English Chess Forum

Hi all,

On the Membership page of the ECF website it says benefits include 'Early notification of your grade, via a computer printout of your grading details'. I am a new member of the ECF and paid for 3 years Standard membership and paid extra for 3 years early grade notification printout. Somebody at my club has since told me that everybody receives the printouts AFTER the grades are published on the online grading database. Is this true? If so, how can it be 'early notification'??

Also, does anybody here receive their grading details via email? I would prefer mine via email but I saw no option on the membership application form. I would imagine it would be easier, quicker and cheaper for the ECF to email the grading details rather than post them.

Pete

Peter Brace wrote:Also, does anybody here receive their grading details via email? I would prefer mine via email but I saw no option on the membership application form. I would imagine it would be easier, quicker and cheaper for the ECF to email the grading details rather than post them.
Pete

The ECF had a lot of problems with their email Peter so I would contact Richard Haddrell to see if you can get your details on the side in the first instance

I received early notification as a Direct, Full Member on July 7th at 10.34am.

This was a list of all alleged games involving myself played since May 31st 2008.

Had there been any errors I could have informed Richard Haddrell prior to public publication.

Has RH got your current email address?

Do all members of whatever category get early notification? I do not know.

J.

Carl Hibbard wrote: The ECF had a lot of problems with their email Peter so I would contact Richard Haddrell to see if you can get your details on the side in the first instance

RH's use of email employs the sccu.ndo.co.uk mail domain and has nothing to do with englishchess.org.uk

Thanks for the replies. I think Richard probably doesn't have my email address so I have sent him a PM with my email address and membership details.

The "check" that John refers to is not the early notification of grade. It's a check to see if there are any mistakes in the grading database.

The early notification goes only to Members of certain categories, listing all games played together with the new grade. This is not available to non-members (nor to certain types of member) and is certainly not available online. It usually comes out a few days before the official list goes onto the website.

John Upham wrote:

Carl Hibbard wrote: The ECF had a lot of problems with their email Peter so I would contact Richard Haddrell to see if you can get your details on the side in the first instance

RH's use of email employs the sccu.ndo.co.uk mail domain and has nothing to do with englishchess.org.uk

No sorry not quite correct again, the members grade check email goes via the ECF office in this case

Mine didn't :

From : Grading Administrator [[email protected]]

Maybe he uses a dice to decide which domain to use.

J.

John Upham wrote:Mine didn't :

From : Grading Administrator [[email protected]]

Maybe he uses a dice to decide which domain to use.

J.

But what does the header of the email say as to the source of the message?

Go on then John was I right or wrong?

Yes, you were either right or wrong.

Only just seen this thread.

Carl is right, of course. The emails pretended to come from [email protected], and all the responses (and bounces) came to me, but in reality the distribution was from the ECF Office. My ISP doesn’t like me sending 1770 emails all in one go from home.

To answer some questions -

That was the Preliminary Check. It goes, by email only, to all classes of ECF Member. It lists all your games played over the season so you can check them and request corrections if needed. (168 responses so far, if you’re interested, but that includes the ones who said “Well done, my list is 100% correct.”) The Preliminary Check does not pretend to say what your grade will be.

That comes later, about the time the grades go on line, in the updated and corrected with-grade final version. But it only goes to Full Members. It goes by email and also, later, by post. This is wasteful, but not of postage if it shares a mailing with ChessMoves as it usually does.

Other categories of Member can have the with-grade version for £5, and non-Members for £10. By email naturally, if they wish. Orders go to the ECF Office.

So what is “early notification of grade”? Only a memory. It goes back to the days when the grading list existed only on paper and would take a fortnight to print and distribute. The Full Members’ with-grade listing was very much “early” then, and the other Members were sent an email at the same time saying “Dear Fred, you have played X games this season and your grade is Y.” But that was then. The Full Members may get early notification now, if their listing happens to arrive before the grades go on line, but it easily may not. (The grades can go on line over the weekend, and the emailing is restricted to office hours.) As for the “Dear Fred” email, it would be pointless now and has been dropped. It would seem that “early notification of grade” should no longer be listed as a benefit of Membership. I think it’s been left there by accident.

There was never a charge for the “Dear Fred” email. If Peter has paid for early notification, he may rest assured that it will be the with-grade final listing.

There is no need for a box on the Membership form to say you’d like grading information by email. If you give your email address, it will be used. (And if you don’t it won’t, as some members have recently discovered.) Strictly this applies only to automatic mailings, such as the Preliminary Check or the final mailing to Full Members. It does not apply to paid-for orders placed specially with the ECF Office. For these, you do need to specify “email”.

Richard Haddrell
Grading Administrator, ECF