Chess.com ;  i never know if im playing an honest person or someone  who is using research to beat me.  This brings me to question the  whole rankings and rating system.. My  first 51 games here i didnt even use the  analyse option becausei thought it was cheating  and it would have helped my game immeasureably ..now i find out that all  is fair on here,, or so it seems..I suspect old masters would not approve of some of these tactics...   

"Im seriously thinking ..."  Why not lighten up?

Play live chess.

Old masters would have used more than an analysis board in correspondence play.  They'd also be using books, magazines, or any other publications to research an opening or their opponent's play.

You can play live speed chess (not impossible to cheat, but certainly less likely IMO) or play in over the board tournaments.  Because analysis boards were never illegal (even pre-computer era), this isn't the only site you'd be worrying about these things.

Good point  i should lighten up  who said life is fair and low tar cigarrettes were the worst. im just saying rankings and ratings are skewed due to these tactics... i wonder how far its taken  some individuals. And when does research cross the line and become something else..    Live chess bravo!!

Yes I see what you mean.  That's why online ratings are just for fun.  Believe me no one goes to a tournament and brags about their online rating.  OTB ratings take precedence for the reasons you listed and a few more.

just wonder if you could have a division of chess players  online who are  sworn   to honesty  and limited to old fashion rules and  tactics, with maybe an analyze option thrown in ..

You can only find that through friends in real life, which defeats the purpose because you can just play with them in person.

For me the idea of playing online is for fun and to learn. I learn regardless of what means my opponent chooses to make their moves. I'm not sure why your that concerned about it but as you are, simply don't play it then and lessen your worries. It's the internet, we have very limited methods to control or observe other users behavior like how they make their chess moves. So why bother worrying about it and focus on improving your own play instead? :)

i   cant think of another game where it wouldnt matter if opponents use unfair advantages to win so why wouldnt it matter in online chess.

Because if someone did happen to use an unfair advantage how would it prevent you from improving your own chess ability? To me, winning or losing doesn't make a difference, specifically with chess online, I'm just here to improve which has nothing to do with the actual game result. If your that worried about winning then I wouldn't play chess online at all and just play over the board when you can face your opponent and see them to ensure they are playing fairly.

If anything I would say that use of the analysis tool in CC chess would be encouraged rather than seen as cheating. I use it frequently during CC games and have never considered it to be cheating. The board simply offers a way for you to study your current position, it's not like it gives you computer analysis (which would obviously be cheating)

It's no different from the old chess by mail system where people would have the board set up at home and look at continuations whilst waiting for an opponent to respond.

I'm not sure how it skews your rating either. Your CC and Live / OTB ratings are likely to be different. You tend to find people have a higher CC rating than anything else due to the time it allows for thinking and analysis. It's still an accurate rating, just of a different type of chess. Or bullet where you are rated on almost no time to think at all.

Apples and oranges.