Many people, with and without ?, seem to have ranking snobbery. They only want to play people with solid ranks. This makes it difficult for people who want a solid rank to get a solid rank.

The problem is cultural, not technological. The ranking algorithm, as described in " http://kgs.kiseido.com/en_US/help/math.html", does not care whether your opponents' ranks were uncertain when you played them; it only cares whether they're uncertain now. As you and your opponents play more people, the uncertainty goes down. So long as some people in your network of opponents, opponents' opponents, and so forth play people with solid ranks, your rank will become solid.

Finally, when you get a solid rank, remember to play some people with ?. You'll help more than just the person that you play.