From what I understand the bump is biggest for players USCF rated between 1500 and 2000, and it would taper off a bit. I believe that masters, experts, and high class A prefer the ICC (internet chess club).
I think it's all on how you study. If you just read books without setting up the pieces on a board, the analysis will be easier online with similar diagrams, as opposed to live tournaments with chess boards. It's a psychology thing, play as you study, and study as you play.
You have to keep in mind that in over-the-board tournament play you almost always play players who are roughly equal in rating/skill. Here at chess.com, that's not the case. When someone wins a game they are guaranteed to get at least 1 rating point even if their opponent is rated 1000 points lower. Many of the top players here play people who are rated much lower -- maybe they do it on purpose or maybe they just play whoever wants to play.
With that in mind, I think it's wrong to assume that anyone with a rating on par with a GM must be cheating.
I read someone comment on another forum topic that
"A grandmaster rating without a title would probably mean the player is cheating because no one gets that good without gaining a title along the way"
This comment may be accurate or not. My question for anyone able to answer is what would a grandmaster or any other master on a correspondence chess site, like chess.com, be rated.
I know after looking at several profiles that some of the higher rated players on chess.com may only have a 1900 rating otb or through traditional correspondence yet have a 1900-2300 rating on here. Stands to reason that the tools allowed on this website would be conducive to helping a rating go up online that may not help with OTB games, but at what level should a grandmaster need to be rated on chess.com?
Any thoughts?