The Tilde (~)
The tilde "~" is a mark which appears in the game setup window (and
only in this window) after the name of a person who only rarely plays either
against players ranked lower than himself, or against
new players (whose ranking is shown as [?]).
It is visible only to the player himself and to his potential opponents,
if these are ranked better than him or if they are not participating in the ranking system (i.e. if
they have [-] instead of a ranking). It is not visible to weaker-ranked players.
Reasons for the tilde
This mark was introduced onto the server in order to allow those players who
expect a level of reciprocity to avoid giving games to weaker players who act
more selfishly. It is obvious that if everyone were only willing to play
stronger players, there would never be any games.1
The tilde has several effects:
- It is something of a "black mark" against those who have earned it (this
is not the intention, and this was why as discreet a mark as possible was used)
- It discourages people from taking advantage of the willingness of stronger
players to play them, without ever returning this favour to weaker players
- It makes it easier for weak and new players to find opponents, as people with
tildes play them so as to get rid of their tildes
Tilde Math
The exact formula is:
If 2*(number of games against weaker players or ? players) + 5 < (number of games against stronger players) then the player obtains a tilde.
The overall effect is that if you play at least a third of your games against
weaker players or against yet unranked players, you are unlikely to obtain a tilde.
Games against players having the same rating as yourself, or a [-] rating, are not
taken into account for the above calculation. Also, contrary to what is sometimes said,
the colours of the players in a game are irrelevant. The handicap is not taken into
account either, nor the size of the board. Games of all types (Free, Teaching, etc.)
are taken into account.
Your whole list of games (i.e. all those played in the last 180 days)
is taken into account for this calculation.
How to get rid of it
If you have a tilde, you will normally want to get rid of it, as while you have
it you will find it hard getting games against stronger players. To achieve this,
it is enough to play some games (of any type: Rated, Free, Teaching, etc.) against
players who are rated weaker than yourself, or are new to the server and rated with a [?]. One way to do this is to play some automatch games. There your tilde is ignored; this may help you get games more quickly. You can have an automatch offer outstanding at the same time you challenge the game offers of others and at the same time you have your own game offer posted.
If you have had a tilde for a long time, it may take you longer to get rid of it.
You will need to play enough games to increase the proportion against weaker or [?]
players to more than around one in three.
- 1 When stronger players play go with you, they are giving you a gift. It is your chance to learn. Pass this gift along. Play go with weaker players!
Related Links
Up One Level
—> Newbie FAQ –> General Information
Site Map
—> Newbie FAQ –> General Information
Top
Edit this page (requires admin or translator privilege)
