Olympics Shuts Down Non-Commercial Online Service That Helped People Get Tickets
from the olympic-failures dept
Another day, another story of Olympics insanity. Apparently the website for the London Olympics has a really awful interface that highlights tickets that are available. So, some enterprising coders quickly hacked together a better system, called 2012TicketAlert that would help alert people when new tickets were available. It was just a typical internet case study: some people saw a system that wasn't very good, and they built a better interface. Welcome to the internet.Ah, but this is the Olympics, and the Olympics just doesn't do things like that. So, they shut the site down:
It seems someone at LOCOG has taken exception to our idea (or the publicity it is getting) and instead of reaching out to us or addressing the lack of a notification system, they have simply blocked our access to their server. This means we are unable to check or post any new ticket alerts.Welcome to the Olympics, where if you don't pay the Olympics, you better not do anything to help make the Olympics a better experience.
And it's important to note that they weren't making money off of this. They were just helping to alert people to ticket availability and then driving them to the official Olympics site. They just hacked together a notification system.
Sometimes I wonder if the Olympics just wants to piss off everyone.
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disclaimer: It was just a fucking thought - don't get your panties all twisted.
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Sports is just another profit-oriented industry
Congratulations on winning boys and girls! Now where's our check?
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Re: Sports is just another profit-oriented industry
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Re: Re: Sports is just another profit-oriented industry
But that's ok, le "freak c'est chic" (tm).
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They're still buying products sponsored by them.
They're reporting about them.
The only way to teach these people a lesson that we will not stand for such shit is to ignore them completely.
I'm breaking my word to myself just by typing this but still people need to hear it.
I refuse to watch them and I refuse to buy any products listed as sponsors during the Olympics.
Freedom from censorship > Olympics
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Your survey is flawed. I know lots of people who aren't watching them at all.
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Does Craigslist run the Olympic's site?
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Someone was standing in front of them, pointing out that they have their toes sticking out in the isle where thousands of people are walking by, and they are directing people AROUND the toes to provide the walkers with a better walking experience (nobody wants to trip over LOCOG toes....)
Obviously this is not acceptable behavior... their toes are sticking out there waiting to be stepped on for a reason... so that they can SUE and PROFIT.... AMIRITE?
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It's a shame for the athletes that spend their early lives in preparation to have this saddled upon them as it stains their efforts and achievements.
I no longer watch the events. I've long ago lost the connection mainly due to commercialization. Today I could care less who is in it nor what events are held. Other than blundering into a still image somewhere in the news, I've not seen nor have any desire to see these. There's this little thing that is called viewer loyalty and that was long ago trashed and destroyed.
Maybe after the price reaches the trillions for sponsorship and it forces investors to go bankrupt, it will return to something interesting. That doesn't exist today for me.
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Olympic spirit my arse
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Re: Olympic spirit my arse
I am not even paying attention to the Olympics.
Used to be it was on TV for most of the day or all day back when I was a child in the 1960's.
Now it is all about Corporations and Money.
Yes, it is just a massive Corporate Event.
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Re: Olympic spirit my arse
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Isn't this sort of what you suggested for CL to do? Now it's wrong instead of right?
Do you think these guys would have respected a robots.txt instruction?
The Techdirt world is so full of contradictions.
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Can't see that's the case here.
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That was suggested as a better alternative than suing, not as the right thing to do in the big picture. There's no contradiction.
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Last time I checked Mike also criticized Craiglist... Might be just my awfuly bad reading comprehension though.
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The 42nd Athletes Competition...
Create a consortium of athletes and then promise to put on a series of events. Sell the TV rights. Round up sponsors and host cities/arena's (why does it have to be just one?), etc. Work out a payment system for the athletes.
At this point, they're just unpaid interns being exploited to make money for an organization that cares nothing for them. Rise up ye athletes and revolt!
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Ouch!
AARRRGGG MY FOOT!!!!!
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Spartans...
It's a shame... because between the draconian, goose-stepping Olypmics Committee and the doping - not to mention places like China that take children at a young age and put them into a crazy training regiment - the Olympics are a farce.
I will not watch them... ever.
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Due Process Internationally
ANYWHERE(.) Let them first make a case, then prove it.
Olympics...
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Re: Due Process Internationally
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Re: Due Process Internationally
> isn't a national security matter at hand without DUE PROCESS
I'm not fan of what the Olympics has done here-- I think it's stupid-- but it's their server and they have ever right to decide who does and does not have access to it. If they want to block someone's access, that's their right.
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Not quite the full story
Could LOCOG do better at selling tickets? Absolutely. Are they victimising 2012TicketAlert? Don't believe so.
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Re: Not quite the full story
or
Which is it? You seem to be contradicting yourself. Or are you saying that sufferers of collateral damage haven't been victimized?
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Re: Re: Not quite the full story
Granted you can think of "victim" as anyone affected, perhaps I should have used more specific language.
Consider the last line to read as "Are they specifically targetting 2012TicketAlert? Don't believe so"
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