81yo Dodgers fan can no longer get tickets because he doesn't have a smartphone

Post by rrr_oh_man » Mon, Apr 06, 2026, 5:39 PM UTC

thinkingtoilet wrote: post #114

mrweasel wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's an amusement park we like to go to. We get season passes, which normally means renewing the small plastic card we got the first year. They've switched to app only this year, with the option of getting a card, if for some reason you cannot or will not use the app. I believe there's a small fee for issuing the card. I believe their reasoning is much the same. They have some types of tickets, which can technical…

>They have some types of tickets, which can technically be handed over to others and abused. Think weekend ticket, where you hand the tickets to someone else for them to use on Sunday, or tickets that can be converted to season passes, if you do it the same day. This is not abuse. If they sell a ticket for days worth of resources and you use two days of resources it's not abuse at all. That is a very consumer hostile…

Post by jjulius » Mon, Apr 06, 2026, 5:40 PM UTC

pc86 wrote: post #46

Molitor5901 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a really good point. I'm surprised the box office cannot print it for him for a fee at Will Call, which might be the solution here.

No, it's not. If you are physically incapable of operating a piece of technology, the ADA covers reasonable accommodations for that. If you are simply unwilling to learn how to use a piece of technology, it doesn't and shouldn't cover that. Being a luddite is not a protected class.

Post by SoftTalker » Mon, Apr 06, 2026, 5:40 PM UTC

moondance wrote: post #139

SoftTalker wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now have your grandparent try to teach you something you aren't interested in and don't really want to learn, and see how it goes.

This guy has a flip phone. Seems like that was the last “new” thing he could learn. Its user flows never change and he’s memorized it. The idea that the average old person is so obstinate that they would refuse to learn the new technology if it was easy to do so is not something I can accept. Not being able to communicate and interact with the modern world on its terms isn’t fun for anyone.

Post by jjulius » Mon, Apr 06, 2026, 5:41 PM UTC

mschuster91 wrote: post #134

crazygringo wrote: post #52

From my quick research online, it seems they've gone digital-only for season tickets because they don't want people just reselling them to turn a profit. They want actual season-long fans, so now if you transfer too many games they can track it and ban you. This is essentially anti-scalping. There's a legit justification. You can still buy paper tickets at the stadium for a single game. But not for season passes anym…

> Honestly, this doesn't seem unreasonable to me. At some point, you have to cut off previous technologies because virtually everyone's moved to something better. You also can't buy tickets any more by snail mail with an enclosed check. The problem is, in the end it leads to a society where you NEED a smartphone to enjoy basic human existence - and yes, access to cultural and sports events is a fundamental part of be…

Post by rrr_oh_man » Mon, Apr 06, 2026, 5:44 PM UTC

tacticalturtle wrote: post #110

ttfkam wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Visually impaired people use smartphones too. If the app isn't supporting the accessibility features of the platform, it should still be held liable under the ADA. (Unfortunately it won't as was found when Southwest Airlines was sued over this. Congress hasn't updated the ADA to include web sites since the ADA precedes the web and so it wasn't enumerated explicitly. Also unfortunately, the GOP who have never been hug…

Visual impairment was just my naive example - but maybe there’s a better one that still persists. Regardless, maybe there’s a path to legislation forbidding smartphone requirements for huge monopoly businesses like national professional sports leagues. I’d hate for ownership of a consumer device to become codified as a requirement for participation in activities like this.