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

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

#461

Post by pc86 » Tue, Apr 07, 2026, 3:23 PM UTC

duskdozer wrote: post #424

pc86 wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If I can get along with the rest of my life on a flip phone, it seems pretty unreasonable to buy a device just to buy sports tickets. I would agree. It also seems unreasonable to expect the organization to make an exception to a completely legitimate anti-scalping measure for one person.

>for one person For everybody. Nobody should be forced to use a proprietary phone app.

Why not? Going to a Dodgers game is not a constitutional right, if the business wants to make it harder for people to give them money that might be stupid but it's their right.

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

#462

Post by ffsm8 » Tue, Apr 07, 2026, 3:27 PM UTC

MandieD wrote: post #93

My 75-year-old, retired construction worker dad’s fingers are nearly useless on capacitive screens; half a century of handling cement apparently has that effect. His deep East Texas accent was still only semi comprehensible to Siri the last time I had him try with my phone. He recently missed several notifications from his truck’s dealership that the part they ordered was in and ready for installation, because they s…

you can buy finger sleves on eg Amazon and any other shop. They're super cheap and work well / entirely resolves that issue

He probably doesn't want it, because he probably just doesn't want to interface with the phone ... Which is fine, I'm just pointing out that the quoted issue has an easy solution.

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

#463

Post by incanus77 » Tue, Apr 07, 2026, 3:57 PM UTC

thiht wrote: post #415

incanus77 wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is then logging into your Google account (if you have one) also without cost and tradeoffs?

Just create a new one… you people are just looking for ways to be difficult about this

Have you tried creating a Google account without a mobile phone number from a public computer? Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Ok, so assuming he doesn’t want to spend $500+ for a mobile phone, he’s looking at an Android. Then, when he logs into a Google account, Google hoovers up his location, his associated credit card (if he has one, what if he does not and does not want one?), and countless other personal metadata at the very least that will likely never go away. Even if he does suddenly go from no smartphone to being a savvy personal steward of his digital privacy, you can bet that Google is scrambling to capture as much as possible, at all times, about its users’ personal lives and data.

  - If he doesn’t want a Google account, /just/ create a new one
  - If he doesn’t have a credit card, /just/ use a family member’s
  - If he has Parkinson’s and can’t use touch input, /just/ have a friend do it
  - etc.

The question is not whether these obstacles can be overcome (trivially, by “normals”). The question is whether we want these to be the default requirements for basic participation in society. And it’s a completely legitimate question.

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

#464

Post by stetrain » Tue, Apr 07, 2026, 4:09 PM UTC

kleiba wrote: post #442

bradlys wrote: post #408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re both signing up and aren’t one singular entity. She might be the one actually using the app and whatever line of credit but you’re still signing up with the bank. They need a way to do 2FA for you and not just her. If you divorce, how are they going to do 2FA when you’re separated? If it was her phone number then she could imitate you and get more credit or do whatever. Etc. etc. Genuinely no idea why you’re n…

I have genuinely no idea why I need a smartphone to get a line of credit, and that there is no alternative for people who don't have one. Also, the thought that we as a married couple are not an entity is strange to me, but I guess that's the modern way of thinking, and I am old.

If it was an SMS verification code, you don't need a smartphone. You need the kind of cell phone that's been around for 20 years.

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

#465

Post by dmitrygr » Tue, Apr 07, 2026, 5:00 PM UTC

robocat wrote: post #406

dmitrygr wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the law had existed all along, it would not be a non-standard workflow. And there is precedent on the pricing. For example, FAA is not allowed to charge any more for any service than it costs to deliver said service, which is why if i lose my pilot's license, a replacement is $3.

There's no way that costs the FAA $3. It is a wealthy service for wealthy people, so they can afford to absorb some costs. Your knowledge and wording indicates you are likely part of the demographic that knows how to threaten with lawyers. One cause for the cost-recovery rule was the case Asiana Airlines v. FAA: The court ruled that the FAA’s enabling statute required fees to be "directly related" to the agency's act…

printing a new piece of plastic and mailing it costs around $3...

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

#466

Post by nobody9999 » Tue, Apr 07, 2026, 5:52 PM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #446

nobody9999 wrote: post #413

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>For sure. If that was true the answer would be "charge the non-app users a nominal fee to cover the cost". >Invasive tracking is the point, not the cost. It's anti-consumer. The last (and likely the last ) time I went to an MLB game (not the Dodgers), perhaps six years ago or so, I was required to install a smartphone app when I purchased my tickets, keep that app on my smartphone for before and during the actual ga…

Surely there's an option to unsubscribe from marketing emails. Did you try? It's highly illegal not to have that.

>Surely there's an option to unsubscribe from marketing emails. Did you try? It's highly illegal not to have that.

IIRC, agreeing to receive marketing emails was one of the terms of installing the app which was required to use the tickets.

No matter. I just corralled that spam in a folder and ignored them (which is how I knew how many -- >100 -- I received) for the couple of months I had the app installed.

Once I attended the game, I uninstalled the app and told my mail server to reject any emails (with a permanent/"User Unknown" rejection error) to that email address and deleted the folder.

I probably should have filed suit against MLB for coercive licensing of their app. Which would likely be finishing up around now, seven or so years and tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars in lawyer fees later, so the court can tell me that I have no legal recourse.

But I didn't. Mostly, I'm sure, because I don't have your keen legal mind. Why don't you try that and let me know how it works out for you. The actuarials say I should live another fifteen or twenty years, so I can wait. Do tell.

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

#467

Post by 9rx » Tue, Apr 07, 2026, 5:59 PM UTC

raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #459

9rx wrote: post #457

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meaning he could take on debt to cover what he doesn't have? Maybe, but finding a willing lender when you are 81 years of age isn't easy either.

So he buys a $2500+ season ticket. But he needs to take on debt for a $40 phone?

For the sake of simplicity, let's assume the ticket is exactly $2500. It was earlier given that he has enough to buy it. But if he buys the $40 smartphone first, then he only has $2460, which is less than $2500. Now he no longer has enough to buy the ticket. He can afford the ticket, or the smartphone, but not both. If not debt, where do you imagine the shortfall is going to be made up in order to buy both? Theft? Donation from you?

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

#468

Post by raw_anon_1111 » Tue, Apr 07, 2026, 6:18 PM UTC

9rx wrote: post #467

raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #459

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So he buys a $2500+ season ticket. But he needs to take on debt for a $40 phone?

For the sake of simplicity, let's assume the ticket is exactly $2500. It was earlier given that he has enough to buy it. But if he buys the $40 smartphone first, then he only has $2460, which is less than $2500. Now he no longer has enough to buy the ticket. He can afford the ticket, or the smartphone, but not both. If not debt, where do you imagine the shortfall is going to be made up in order to buy both? Theft? Do…

And do you think he would not buy the season ticket if it were $40 more? When it goes up by $40 next year?

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

#469

Post by tedmiston » Tue, Apr 07, 2026, 7:28 PM UTC

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…

> 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 a common clause in season-ticket memberships, but it doesn't actually work all that well. for instance, resale on the ticket marketplace is tracked and counts, but in general transfers alone are not penalized. so people do transactions outside of the official platforms, sell / trade in fb groups, etc.

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

#470

Post by m463 » Tue, Apr 07, 2026, 7:53 PM UTC

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.

this is a slippery slope.

For every "must use a phone" there is also a dysfunctional "turn the tables on our customers" which some businesses will take to creepy snooping levels, or even drive "personalized" pricing or other nonsense.