> Life free of charge?
>
> Players subscribe to Chess Life because it contains valuable
> information on how to win chess games, such as secret moves, opening
> innovations and the like. Does the magazine of the League of American
> Bicyclists teach you how to ride a bicycle? Does is contain any
> information that people would be willing to pay money for?

Doing business on the Internet - and in certain cases, that may
involve "giving away a magazine for free" in return for other benefits
- is definitely not for the weak of heart.

It seems to me that the USCF is trying to fix its financial problems
and come into the Electronic Age. That could be suicidal, or it could
rejuvenate the organization.

Date: 11 Jun 2008 06:03:22
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Jun 11, 8:04 am, The Historian <[email protected] > wrote:

> > I've downloaded an entire year's worth of several magazines at less
> > than 86, probably half that.
>
> > Sam you really need to think before you type. The reason why Goichberg
> > is for this is because he travels from race track to race track,
> > "never putting down roots"? What a specious argument... you could just
> > as well say his travels around the country have made him more aware of
> > member issues....
>
> > I know of several countries that post the pdfs of their nation's chess
> > magazines on-line... have you made a comparison with those? Didn't
> > think so.
>
> It's not just chess. The League of American Bicyclists and the
> Adventure Cycling Association also make their magazines available for
> download. A number of commercial bike magazines, such as Dirt Rag and
> Mountain Bike Action, also have 'electronic editions.' The practice is
> spreading.

Following your suggestion I just downloaded an issue of the League of
American Bicyclists magazine. It is a free download.

http://www.bikeleague.org/members/pdfs/american_bicyclist_nov-dec_07.pdf

That is another issue. People who download things from the Internet
expect to get them for free. Can you cite an example of an comparable
organization that charges a subscription fee for their online
publication?

Or, are you advocating that the USCF should start giving away Chess
Life free of charge?

Players subscribe to Chess Life because it contains valuable
information on how to win chess games, such as secret moves, opening
innovations and the like. Does the magazine of the League of American
Bicyclists teach you how to ride a bicycle? Does is contain any
information that people would be willing to pay money for?

Sam Sloan

Date:
From: Martin Brown
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

Date: 11 Jun 2008 05:55:52
From: Quadibloc
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Jun 11, 5:25 am, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote:

> The current Chess Life of 80 pages, if converted to PDF Format, would
> be a 86 megabyte download.

Even documents that are converted to PDF format simply by using
scanned images aren't 86 megabytes for 80 pages. And that is a very
inefficient method of conversion; presumably, Chess Life is typeset by
phototypesetting, not by hand setting of type or by an old-fashioned
Linotype or Monotype machine, so the text of its articles exists in
machine-readable form.

So I really don't think that *this* is the major issue here.

John Savard

Date: 11 Jun 2008 05:55:00
From: SBD
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

I just accessed the 48 page June 2008 edition of the Schweizerische
Schachzeitung (freely available online) and it was 1.9 Meg in size. My
computer is 10 years old and had no problem with it....

Date: 11 Jun 2008 05:04:52
From: The Historian
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Jun 11, 6:57 am, SBD <[email protected] > wrote:
> On Jun 11, 6:25 am, samsloan <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > How would the Online Chess Life work?
>
> > Bill Goichberg continues aggressively to push his =93New Plan=94 to turn=

> > Chess Life into an online publication, but he has failed to explain
> > how this would work.
>
> > The current Chess Life of 80 pages, if converted to PDF Format, would
> > be a 86 megabyte download.
>
> I access a lot of pdfs at various chess sites. For most magazines, it
> seems that about 3-4 megabytes is about right, and can't such things
> be easily compressed these days?
>
> I've downloaded an entire year's worth of several magazines at less
> than 86, probably half that.
>
> Sam you really need to think before you type. The reason why Goichberg
> is for this is because he travels from race track to race track,
> "never putting down roots"? What a specious argument... you could just
> as well say his travels around the country have made him more aware of
> member issues....
>
> I know of several countries that post the pdfs of their nation's chess
> magazines on-line... have you made a comparison with those? Didn't
> think so.

It's not just chess. The League of American Bicyclists and the
Adventure Cycling Association also make their magazines available for
download. A number of commercial bike magazines, such as Dirt Rag and
Mountain Bike Action, also have 'electronic editions.' The practice is
spreading.

Date: 11 Jun 2008 04:57:36
From: SBD
Subject: Re: How would the Online Chess Life work?

On Jun 11, 6:25 am, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote:
> How would the Online Chess Life work?
>
> Bill Goichberg continues aggressively to push his =93New Plan=94 to turn
> Chess Life into an online publication, but he has failed to explain
> how this would work.
>
> The current Chess Life of 80 pages, if converted to PDF Format, would
> be a 86 megabyte download.

I access a lot of pdfs at various chess sites. For most magazines, it
seems that about 3-4 megabytes is about right, and can't such things
be easily compressed these days?

I've downloaded an entire year's worth of several magazines at less
than 86, probably half that.

Sam you really need to think before you type. The reason why Goichberg
is for this is because he travels from race track to race track,
"never putting down roots"? What a specious argument... you could just
as well say his travels around the country have made him more aware of
member issues....

I know of several countries that post the pdfs of their nation's chess
magazines on-line... have you made a comparison with those? Didn't
think so.