So I just won a season game against a player new to season iii. He was unranked with a rating of 0.

So obviously the computer has given him a big list of games against players of varying ratings until it begins to find out his/her level. That's not a problem I understand it works like that.

However i was under the illusion? That everyone had a basic rating to begin with and this rose or fell depending on your results.

If this isn't the case - it's possible that a player could start a season (or the ladder) lose every game and in doing so make his or her games irrelevant as winning gives no reward.

Or indeed unfair should they win a game in that the difference in ranking points between players would be numbered in the thousands?

Can anyone clear that up for me?

Oh where I got the thing about a starting rating:

"Expiring old games keeps the ladder fresh and ensures that ratings don't inflate over time. ELO rating systems are zero-sum systems, meaning that each player that joins the ladder brings new points into the mix. See Ratings Inflation and Deflation for a more detailed analysis."

That is taken from the wiki

A rating of 0 just means they haven't completed any games yet. Ideally it should just say "N/A" or something. You should consider the number meaningless when it says 0.

If you just beat him and it still says 0 it just means the ladder hasn't updated since you beat him. It updates every other hour.

Thanks for the clarification. :)