I feel I adjust my thinking and play depending on my opponent’s rating. I know that I should just consider the best move for any given board position. It occurred to me that if there were an option to hide other people’s ratings then it might help me focus on the game and my moves.
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Yes, I’ve been advocating something similar for a while.
Invisible rank would make it easier to do research. 
Also, related:
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This is an excellent idea! I would most certainly like to see it implemented at some point as well. It is incredible how much emphasis and stress some players (like myself) put into that crazy little number that appears in a game and in our profiles. We are here to play and improve at the game, and not to watch this little number go up. Don’t get me wrong, rating is important, it just shouldn’t become more important than the game itself. Thank you for bringing this up @teapoweredrobot!
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I agree that we need to try to play ideal moves regardless of opponents’ rank, but no, do NOT hide their ranks. We have to train ourselves this basic mentality, Go is a high mind game. if you are not willing to train this basic mindset, go pick another hobby.
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You have made an interesting point there @txwolf. While I partially agree with you, we can not say that this is a basic mindset to train (at least for most of us). If we don’t hide this rank than I do believe that we can, eventually, train our minds to ignore it all together. Now if we use this helpful little tool, it will help to speed up the process, and then we can enable the show ranks again later. It is true that go is a high mind game, but that is related to the game itself and not an external component like a number. You try to concentrate on the game, and eliminate all other distractions in the quickest and most effective way possible. Thus, where possible, we can use “tools” in place of our “mind” and more easily remove the problem. This is especially convenient for beginners. Maybe some very talented players like you can do that, but I would like to just snap it out of the picture immediately and concentrate on ONLY the game.
Why do people keep assuming that you need to have these crazy goals and ideas about how to become a perfect go player?
I just play go for fun. Not for developing mentality or for becoming a dan player or whatever.
If for some people it’s more fun when they don’t know their own or their opponent’s rank, just give it to them. No discussion or snarky remarks required.
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I should have said that I had in mind that this would be an optional setting for the us low minded types. 
I feel it’s like analysis. The spirit is willing not to use it but the flesh is so so weak. So switching it off is great (if only it could be switched off only for ranked games…)
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Pick another hobby 
? A non-professional Go players is are called a Hobbyist. Hobbies tend to be casual, self-led, exploratory, and the pursuit of a passion, because it make us happy. Force does not fit into such a framework, unless you are trying to teach or foster discipline. Which is fine, if that is part of your vision for the ideal pursuit of your hobby. But we all will take a different path and there is no one right path for all to take.
Suggesting that someone is unwilling to train the basic mindset of playing Go, simply because they do not wish for their hobby to feel comparatively competitive, is silly. Go is a tool that can be used to pit competitors against one another, as easily as it is a tool that can be used for introspection, analytical exploration, relaxation, contemplation, gratification, mental exercise, art creation, conversation, socialization, and the list goes on.
Generally speaking, putting more configuration options in an end-users hands is a good thing 
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Rating is the crutch we use to find games with approximately same-strength opponents in order to produce the most interesting (i.e least predictable) games.
Rank is just useful for people who’d like to ask stronger players for a review. 
OH! I just had a brilliant idea. Do you guys know that spinning wheel in HearthStone? The one that always lands on the most boring option (worthy opponent)? How about letting people pick one of a few select options (content subject to debate):
[Hope dies last]
[Teach me baby one more time]
[So close and yet so far]
[It’s a duel!]
[I’m enjoying the breeze]
[Resistance is futile]
[My cat could win this]
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It is already hidden in zen-mode, as are other user-specific information too.
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Ah ! I’ve never tried Zen mode. Thanks.
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(I apologize for my snarky comment. I only meant to express my opinion and now realize it came cross as hash criticism to others. That’s not my intention.
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I might use this. I am always slightly depressed when I get paired with someone 2-3 ranks higher. Then I get more depressed when IF I manage to beat them and I check my profile I discover that I just won a game against a weaker opponent.
I am guessing the ‘stronger/weaker’ is done after my rating has increased and his/her decreased but that makes little logical sense to me.
Form what I observed: There is a different rating for each time setting (Blitz/Live/Correspondence) and each common board size (9x9/13x13/19x19). And there is an overall rating. For example: I am a 13 kyu player (1464±84) which is my overall rating. My rating on 9x9 correspondence games is better (1752±104). But I suck at 13x13 live games (1128±180). So it is possible I meet a 7 kyu player who is good at 13x13 live games but bad at 9x9 correspondence games and I might be better than her on 9x9 correspondence games
That used to be the case a few years ago, but when we switched to an implementation of the glicko-2 rating system, we changed it so that only the overall rating is ever used functionally. All the others are purely cosmetic.
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Thank you for clarification! 
[quote=“matrimsaric, post:15, topic:21100”]
Then I get more depressed when IF I manage to beat them and I check my profile I discover that I just won a game against a weaker opponent.
[/quote]
I’ve seen something like this, too. So how does it happen? Is it because the rating system is updating more frequently than the displayed rank or so? 
@matrimsaric @Assai
See this post on the frequently asked questions related to the question of ranks changing after games.
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Thank you!
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