Just2Good

I had the chance to briefly see Patrick Byrom, the CAQ Ratings Officer, a few weeks ago. I asked him if he thought that the ACF should release everyone's RD's so that people can do their own rating calculations without waiting a quarter for the ACF to do it. Currently only an estimate of one's RD is released.

Patrick told me that he agreed with me that RD's should be common knowledge and released.

This just goes to show how out of step Bill Gletsos, the National Ratings Officer and ACF Deputy President, is with at least some of his state counterparts - and perhaps with a sizable majority of Australian chess players.

AO

Iconoclast

Everyone I have spoken to about the R.D. says that the figure should be published. Baryy Cox wanted them becuse he was making a ready-reckoner for players wanting to know what a tournament had done for their rating. Bill Gletsos will not release the R.D. s. In the the end, Baryy had to make a ready-reckoner that approximated the R.D. The R.D.s are .......

SECRET

Gendo Ikari

Perhaps the first step should be for these RD's to be made available to state ratings officers. Personally I think the players should have access to this information.

Egor

I agree, but what difference would it make?

Just2Good

A whopping huge difference! Would you like me to elaborate?

Iconoclast

There is a debate about how fast a junior's rating should rise. In some instances, their improvement CANNOT be tracked by Glicko. In those cases the R.D. requires a nudge. The question is, who should give that nudge. Me tinks Billy Gletsos wants to hold da secwet magic wand.

Egor

Yes, I would like you to elaborate, it could prove very interesting.

Just2Good

Okay then. Tomorrow or Monday I will elaborate. I do not elaborate upon demand!

Egor

That is fine with me, you made the offer and Just accepted. When you do it is completely up to you.

Iconoclast

Try these:

Assume there would be no difference if players where to know their RD. Then there is no reason to keep it SECRET because the RD is irrelevent. (A few key strokes would adend the RD figure after rating figures of all players.)

Assume there may be a difference if players were to know their ID. Then there is a reason for the SECRET RDs to be published.

Assume there is no SECRET reason to keep the RD figures SECRET. Then the only reason that the RDs are not published it that Bill Gletsos cannot be bothered to make the key strokes to do so. (That would be very curious given that the those key strokes would take less than 1% of the time taken to do the ratings.)

Assume there is an actual SECRET reason to keep RDs SECRET. Then Bill Gletsos would and does continue to keep the RDs SECRET.

MOZ

Ahh. I see

Those 'unknown unknowns' will do it to you every time.
And that is the reason for the policy.

Sayeth Donald



MOZ

Iconoclast

All (un)knowns are known to have a probability between 0 and 1. The interesting character of the maths is that it does not matter how many (un)knowns you string together.

(0->1)(0->1)(0->1) ... = (0->1)

If you keep something secret without reasonable explaination, the averge punter might give even money on the truth. However, a betting man with some knowledge of the form would reduce the odds. Some known knowns are:
Gletsos told Parr he would not run for President, but ...
Gletsos sings from the same hymn sheet as a national banning, backstabbing maggot, and ...
Gletsos sees no COI in being privy to the CV bid while being part of a NSW based bid.

Whatever the odds of the SECRET being innocent, those odds are very short on my books because of form.

blank frank

I suspect the reason the RD's are kept secret are 3 fold;

1. Players with knowledge of their RD's could quickly learn how to manipulate their ratings and change their playing habits.

2. When different players see their ratings change differently for similar performances because of differences in their RD's it'll cause arguments.

3. The ratings officer is free to alter the ratings at will and is unaccountable. Transparency would expose the extent to which the ratings are being massaged.

Just2Good

Was it Mr. Parr?

I thought he made that representation to Mr Lyons. Please clarify Iconoclast.

In any event this issue is bigger than Bill Gletsos. There is simply no reason for the RD's to be kept secret. Where is the benefit to the ACF in doing so? I am a strong proponent in accountability and transparency at every level. That extends to publishing the Minutes of Council meetings in a timely fashion, among other things.

I have already stated that when I bumped into the CAQ Ratings Officer Patrick Byrom about a month or so ago, he told me that he believed the RD's should be made known. As such, Bill seems to be out of step with this state counterparts on this issue.

Bill recently stated, or suggested, on CC that Howard Duggan's rating was now higher than my own. Grandmaster Theatre showed everyone how much stock can be placed in such ratings. In my mind I dispensed with ratings years ago when a candidate master once told me that I needed to be playing the board and NOT the rating!

__________________
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"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."

~ Buckminster Fuller ~

Just2Good

Garvin Gray yesterday claimed I was making stuff up when I claimed I had run into CAQ Ratings Officer Patrick Byrom on a bus, and that we briefly discussed the new rating system and RD's where Pat agreed with me that RD's should be made public.

Today I was in touch with Pat as I wanted to follow that up. Pat confirmed that he has no recollection of the event. I admit that the discussion was very brief, and was on a bus just before Pat got off.

I recall it clearly because right away I started licking my lips at the new ammunition I had which I could hurl at the bots. I did not make it up, sorry Garvin. Its likely that because the exchange was rather insignificant, at least to Pat, that he has no memory of it.

I ride the bus all the time - work, city, places where I will be drinking and don't want to drive home possibly over the limit. I cannot say I remember every conversation I have ever had on a bus trip, and so it is unsurprising that Pat doesn't remember this particular conversation.

I will point to some circumstantial eveidence, however, lending credence to my recollection of the exchange. Pat confirmed that he told Bill Gletsos yesterday that he could see no reason why RD's were not published. As such his position is consistent with the brief conversation I had with him on the bus.

__________________
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"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."

~ Buckminster Fuller ~