Originally posted by gambit05
Thank you for your input. I guess you started this thread at least partially because of me (complaining and so on).
I joined this site in 2005, coming from a blitz site where my rating was 1900-2000. I expected to be in that range also on RHP, although I had no idea how different blitz is to CC. When I reached 1900+, it was difficult to find opponents s l I do the same to stand my ground".
Sad thing is, I have no idea how to get rid of this.
Thank you for your input. I guess you started this thread at least partially because of me (complaining and so on).
Well yes and no, Personally i really don't see any good reason why the policy has been abandoned. Yes there were problems, but an internet chess site that doesn't remove cheats isn't a serious chess site, it's just as simple as that. Playchess/ICC, both massively used, cheats banned hourly. What is the result? The site is head to toe in GMs and IMs, right down to beginners, as it should be.
When i first started online chess i played at yahoo. At the time it was a really well used service and was considered one of the best places to play chess. But over time sites started coming along that were designed specifically with chess players in mind. One of the most important things to get right is proper enforcement of the rules.
--> Why have the rules if you aren't going to enforce them? <--
This site is in direct competition with sites like chess.com. I have played there, though not for a while, but i do pop in from time to time to see what's going on and every time i do it has changed for the better (mostly).
Now, i don't want to dis RHP, i love this site and that's why i'm still here, but this has to be said. Chess.com has really pushed ahead in the last 3 or 4 years and for a number of good reasons. Their blitz section was once clunky and prone to lag. Now it is smooth, has tournaments to enter, and is free. There are literally hundreds of people writing blogs on that site, some of which are really excellent! All the facilities that we have here on RHP are used, many vastly improved or more functional. But the one thing that really sets it apart, is they are prepared to ban cheats, regularly (daily!) and they make no apology for it either! And why should they? The rules are clear. They obviously have a large number of people working at keeping the site free of cheats and it works.
As far as i can see, there is only one real difference between the two sites. Chess.com is in constant development and RHP isn't. I know Russ and Chris do other contract work away from the site, that's fair enough, but unfortunately this comes at a cost as other sites aren't standing still. It is a real shame too as only a few years ago this was easily the best Correspondence site on the net, I can't help but feel a real opportunity was missed somewhere down the line. I've seen Chess.com advertise for developers and have built the site up into fully blown business, with employees, etc... This means that there are lots of people around to share the extra burden that game moderation must create, but now that this site has reached the point where they have a working system of detection and enforcement, they stand right out in front.
I think this probably represents the main obstacle to game moderation returning to the site. It is messy, time consuming and you're damned if you do, damned if you don't. But is it really a choice? Cheating is the biggest issue for online chess players, you can't just ignore that because there are sites that don't, over time these sites will just end up stealing all your users, simple as that..
I have many friends here (not least yourself Oliver) but if those friends start wandering off and playing elsewhere, my ties to this site slowly get eroded away. I can't help but feel that there is a tipping point that isn't being considered properly. It is not inconceivable that this has started already. What about all the players who are now choosing that site over this one? They will be laying down roots in exactly the same way, even if this site suddenly started adding functionality and moderation, those players are lost, they're already committed elsewhere. Once the rot sets in it will be extremely difficult (if not impossible) to turn the clocks back...