When I last checked on this site yesterday afternoon, RHP seemed to be a calm and happy
place where people could get together online to play social correspondence chess and chat
about things of interest. The last memory I had of any serious bout of discord was from back
in the days of Baron von Munchousen and the controversy surrounding Xenophobe.
Now I log on and find that an earthquake has hit. Suddenly, the dreaded C word has
returned. But this time the accuser and accused are two pawn stars, and two of the most
prominent ones at that, having been team captains in the first RHP tournament and having
been regular contributors to the forums for some time. What's more, I didn't even know
there was any animosity between them before today.
Therefore I am truly shocked at this state of affairs, and the only explanation I can think of is
that ratings are taken more seriously by some than I ever imagined. Ever since I joined this
site, I have considered the ratings system a very approximate measure of ability at best,
because:
1) new players start with 1200, regardless of ability, which causes any points given to/taken
from new players to be distorted; also it means that it takes time to reach a realistic rating,
so only established players' ratings can be taken at all seriously.
2) correspondence chess is nearly impossible to police by its very nature, and there are many
ways to cheat.
3) the ability to challenge specific players to rated games allows players who want to improve
their rating to target over-rated players.
Once I realised this, I created 'Xenaphobe' with the help of a friend, half as a joke, but also
to alert the RHP community of how little the ratings mean. The results were not
encouraging: the people who posted on the subject seemed to think I was doing this in the
name of prestige, which I could not possibly obtain, because Xenaphobe was so obviously
false that I knew he would get zapped (his password was 'fraud'!). What I was hoping for
was that people would re-evaluate their attitude to ratings, and realise that the reward of
playing chess against people from around the world, and hearing from all these different
people about chess and other matters was far greater.
I tried to explain this at the time using Xenaphobe's account, but found that it had been
swiftly blocked. I have not claimed responsibility up until now, because I feared the terrible
wrath that seemed to prevail at the time. I apologise for the name, which was an
unfortunate choice in the circumstances and was not intended as a direct accusation. I also
apologise that I did not explain my motivations earlier, and for any distress this might have
caused.
As for now, I only wish that everyone could retain a calm and friendly attitude to what is,
after all, a site that has no official status or mandate, surviving only because of the
dedication of Chris and Russ and the generosity of some of its users. The inability of the
Internet to convey body language means that we all have to take special care not to read too
much emotion into what others say and do, exactly the same as when driving a car.
Colin