Broken Record

I hate to start a conversation which has been covered more times in the forum than I believe any other topic. Just im fairly new here (4 months approx) and everyone goes on about

1. cheating (the different types),

2. people using their vacation time when they are going to lose or using up a move every 3 days just to fustrate players

3. and even people not resigning when they have such a material disadvantage it is impossible to win

 couldnt the great designers of chess.com come up with like on ebay a rating system say 5 stars (ok nicking the whole idea off ebay) for sportsmanship, game play etc...

If this has been mentioned before i apologise now.

Disagree. Interesting idea, but you could determine a players general characteristics based on the already available stats. Also, I believe that the concept of 'being sportsman like' is too open ended for my liking. If someone does not share your language, or desires a certain standard of chess ettiquette, or a certain style of play, then you could be branded as a poor sport. Not my cup of tea.

Many other ideas and opinions on this topic are in here:

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/community/rating-opponent-sportsmanship

I understand that it is open to interpretation based on a players own likes so to speak so it would need a lot of work i was just wondering if anything like it could be used.

Doesnt have to be based on Sportsmanship for example but on other areas that i just cannot think of.

You can always leave a comment on a players page for others to see -- perhaps warning others of a potential undesirable trait, but done so in a tasteful and respectful manner. And remember, what is undesirable for you may be desirable for another player so the comment should be worded fairly without bias.

Myself, I play slow in difficult positions, and I move when I can -- often taking the whole three to five days. I know this can be seen as undesirable to some players, so I chose to mention it in my 'chess style' on my bio page. No complainers yet... :)

Regardless, the more info you can have on another player, the better. Thus, the more stats the merrier, provided that the stats measure something that is infact measurable. If you do come up with a solid system, please be sure to let Erik know! He is always looking for ideas to improve the site beyond its current capabilities.

Dealing with each point in order:

 1) Enough of the cheating allegations already! I play on another site where it is a constant cause of argument and paranoia. It simply is not necessary to constantly worrying about it.

2) If someone plays slow that is their right. The time controls are the same for both of you. If you do not like 3 days per move games don't play them. If you feel that someone is moving slowly just to drag out a lost game, start another. You get unlimited games here, whether you pay or not, so use that facility.

3) If you are winning you still have to prove you can force the win, the other player does not have to accept that you can do so until you have mated him. It may be thought of as more polite to resign but a player has the right to play to the bitter end. 

Hi, in response to Sharukin. I totally agree with all your points. I was just stating what had been said before in the forums to get my point across.

I dont personally agree with any of the so called bad manners as you say the time limits are two way, you have to win not just get into a winning position etc...

Was just using them as points as people had broughtthem up before I have never come across a cheat and wouldnt moan if i did just get on with the game.

 I trhought that might be the case. I was using this to get the point across that most of the moans and complaints about this sort of thing are not actually reasonable.

Sharunkin, I totaly agree!!

hi cianlloyd..   :)

Posting points yourself sounds the best.  Ifwe had standard points in a particular order, it would be the most readable.  Perhaps something like this will develop with time.

With vacations, I think it is a peculiarity of the site.  With USCF postal rules they say you are responsible for knowing the rules.  Most people are not aware of vacation until they are on the receiving end and feel victimized.  Some sort of a disclaimer when you sign up would probably be appropriate.

On the other hand, if you took awaythe gripes, would we really be talking all that much?  I don't know.  Probably better add the Henry Higgins rant, which I personally find irresistable ("why can't a woman be more like a man?").  The one currently in play has been good for hundreds of posts and recently has drawn the attention of anumber of actual women. Wow!  Hard not to take up the rant just having mentioned it.  Something wrong about that.

"You can always leave a comment on a players page for others to see -- perhaps warning others of a potential undesirable trait, but done so in a tasteful and respectful manner."  - western_burn

Players can delete the comments posted on their pages.  If somebody posted an undesirable note on my page, true or not, I'd delete it.