Online TLA vs. online copy of paper TLA

It has been confusing to discuss ‘online TLA’ because it can mean two different things. I know that this has been brought up before, but can’t find the exact reference link…anyway, I’m writing because a tournament which we will be holding later this month is in the paper Chess Life TLA, but not viewable on a corresponding web page. Last July I had a game of e-mail pong going with Joan DuBois about another event with this same situation, and she was very polite and eager to help, but I’m not sure we ever really connected…probably because I wasn’t clear when I mentioned viewing ‘TLA’s online’ I meant the web presence of material already in the paper magazine, and not the newer ‘online TLA’ feature.

As of today, March 05, 2010, the 65th Pittsburgh Metropolitan Open (which is scheduled for March 28) is in the current paper Chess Life magazine, which proves that it was paid for, but it is not included in the main upper part of page main.uschess.org/assets/msa_joom … .php?st=PA

There is a link to it in the next-to-last section on that page, which has the heading “Future TLA Search results: 15 matches.
Disclaimer:The information in the links displayed below is based on USCF records prior to publication of the TLA in Chess Life or Chess Life for Kids and is subject to change.”

But, the full detail is not visible in the listings on that first page while other (submitted earlier) tournaments are. There is also a note which says “The information above was last updated on February 23, 2010”.

So, a potential player can see the full details of this event by 1.) clicking on the web link listed near the bottom, which goes to the free, user-uploaded, fancy ‘online TLA’ document, or by 2.) looking in the paper magazine, or by 3.) going to the online *.pdf magazine viewing feature, but will NOT see it by just glancing through the top half of main.uschess.org/assets/msa_joom … .php?st=PA . I think that’s a big problem, because a potential player might glance through that listing and assume it includes all of the same info as the paper magazine, when it does not. Especially with memberships now being offered which don’t include paper, everything that is published in the paper magazine needs to be available and complete on any web page which even seems to replace that paper copy.

Question: If you click on the link in the “future TLA” section, does the full TLA come up?

Sometimes it takes a little longer than the first of the month for the TLA listings to be updated. I don’t know who is responsible for that, but if it says that they were last updated on 23 February, it makes sense that the March TLAs haven’t been put up yet.

Alex Relyea

Yes, it looks like the February TLAs are still up for PA, although a number of other states appear to have the March TLAs.

It looks like the states that haven’t been updated yet are towards the end of the alphabet, I’m wondering if the transfer job failed in the middle of updating them. (I don’t have any involvement in this process, we’re trying to contact the person who does.)