It takes a lot of time, patience and luck (unfortunately - not much skill) to climb within the top 10. It doesn't seem right that someone in the top 5 who has devoted themself to this endeavor should be suddenly knocked to rank 20 just because they're unable meet yet another time committment requirement for maintaining (or in this case defending) their current position in a tourney. Tournies already exist, which allow top 10's to play against each other multiple times per day if they desire.

The real problem I have with the current ladder rules is that it's way too focussed on time requirements, with little focus on what should be the more important factor - skill. I don't want to offend anyone, but with all due respect, players with win percentages below 55% or with skill ratings consistently below 1600 really don't even belong in the top 10. And this never would be the case if the rules were truly working correctly to improve the integrity of the ranks. That said, I can appreciate the fact that current rules are moreso designed to protect the integrity of the ladder as a whole by ensuring movement among the ranks and equal opportunitity regardless of skill level. And there is certainly something positive to be said for that as well.

In a perfect world, the backgammon ladder would work no differently then any real life sports ladder. When I used to compete on Tennis ladders, players weren't required to play "X" number of matches per month to maintain their rank. Instead, they were allowed to formally challenge any player up to 2 ranks above them in a match that had to be completed within 48 hours. And if you lose a formal challenge, you can't challenge anyone above you again until you first defend rank against the person below you. This ensures that the best players from a skill standpoint eventually take over the top ranks. Unfortunately, this would probably be impossible to manage on a virtual ladder, and no admin would understandably want to take on that responsibility unless they were getting paid to do so.

With a wife & 3 and 4 year old to take care of, I unfortunately don't presently have the time to compete for a top rank on the ladder. So I recently started playing more in the rated room where there is no time requirements and you can play anyone. Interestingly, as a basis of comparison, the rated room has over 2,600 players and every player in the top 50 has a win percentage over 55% and a skill rating over 1850. So maybe it's unfair to set the standard equally as high on our ladder when there are only less then 200 active players on the ladder.