well it looks like it failed.

[ben-no]

Well it look like there system didn't work.

From jrs
Looks like a lot of people requested tickets: "As a result, there are a lot more tickets being requested than there are tickets available — an inordinately large number, in fact, and far more than we projected even after last year’s sold-out event. It seems that people a) likely got their friends, family and campmates to order tickets as well, and/or b) requested more tickets than they actually need (people requested ~1.7 tickets/person on average). So the unfortunate net result is that there will be a lot of people who aren’t awarded ticketis from the Main Sale."

[AntiM]

But 40,000 tickets will be awarded, so how is that a fail? Just means the people who normally would have sat on their butts and cried in August were more prepared.

[lucky420]

Nooooooooooooo

[Ed Phunk]

Is this why we're waiting so long? I mean. Now I wait to find out next week that I probably didn't get the tickets. This is extremely discouraging. The way they are making it sound, the number of tickers requested is probably up near 60-70k. This is not good news

[Urban]

Is this why we're waiting so long? I mean. Now I wait to find out next week that I probably didn't get the tickets. This is extremely discouraging. The way they are making it sound, the number of tickers requested is probably up near 60-70k. This is not good news

Ed, where is that Positive "Ed"attitude, Dude. Everyone that should be there, will be there...except Bass Nectar

[Ruleryak]

But 40,000 tickets will be awarded, so how is that a fail? Just means the people who normally would have sat on their butts and cried in August were more prepared.

How is that a fail? Let me explain. It is a failure because now a large portion of those tickets will be sold outside of the official ticket sales process. There's no official place to buy these resold tickets so people saying "so what? anyone that doesn't get a ticket can just buy the excess from people that do" will be wrong. Some will sell on local craigslist and I'm sorry but we don't all live in San Fran Fucking Cisco so at least a third of the oversold tickets will be out of our reach entirely. Some will sell on ebay and guess what "highest bidder" means? Oh yeah, not face value fair pricing. The rest will be sold via sites no one's heard of, local ads, physical ads on message boards, etc.

Do you wanna guess who's going to be all over the bay area with cash in hand ready to buy 90% of these excess tickets? SCALPERS.

So thank you org - for coming up with an insanely stupid system that puts even more tickets than last year into the hands of scalpers.

[Mofessor]

wow... who would have ever guessed this was going to happen? I guess all of us who worried and were chastised, over and over, for criticizing a system that "hadn't even had a chance to work," turned out to be right. I'm sure Trilo will be towing the party line about how they're confident there will be plenty available for resale, so we're really worrying about nothing. Names on tickets are looking better and better...

[trilobyte]

Hardly a fail.

[The Rod]

Again. FUCK THE FUCKING LOTTERY. For those of us who have received and read our J.R.S. we now know that indeed, many (many, many, many) Burners have gamed the system (Because folks, the lottery. is. a. fucking. game.) to insure that they, and theirs get to go to the cherished party so many have poured countless hours into making into the epicness that it is. The highly esteemed and blindly worshiped BMORG has merely provided the space for the party while the participants create the experience. Now it is announced that the demand for tickets in the main sale outweigh supplies by 1 to 7. ONE TO SEVEN. If there are 40,000 tickets available in the main sale that means that there are requests for 280,000 tickets. TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY THOUSAND. And really people, is that really the number of people wishing to attend Burning Man?

And now my chances of getting a ticket are one in seven. As are yours. Good luck.

Not that we wont get tickets, those of us who wish to go, will get tickets. No doubt about that in my mind. We will find and acquire our tickets through the secondary market. Hopefully the 'official system in place' will not be a failure and we will still have the option of buying in our tier that we can afford.

My point is this people: BMORG put a new system in place to address the issue of ticket scarcity, this new system is a game, and is based upon scarcity. Scarcity is a given, no way around it. instead of addressing the issue and creating abundance this new system has magically multiplied the scarcity by SEVENFOLD. People played the system like a game (which it is) to offset the fears of scarcity. And now we have a potential ticket scarcity exponentially larger that of an event selling out months after tickets go on sale.

NOW, I am not choosing to let fear and worry rule my life. I am not afraid of not getting a ticket. I know a ticket will be gotten. I know I will see all of your dusty faces in August. However, I feel this is a glaring example of the failure of an organization to handle issues of scarcity.

[jella]

wow ...lighten up peeps

[Raymaker]

But 40,000 tickets will be awarded, so how is that a fail? Just means the people who normally would have sat on their butts and cried in August were more prepared.

It would be a fail, if approx half those 40,000 tickets are offered for resale.

[Mofessor]

I think JRS meant that each request averaged 1.7 tickets--i.e. most people requested the maximum of two tickets, rather than one.

[gaminwench]

it's not a 1 to 7 ratio, read again.
Also, if you actually READ the information, you'll know that by next week the org will have set up a re-sale system;
this will allow burners to buy/sell at face value, without the risks of street sales.

[AntiM]

Excuse me, but did you read the burning blog post? THERE WILL BE AN OFFICIAL RESALE THROUGH THE BMORG. Called STEP, yes? Details TBA after the main sale.

http://blog.burningman.com/2012/01/news ... main-sale/

In order to facilitate the redistribution of those extra tickets now in circulation, we have set up the Secure Ticket Exchange Program (STEP). The STEP is a web-based system that will allow Burners to sell their unneeded tickets, and Burners wanting tickets to access them. This will allow for safe and secure transactions in a central place for community-monitored, face-value resales. This is in addition to 10,000 tickets going on sale on a first-come first-served basis in our March 28th Open Sale.

I live in U-fucking-tah, thankyouverymuch. Actually a hotbed of burners.

[Mofessor]

and in chimes Trilo... "hardly a fail." Yep, and who needs to go the playa when you can go to the playa of your mind anytime of day.

[Nipple]

[jella]

now Nipple.....that's not helping hehe

[Mofessor]

and yes, there will be a resale through BMORG, but if they think that will be the primary means through which tickets are redestributed then they probably believe that everyone will only register for the tickets they need...

[Savannah]

I think JRS meant that each request averaged 1.7 tickets--i.e. most people requested the maximum of two tickets, rather than one.

Indeed. Not a 1 in 7 chance, but that the average person ordered 1.7 tickets. I don't think a layman knows what a past year's average was, only that it was no doubt below this year's average of 1.7.

But 40,000 tickets will be awarded, so how is that a fail? Just means the people who normally would have sat on their butts and cried in August were more prepared.

How is that a fail? Let me explain. It is a failure because now a large portion of those tickets will be sold outside of the official ticket sales process. There's no official place to buy these resold tickets so people saying "so what? anyone that doesn't get a ticket can just buy the excess from people that do" will be wrong.

There will be an official place, actually, for face value tickets. Stay tuned.

[illy dilly]

Now it is announced that the demand for tickets in the main sale outweigh supplies by 1 to 7. ONE TO SEVEN. If there are 40,000 tickets available in the main sale that means that there are requests for 280,000 tickets. TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY THOUSAND.

I'm with ya, the news released in the JRS a little while ago blows.
But where are you getting this 1:7 ratio? There is a sentence

There are an unexpectedly high number of registrants, and they are requesting 1.7 tickets/person on average.

Which to me means that of all the people that requested tickets, they ON AVERAGE are requesting 1.7 tickets- aka most people are requesting 2 tickets.

Maybe read things a little more carefully before going bat shit crazy.

EDIT:
Damn, Savannah beat me by 1 minute!

[AntiM]

and yes, there will be a resale through BMORG, but if they think that will be the primary means through which tickets are redestributed then they probably believe that everyone will only register for the tickets they need...

After the sellout last year, had we had the same system, people would have piled on the main tiers and sucked up six tickets, two at each tier. Because the panic began long ago. Is that better?

[Nipple]

now Nipple.....that's not helping hehe

Sorry... how about this instead:

[vargaso]

BM lottery is turning out to be like the Iraq war. Everyone outside of those making the decisions knew exactly what would happen. Oh well, I'm still hopeful.

[The Rod]

it's not a 1 to 7 ratio, read again.

Well, I'll be...

So they don't actually tell us the supply/demand ratio. Leaving my enraged commentary above completely without basis. The system has not quite failed yet, but the potential is monstrous. And I still don't agree that a lottery is an appropriate response to scarcity. And as a tax paying citizen of BRC (in fact, at nearly $400 I pay MORE to BMORG over the course of a year than I do the Gubbermint) I feel it is my right to have concerns over the "way things are" and voice them.

[Mofessor]

and yes, there will be a resale through BMORG, but if they think that will be the primary means through which tickets are redestributed then they probably believe that everyone will only register for the tickets they need...

After the sellout last year, had we had the same system, people would have piled on the main tiers and sucked up six tickets, two at each tier. Because the panic began long ago. Is that better?

having a name on a ticket would be better...

[AntiM]

Okay.

[Savannah]

This is why they don't have names on tickets:

It has been our experience that a great many tickets are purchased for giving away, ensuring a project has coverage, or selling later to a friend in need. The administrative cost of changing the name on every ticket that ever changes hands exceeds our capacity. And frankly, many of your fellow BRC citizens are uncomfortable with the notion of showing ID just to enter the event (nor suffering through even longer wait times at the Gate).

[Mofessor]

1. names on tickets wouldn't significantly slow things down
2. people forgetting their ID is about as likely as someone forgetting their ticket (maybe less so)
3. not any more of an invasion of privacy than the car search is now
4. Burning Man could set up a system to have any tickets sold back through them...
4a) would this prevent people from gifting tickets to people they don't know? Yep. But it beats having thousands turned away.

[This Woman]

AntiM wrote: But 40,000 tickets will be awarded, so how is that a fail?

Well for one thing, it's gone from essentially a two party, simple transaction - the llc and the ticket purchaser, to what looks like a distribution and control parody. First the llc defied their radical self reliance principle by having a lottery where luck trumps self-reliance. Then they defy that same principle again today, when they see what is surely a panic and respond by telling people what to do and how to do it with the tickets they win, but don't need.

Since they have no intention of backing up from the lottery they might want to look into the joke that is their ten principles. Makes the llc look like a bunch of hypocrites.

[Mofessor]

5. also makes scalping much more difficult