Is ticket distribution fair?

[norainplease]

Just to clarify, not everyone could click the back button to buy more I tried!

[Mr McJohnson]

more sour grapes than rotten apples imho

[modey]

You're not getting it all though are you?

The people going back weren't getting 'more' - they were entering details for someone else to gain a ticket. There was absolutely NO gain in it for them whatsoever - PLUS think of it the other way around - if one of those people went back to get 8 tickets for 8 more people, then that was 8 additional people off the servers who otherwise could have been sat trying for another couple of hours

Each person can register and buy a ticket - today 135,000 tickets were sold to 135,000 people registered to buy tickets for Glastonbury

Edited October 3, 2010 by modey

[Digi]

I am "getting it" i was pointing out that to say everyone had a fair chance of getting them is wrong, if someone who is already in is booking up a load of tickets, sometimes for complete strangers, then the people who are stuck on the q page, have no chance.

get it?

and it's certainly not sour grapes fom me, i got mine at half nine

[timbrass]

People are making the false assumption that getting a connection to the SeeTickets website is a matter of luck. This is only partially the case. The Internet is made up of Routers (computers than move small packets of data to a final destination i.e. wherever See keep their servers). Routers talk to each other (using a language called ICMP). Undoubtedly the Routers coming into See would have been under huge load and forced to "drop" connection packets. The Router(s) under this huge load would send ICMP messages back to the Routers further up the chain (at your ISP) to say that connections were being dropped. The Routers at different ISPs will react to those ICMP and may stop (or throttle back) sending packets that they think will be rejected. If a Router is seeing sucessful connections it may well continue to send conenction requests to the SeeTickets router. Those whose ISPs have the "best" Routers will be able to make connections (buy 8 tickets) and then have a good chance of making another connection to buy 8 more...

So in effect the allocation of Glastonbury Tickets is strongly influenced by the configuration of (probably Cisco) Routers at your ISP. Given that demand for tickets outstrips demand, there needs to be some form of allocation. Normally in a market this is done by price. In the physisal world it might also be done by queuing (how many days do you want to sleep on a pavement to get the first XBOX or iPhone!)

Perhaps a straight forward random lottery (where an individual can't register more than once) would be fairer...

[mandypants]

I got some tickets for complete strangers, friends of friends who I don't actually know. I don't see what's so wrong about that. That random stranger could have been any one of you, I'm not going to feel guilty about helping people, I did it for all the right reasons and feel good about it. It's certainly not my fault if people simply couldn't get through, it was the 'fault' of thousands of people trying to access the same website at the same time.

[craiga]

As far as i could see the sale was fair. I managed to get through at 8:50, but that was down to pure luck. I didnt have a special broadband connection (sky broadband), i didnt have a special link, i didnt have a special browser(Chrome), i just got lucky.

One thing i would change was the use of the word "queue". I bet a lot of people entered that queue very early and assumed that they would at some point reach the front of the queue, when it was simply a way of refreshing the page for you automatically.

[GlastoMad]

here are some points you should consider:

- no one has more right to a ticket than anyone else

- there is only one ticket per customer, due to registration.

- getting through is pure luck (i dont care about that router shit. you do or you dont, you have friends in other counties, or you dont, you have friends who have amazing broadband or you dont), therefore everyone is in the same boat.

- those who do not have "20 different friends trying to get through" have the same oppertunity to join efestivals and other sites like it to have that oppertunity to.

therefore, to me it seems to be the most fair system of all, as everyone has an equal chance of getting tickets.

dont forget, than even some groups of people who have tried for hours may not have got through either.

lay your guilty consciences aside and just enjoy it!

Edited October 3, 2010 by GlastoMad

[torquayjim]

I had 4 windows open all in a queue . One opened on the booking page and I booked for my group . As I finished my friend phoned just as another booking page opened up he gave me his details and I booked for his group . I don't see the problem with helping people out .

[llcoolphil]

here are some points you should consider:

- no one has more right to a ticket than anyone else

- there is only one ticket per customer, due to registration.

- getting through is pure luck (i dont care about that router shit. you do or you dont, you have friends in other counties, or you dont, you have friends who have amazing broadband or you dont), therefore everyone is in the same boat.

- those who do not have "20 different friends trying to get through" have the same oppertunity to join efestivals and other sites like it to have that oppertunity to.

therefore, to me it seems to be the most fair system of all, as everyone has an equal chance of getting tickets.

dont forget, than even some groups of people who have tried for hours may not have got through either.

lay your guilty consciences aside and just enjoy it!

[mattrgee]

At 8:50 the 'deposit' link appeared on the web site and I got taken to the queue page, after refreshing the page every 10 seconds for 4 hours I was no further. The result? No tickets.

Fair? No. Had I tried to get tickets at 12:45 and run into trouble I can understand it, but not getting any after 4 hours doesn't feel fair.

[rubenz]

any ideas why it was deposit only this time?

[Paul ™]

any ideas why it was deposit only this time?

[Vieuphoria]

I made about 6 separete transactions today. All with different cards and for different people.

I'm very happy i managed to get through so much. But obviously it's sad that people don't get tickets... but that's life all in all. How could anyon make a free for all fairer.

[amfy]

I am "getting it" i was pointing out that to say everyone had a fair chance of getting them is wrong, if someone who is already in is booking up a load of tickets, sometimes for complete strangers, then the people who are stuck on the q page, have no chance.

get it?

and it's certainly not sour grapes fom me, i got mine at half nine

[Guest blackcockerel]

I certainly don't feel bad about getting tickets for people having problems. People have helped me out in the past getting tickets, I was returning the favour. I'd have felt awful closing down all the order pages that I got through to, knowing that I had a chance to help people out and didn't use it. The only way I could help out was by asking friends on Facebook, as I couldn't get through on here, and even if I had, I would have thought people would be wary of giving bank details to a complete stranger!

[Rhymenoceros]

To be fair I think that its a lottery. If you are lucky enough to get through then thats great, but organisation is key, and it always helps if you know 4 or 5 other people all trying at the same time. This year I was trying for a few hours with 10 pages all up in the queue and getting through once, and then timing out, and I had lost all faith. BUT then I got a message from a friend of a friend who had got through and asked for my details. I get why people are upset/pissed off, and I completely agree with them, but to say that it's unfair isn't strictly true, as they haven't favoured anyone. Everyones in the same boat, just some are in more organised and bigger boats...

[cjn]

I don't think people are frustrated that people bought more tickets for friends or strangers, of course you would do that, your helping somebody out. Their frustration is with the way the whole see tickets system works. I managed to get myself a ticket yesterday through hours of hitting refresh whilst watching numerous friends on facebook reveal how they had got through multiple times. I would be feeling cheated if i never got a ticket yesterday because that whole system was flawed, it seemed to be the more you know about computers, IP adresses, broadband speed, ect, the better chance you had of getting a ticket.

The festival organisers need to come up with a better solution for 2013, whether it be for them to go to a ballot or to arrange for a much more reliable ticketing website.

[Rhymenoceros]

Yeah but to be honest if it was a ballot then people would be on here saying the same thing! It should be first come first served as always. I agree with the fact that See are incredibly unreliable, but are there any better ones out there?

[llcoolphil]

I got my ticket and so have no complaints. I was aware that I could have bought more....once I got through.

Surely something is not right though when many people on this site...and presumably others elsewhere are able to buy 10, 20, even 30+ while some people ( a lot!) were unable to get through to buy any. The Glastonbury site said it was possible to buy up to 8 tickets...this seems fair and should be enforced by See. It's all a bit of a lucky dip but very unfair when there is such inequity in the purchase limit.

Don't you think.........?

[al_coholic]

Nobody got 30+ tickets. Every individual ticket went to a named individual who had registerd to go to the festival. Who actually pressed the buttons is irrelevant

[LusciousLucy]

The fact is EVERONE this year and ever since the introduction of registration is 'genuine'.

I recall back in 04 after the ticket farrago of that fun day (the 8pm ticket release? and then staying up all evening until 6am in the chatroom and eventually the back door hack occurring...happy days!)

That particular year, there was no registration and partly thanks to my being a regular user on these boards, I was contacted personally to be told when re-release tickets were available. This then resulted in me being able to get my hands on well over 30 tickets to the festival in dribs and drabs and it got to the point at my local pub that I would be working there and would ask 'Is there anyone ELSE who fancies coming to Glastonbury? I can still get tickets despite it being 'sold out'.

I convinced my sister to come on the off chance she might like it, locals from the pub came along just to see what the fuss was all about and thanks to the being contacted, everyone I wanted to go in my circle got a ticket and more. There is no way these days with the registration this would happen obviously. The sad thing that did happen as we know in 04 was the ebay sales of up to £2000 a touted ticket! Hence the introduction of the reg system in 05(?)

This system, whilst a bit annoying on the T Day itself with how some can get through and others cant, works. There still arent very many other events that have this reg system either. Not one person who has registered is not genuine.

[duncbob]

To be fair I think that its a lottery. If you are lucky enough to get through then thats great, but organisation is key, and it always helps if you know 4 or 5 other people all trying at the same time. This year I was trying for a few hours with 10 pages all up in the queue and getting through once, and then timing out, and I had lost all faith. BUT then I got a message from a friend of a friend who had got through and asked for my details. I get why people are upset/pissed off, and I completely agree with them, but to say that it's unfair isn't strictly true, as they haven't favoured anyone. Everyones in the same boat, just some are in more organised and bigger boats...

[llcoolphil]

The festival organisers need to come up with a better solution for 2013, whether it be for them to go to a ballot or to arrange for a much more reliable ticketing website.

[torquayjim]

Planning is the name of the game . I spent ages reading up on how people get tickets . Exchanging details with my friends . Opening up 4 windows and allowing them to refresh . Trying other ways to get in e.g seetickets.com , seetickets.comglastonbury2011,seetickets.com/g2011 . Never thought of pressing back button or f5 but will next time . Got up early and started on site at 8.45 and got tickets at 11 . Never failed to get tickets yet . Although I realise it is a bit of a lottery you can up your chances with a bit of planning .