If it matters, I'm a supporter of a top 10 PR, but it would seem wrong if players like DEHF, alex19, and Connor weren't ranked. Based on my arbitrarily formed opinions, I think the three players mentioned above are the cutoff for what is good enough to be ranked. I might be okay with something weird like top 13, but I doubt everyone has the same view on makes a player "ranked." Having a PR with over 10 is really hard, and having just 10 strengthens the impact of being ranked. I don't know how much expanding the rankings helped the intrinsic value to improve.
I can't speak for others, but I don't see myself as a ranked player. All of the players I see as ranked are a level (or 50) ahead of me. And then there's the very likely possibility for "non-ranked players" to beat me.
If you want my accomplishments for this ranking period, I beat Sung, Sunny, Baka, Jesse, Stab, and Connor (twice). I made it into Round 3 of Pools at Genesis 2, but I don't really know how much that means.