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Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

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Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#101

Post by magnetowasright »

criddell wrote: post #40
Thaxll wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone want Ticketmaster to die.

Except for a lot of performers and venue operators. Ticketmaster is paid well to be the bad guy. They often share the fees with both the performer and the venue.

I'm sorry to be that guy but do you have literally any source for this?

Might just be the musicians I like, or the fact that negativity is better for clicks, but I've never seen an artist saying they get any benefit from ticketmaster's fees and other such shenanigans; I've only seen artists and venues saying that they don't get any money or benefits at all from ticketmaster's racketeering.

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#102

Post by tptacek »

725686 wrote: post #73

A few months ago I went to Las Vegas to watch U2 at the Sphere. When I learned that I needed to open the app or website in order to get in I panicked in fear of the shitty internet that is common in massive events, so I opened my tickets since I left the hotel. Unless this stuff works completely offline, it is a terrible idea.

As the article notes, this ticket system does in fact work offline.

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#103

Post by tptacek »

jjmarr wrote: post #53
irjustin wrote: post #38

I agree with the bad implement but the opening complaining that "old way of printable tickets was great why change it" have so many problems. Scalpers are the problem that you have to accept. At the time of purchase, there's no way to tell the difference between a legit purchaser and a scalper or even someone who bought it and simply can't go and needs to resell. IDs, ticket limiters, CCs, etc, etc. All methods can b…

Buying something at a low price and selling it at a high price is arbitrage 101 and is free money. The "true solution" is to sell tickets at their actual market price instead of pretending that the face value of concert tickets isn't increasing due to a larger population and greater demand.

It's only free money if there's no risk, and if there's no transaction cost to acquiring at the lower price. If there's no risk in buying something low and attempting to sell it high, then that thing is mispriced.

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#104

Post by cogman10 »

KennyBlanken wrote: post #97
cogman10 wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So even if you don't want to do the ID thing, there are alternatives that you see all over the place (like venmo) Have a rotating QR code seeded with a unique to the user id. Then with ticket master, require a login to buy tickets. Register the tickets to the ID and then do the lookup with a combination of the ticket id, rotating qr code, and the user id. That requires the admitter device to send the challenge back t…

You don't understand how people at their companies evaluate stuff like this. Any solution that increases capital or operating expenditures for them or the venues (half of whom they own, if I remember correctly?) is a non-starter if it doesn't generate some increase in revenue. They will not do anything they don't have to do if it means any impact to their bottom line whatsoever . We see it as "pennies per transaction…

Well that's where I'd argue they are negatively impacting their bottom line.

> These rotating barcodes on the other hand are far from perfect. I experienced this first-hand last year when I attended another very popular concert where they used a similar rotating-QR-code-ticket system. Numerous people including myself and my friends were floundering at the entry gate citing a bevy of broken barcode problems. ...

> The venue was so crowded that cell-towers and WiFi were overloaded. Internet access was spottier than a Dalmatian with chickenpox.

That is impact to their bottom line. They have admittees waiting at the gate blocking other people from getting in cutting into their concession sales.

If they'd used a bog standard TOPS system (like the op suggests) that would not be an issue at all. But instead because they have the dumb system where you reach out to the ticket master servers to get your code, they've created their own nightmare.

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#105

Post by mattmaroon »

tqi wrote: post #59
noodlesUK wrote: post #27

This sort of ticketing thing is a trivially solvable problem. It is solved at every airport in the entire world millions of times per day. You provide the name of each concertgoer when you buy a ticket, and they show up with their ticket and ID. You often need to show your ID at these kinds of venues to prove you're old enough to drink beer anyway.

People often buy tickets without knowing exactly which of their friends are going to attend with them. This is not true of airplane tickets.

One ID for the entire order would be fine. You can buy 4 tickets, and go into the concert with your 3 friends. It often works this way even with no ID involved, I buy two tickets, add them both to my wallet, scan them both when my GF and I go to the show.

You COULD still scalp tickets if the person who bought them from you is going to walk in with you. But the scalper would have to eat the cost of one ticket to do it, and it's probably onerous enough to severly reduce the impact of scalping.

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#106

Post by fmbb »

RScholar wrote: post #55

> Software developers are the wizards and shamans of the modern age. We ought to use our powers with the austerity and integrity such power implies. This is one of the most powerful truths underlying the world we currently inhabit. The sooner we can agree to behave accordingly, the better our prospects for ripping the reigns of society from the hands of those whose only animating principles are avarice and exploitati…

I dont think it’s a truth.

Shamans and wizards (never heard this used to describe anyone in history but let’s assume it’s just any kind of supposed magic user) were people at the top tier of their societies in terms of political power. Not kings or chieftains, but above everyone else.

Programmers are just making a living selling their labor power like every other office drone in the world. We’re one of the most common lines of work out there.

If you want the mysticism angle, we are like those kids they used to catch “witches”.

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#107

Post by HillRat »

999900000999 wrote: post #39

>Software developers are the wizards and shamans of the modern age. We ought to use our powers with the austerity and integrity such power implies. You’re using them to exclude people from entertainment events. I can definitely think of worse things programmers are doing aside from making it mildly difficult to see Taylor Swift . I have personal qualms with working in certain industries because of this, but Ticketmas…

You’re not considering the stagehands and artists who have to live under Live Nation’s vertical monopoly. I was chatting with a former tour guy the other day, someone who’s been a tech for major touring bands since the ‘80s, and he mentioned that he had to quit the business because Live Nation had driven wages down below poverty level while bringing in random unskilled labor to do highly-technical stage setups. (He quit after almost losing a hand to a large piece of unsecured stage equipment.) The enshittification of modern life is an inconvenience to most of us, but life and livelihood to many others.

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#108

Post by TrackerFF »

cortesoft wrote: post #10

> There’s no risk that your ticket won’t get you in Isn’t this not true? The risk with printable tickets is that a seller could sell it to multiple people, who all print it out, but then only the first person who uses it can get in? Even if the venue doesn’t check to see if a ticket has already been used, only one person can sit in the actual seat.

Ticketmaster has a system for transferring tickets, if you want to buy or sell tickets.

There could very well be a reason for someone to only sell a physical ticket, or not transfer it through ticketmaster, but I have yet to find anyone but scammers that want to do that.

The reason is, just as you mention, that scammers will try to sell multiple tickets. Then one (or many) sucker turns up to the avenue, only to discover that the ticket has already been validated.

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#109

Post by ilrwbwrkhv »

mattmaroon wrote: post #92
RScholar wrote: post #55

> Software developers are the wizards and shamans of the modern age. We ought to use our powers with the austerity and integrity such power implies. This is one of the most powerful truths underlying the world we currently inhabit. The sooner we can agree to behave accordingly, the better our prospects for ripping the reigns of society from the hands of those whose only animating principles are avarice and exploitati…

I still don't blame the developers, I blame government. It's not the job of rank and file workers to police companies. I wouldn't work for LN, but I'm not going to blame someone else for doing so. We've all gotta feed our families. (I realize there's a line somewhere, you wouldn't excuse a prison guard at Auschwitz the same way, but I can't get too worked up about a developer making a ticketing app even if I hate the…

I mean would you say that developers who work for Facebook have crossed that line?

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#110

Post by mattmaroon »

tptacek wrote: post #102
725686 wrote: post #73

A few months ago I went to Las Vegas to watch U2 at the Sphere. When I learned that I needed to open the app or website in order to get in I panicked in fear of the shitty internet that is common in massive events, so I opened my tickets since I left the hotel. Unless this stuff works completely offline, it is a terrible idea.

As the article notes, this ticket system does in fact work offline.

Well, as it also notes, it works offline if you remember to open the ticket before you get there, and they don't (or at least didn't used to) give you sufficient warning. I found out that's how it works the hard way when it was new by having to walk a half mile back from the venue to get service to load the tickets.

There's also the chance the ticketmaster app won't work properly later even if you did do it. I've had other apps shit the bed for no apparent reason in offline mode before. I add them to my wallet now just in case.

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