There are some reasons written in the first post:
"
Dan ranks seem pretty hard at this time and it makes it seem like
there are less strong players than there really is. There is no real
point to having the strongest lower dan ranks of pretty much all servers
right now.
In fact, it might be hurting the server since it creates a lack of
2-3 dan players, which makes it harder for newcomers in that range to
find games, and stay on the server."
Oh and score should of course NOT be a factor in the effects of a game on rating.
Are you kidding me? Any dan-level players at the very least should understand that the margin of victory means nothing. Many players play a style that frequently captures dragons, while some others like to drag out the game and win by 0.5. When we are leading, we may allow our opponents to catch up a little by playing defensively but not letting them catch up completely (I donāt do this though, I donāt think itās good to turtle up ;p).
One dead group can make an enormous difference in the score. Also, a 5d could play a 2k and only win by 15 points. Sure, the 5d could have played more aggressively and forced a battle of fighting skills and widened the score, but that would mean they have to play differently out of worry about rating. That would make no sense at all. If the weaker player plays very well and very solidly, thereās sometimes no reason why a strong player would win by a lot, because winning by a few points is enough. The fact that the 5d would win 10/10 games is whatās important, not the margin of victory.
At a local Go club there are a few players somewhat close to my level (and a couple that are totally out of my league, actually), and thereās 1-2 of them whom I play often and who somewhat often only lose to me by 4-8 points. However, these individuals lose to me close to 20/20 games we play. So it doesnāt matter how much you beat them by as long as you can keep winning! All of those games could be half-point victories, but as long as it happens consistently, I am a lot stronger than them. If Iām winning 19/20 games or better, than Iām most likely 1.5 or more stones stronger than them (donāt quote me on that guesstimate. Maybe itās 2.5?).
Harsh dan ranks defend the honor of Sandbaggistan.
Well, the sandbaggersā ranks would be bumped up or down the same way everyone elseās would, so it wouldnāt change the fact that we live in Sandbagistan.