Recruiting Database Version 2.0 launched

After months of planning, TechSideline.com is pleased to announce major changes to the subscription portion of our web site. Say goodbye to the TSL Extra, and hello to TSL's new TechSideline Pass subscription.

Our new TechSideline Pass subscription is your all-access pass to all of the great premium content here at TechSideline.com. With your TechSideline Pass, you'll be able to take your Hokie sports experience to the next level, and TechSideline.com will truly be your one-stop shop for Hokie sports information.

In a nutshell, here are the changes -- please read through everything, and we'll provide links at the bottom to all the new stuff:

• The monthly format of the TSL Extra was retired about two months ago, in favor of a steady stream of premium articles, released one at a time, throughout the month. The subscription will now undergo a name change from TSL Extra to TechSideline Pass, or TSL Pass, if you prefer.

• New premium recruiting content has been added. We have launched a new recruiting database (more on that later), and it includes premium recruiting updates and a prospect's school preference and visit information.

• TSL's recruiting message board has been changed to a subscriber board (you must be a subscriber to view the board or to post on it), and a general topics subscriber board has also been added.

• New payment options have been added -- you can now pay for a whole year, three months, or one month at a time.

Please note that TechSideline Pass subscribers, like TSL Extra subscribers, get a 10% discount at TechLocker.com.

Premium recruiting content will be provided by Chris Horne, whose work you have seen in our recruiting updates and TSL Extra articles. Chris will be interviewing recruits and their coaches, maintaining our recruiting database, and answering your recruiting questions on our new premium recruiting message board.

Speaking of our recruiting database, we're also pleased to announce the launch of our new Version 2.0 recruiting database, programmed by Wired Triangle, LLC. Our new recruiting database blows the old one away, offering greatly expanded information and search options. There's no way we can even begin to describe all the upgrades, so you'll just need to check them out for yourself.

Here's an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list that will hopefully answer any questions you have about these new changes. If you've got a question that isn't answered here, email it to [email protected], and I'll answer it for you.

What does this cost?

A yearly TechSideline Pass subscription is now $34.95, still much cheaper than "the other guys," who range from $40 to a $100 or more per year.

We offer the following options:

• 1 year: $34.95
• 3 months: $10.95
• 1 month: $4.95

The yearly payment is the best deal, at just $2.91 per month.

We set the quarterly and monthly subscriptions up so you could "sample the wares," so to speak. If you like what you see, and we think you will, you can then renew for any term you want to, including a year.

I was a TSL Extra subscriber. What do I have to do to switch over to the new TechSideline Pass subscription?

Nothing. You're automatically "grandfathered" for the duration of your old TSL Extra subscription. There is no prorating, and you won't have to pay anything extra. Just use your old TSL Extra login info to get to the new TechSideline Pass material, and it will work until it's time for you to renew.

Can I pay by check?

No, sorry. The only way to subscribe to the TechSideline Pass is online, using your credit card, on our secure server. To subscribe, see the link at the bottom of this article.

Can I set my account up to renew automatically?

Sorry, not at this time.

Will all the articles on the web site be pay articles now?

No. We'll still offer lots of free material: VT Hokie News, News and Notes, Hokie Hotline Notes, Voice of the Fan, TSL Columnist articles, and some message boards will still be free. Football game previews and recaps will still be free.

The new pay material will consist of TechSideline Pass articles, editorials, and analysis; football game analysis articles; premium message boards; and premium recruiting content.

How will I tell the difference between free content and pay content?

Pay content will be flagged with our new TechSideline Pass icon (). If the icon is there, and you try to click on the article, you'll be prompted to login first. If there's no icon, you can read the article without logging in or subscribing.

What do you mean "premium recruiting content"?

A lot of the information in our new Version 2.0 recruiting database is free, so whether you're a subscriber or not, you'll be able to view recruiting lists and some of the information in a recruit's profile. Some recruiting updates will also be free.

But a recruit's college choices and most recruiting updates will now be premium material. To view them, you'll have to be a TechSideline Pass subscriber.

Most of our premium recruiting material will be provided by Chris Horne, our in-house recruiting specialist.

What's different about the new subscriber boards?

In response to literally years of requests, we have added subscriber boards. We now have two types of boards:

• Free-to-view, free-to-post: These are the same boards we have always offered. You don't have to have a TechSideline Pass subscription to view them or post on them. There will be 5 of these boards: Football Board, Basketball Board, The Lounge, Ticket Exchange, and Score Board.

• Subscribers-only view, subscribers-only post: In order to view these boards or post on them, you need to have a TechSideline Pass subscription. There will be two of these boards, a Recruiting Board and a Subscribers-only, general VT-sports topics board.

Why is the Recruiting Board hidden?

The reason why the Recruiting Board is hidden from view to non-subscribers is that Chris Horne will be on it discussing premium recruiting information with posters. To add value for our subscribers (by having the Recruiting Board) and yet protect the integrity of their subscription at the same time, it was necessary to hide the Recruiting Board from non-subscribers.

The free recruiting board has gone away, and I'm not a subscriber -- where can I talk about recruiting?

Assuming you mean football recruiting, you can talk about it on the free Football Board. The best -- and most protected -- place to discuss recruiting is the new premium Recruiting Board. If you want to talk about basketball recruiting, you can, of course, talk about it on the free Basketball Board.

Since I'm a paying customer, I can say whatever I want to on the subscriber boards, right?

Wrong. Our subscriber boards will be subject to the same terms of service as we have traditionally used to police our boards. If you get out of hand, abuse other people, curse, etc., you will be deactivated.

Do I need to re-register for the new subscriber message boards?

No, you don't. Just keep using your old username and password that you got when you first registered for the boards.

I really liked the TSL Extra. Will I still be able to read the back issues?

Yes, you will. Current subscribers and new subscribers will always have access to the TSL Extra back issues, of which there are 23 (#1 was November, 2000, and #23 was September, 2002). The streaming TSL Extra articles that we started doing a couple of months ago have been added to the TSL Pass archives.

Where can I get to all of this? Where can I subscribe?

Here are the links -- enjoy!

• Click here to get your TechSideline Pass subscription.
• Click here to see the new recruiting database.
• Subscribers-Only: Click here for the new Recruiting Board.
• Subscribers-Only: Click here for the new Subscribers-Only Board.
• Subscribers-Only: Click here for the new TechSideline Pass home page.

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