jamegumb, on 2012-July-19, 14:00, said:
Taking the (very good) reasons into account why BBO has not implemented a rating list to date, perhaps the best splitting-the-baby solution is to have another site have an unofficial rating system. People who think the ratings are garbage would be welcome to ignore them - they don't mean anything, anyway. People who want to look at them would be welcome to do so.
(Asking this as a serious question, not as flippant rhetoric) Would BBO be harmed by this? I suppose to allow it to work best they'd probably offer better access to their database. Would this be an affiliation? I'd expect BBO to disclaim any attachment to the system and to stress that they don't endorse the ratings in any way/shape/form/etc.
When there is a rating system, there will be some number of people who either try to manipulate the system or will outright cheat in order to inflate their ratings.
When it is perceived that a rating system can be manipulated (maybe the system does not take into account weak or strong opponents or weak or strong partner as well as it should), people will start to use those criteria when selecting a game. That means some people will be rejected as partners and opponents based not only upon the actual ratings, but on how it is perceived the results will unfairly affect ratings. "Normally I'd play with you even though you are a weaker player, but I must consider my rating, so I can't play with you." That sort of thing.
Most consider outright cheating a bad thing. There probably wouldn't be a whole lot of actual cheating, but there would be a lot of suspected cheating. As it is, you can brush off a certain amount of suspicious play because there is little or no incentive to cheat and if you are cheated, it doesn't really matter (unless your enjoyment of the game is affected). When there are ratings, people now think that the cheating does matter and become more suspicious of unusual play (or just plain good play). Rumors will abound. BBO support will be bombarded with complaints. Etc.