Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Bot wars - The arms race of restaurant reservations in SF

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

I learned my lesson in the 1980s when I lined up to get Genesis tix, was first in line, and found the best I could get was the 12th row. Yes, I took the seats, but the sense of disentitlement never left me. It was the same a couple years ago when I signed up for the U2 presale for their show in Moncton, logged on in the first few seconds, and was unable to obtain any Red Zone ticket. It's not the bots described in this article - they're just trhe latest weapon - it's the inequity of access to any major event. Money talks, and the rules for access go out the window. That's also what makes the 'elite' universities elite - it's not that they're better, rather, it's that they're the sort of place you need to have enough money not simply to pay tuition, but to be able to buy your place in line ahead of the places (if any) being made available for the plebes.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Dec 14, 2024 07:28 a.m.

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