Unrated new players

HI guys/gals,

I have a question relating to unrated players new to chess.com. Why are they unrated? When I first joined chess.com,I was given a rating of 1200.Has this rule been abandoned by chess.com now?

Hi chess_guy.  You can play rated or unrated it is your choice.  Although perhaps you did not notice when you first played, the drop box was set to rated and so you started your Glicko rating at 1200 with Rating Dispersion of 350.  The other "unrated" fellas choose unrated always.

Everyone starts at 1200, it just displays as unrated until they have played the required amount of games (don't remember how many).

Hey Scottrf.  Are you sure?  I don't think so.  Chess.com uses the Glicko system which takes care of new rating by assesing a large rating dispersion (RD).  I guess you may be confussing with USCF regulations which indeed it does what you say, after 24 games you get your fisrt rating.  Maybe the English chess federation is different but anyways that is what I know.  Cheers.

Yes I am, and the rating needs a starting point whichever system is used.

Here is a game with a friend of mine, she has not played any rated games yet. It is a rated game but her rating shows "Unrated".

I think after just 1 game she get's a rating based on the player she has won/lost against.

http://www.chess.com/echess/game?id=64967598

Many thanks for your help guys,most appreciated.

I am currently in a tournament and against an unrated player.  From viewing his past games and present it is clear he is not ranked at 1200 but much stronger.  The rating adjustment for the game however if I lose will be as if I lose to a 1200.   ...so not sure i like that much..  nothing time won't correct but it seems to me that in the outcome of his first set of rated games only his rating should change.  Not the opponents.  If he comes in unrated then my rating should not be rated as such..

@Seraphimity

But as a new player he will have a high RD, which means that your rating wont change as much as it would against an established 1200 player.

Hey Scottrf, no worries, I just checked and it has me at +2/-12 for the unrated game where a loss to a 1350 at my level is +2/-13 so I see what you mean.  

and here I thought I knew everything about this site ;)