More ratings talk

I get why you lose say 9 pts. when you lost to someone 60pts below your level. But it doesn't seem fair when you start out the same level and they dropped down during the course of the game. Is there a reason why it doesn't go by the start rating?

The idea is that the current rating is the more accurate rating and should be used for all rating calculations.  If their rating drops during the course of your game,  then they apparently weren't that strong and it doesn't  make much sense to use the higher rating. 

ok but, that was thier rating when you accepted thier challenge. The opponent shouldn't be penalized.

Not entirely correct -- they may have lost one or more games on time.

True, there can be time losses in their history but over the long haul, that should have a minimal impact.