bid_em_up, on Nov 20 2009, 07:54 PM, said:
Other random thoughts:
It could be an optional item to be displayed on profile. (Check a box for on or off).
Certain "levels" could be prevented from claiming to be Expert or World Class status based upon their rating proficiency. This doesn't have to be based in rocket science. It's quite irritating to look at someone's MyHands records who has expert/WC in their profile, and yet, they have a negative 2.5 imp score in 1500 hands. It's fairly safe to say, this person is not Expert, much less World Class, and if that hurts their itty bitty feelings....well, so be it.
If somebody decides they don't wish to see how good/bad they are performing, it should be a simple matter to make it possible to "opt out" of the rating system entirely.
just my $0.05 (inflation is killing me)
If the rating isn't displayed, it isn't useful. The only people who are about ratings are OTHER people, who want to decide whether to partner with you, or whether they're willing to play against you. On OKbridge, table hosts typically advertise a range of Lehmans that they're willing to accept at their table (not too much lower than theirs because they want decent competition, but not too much higher because they don't want to be out of their league).
If displaying ratings were optional, generally people with good ratings will display them, people with bad ratings will not. Anyone who is looking for a good partner will simply ignore people with hidden ratings, on the assumption that they must be bad if they're not willing to show them.
What's strange, though, is that other games don't seem to have this problem. A rating system has been part of chess for many years. Do chess players with poor ratings get discouraged and stop playing, or does it spur them to keep trying to improve?