2017 Ticket Waiting Room??

[bdman]

Last year's waiting room was a disaster. We were led to believe that the ones in the waiting room would move to the front of the queue once the sale starts.

From what I can glean from this article, there appears to be no advantage to waiting in the waiting room. Can someone please clarify how the waiting room will work this year?

TIA


http://www.rgj.com/story/life/arts/burn ... /99420424/

"In theory, Burners who are in the waiting room do not get placed at the beginning of the digital line, but instead are randomly placed with all of the other Burners who arrive online at the beginning of the sale.

Last year, it did not work out that way and 3,500 Burners who were in the waiting room got their tickets first, much to the chagrin of Burning Man organizers. Burning Man spokesman Jim Graham said that the issue has been resolved and the waiting room will not grant Burners any priority this year."

[gaminwench]

We've no clue!
It seems that, every year, there is some new, mysterious kink in the ticket purchase process; this is always discovered *in real time*, unfortunately.

The ticketing team is hosting an AMA in the BurningMan Reddit forum on Wednesday this week, perhaps ask this question there.

[Ratty]

Last year, it did not work out that way and 3,500 Burners who were in the waiting room got their tickets first,

Um, NO. I was in the waiting room and got no ticket. It's always a mystery and a crapshoot.

[homo ardentum]

I hate to bring it up, but doesn't this complete the circle back to a lottery driven sale? The article in the RGJ (link below) referenced that an unconfirmed 70,000 people applied for around 30,000 tickets last year.

A good bet will be that at least half of them will click on the link early resulting in 30,000 or more waiting to be RANDOMLY selected for entry into the ticket purchasing zone where the green man lurks. Odds are that most buyers will get through by being randomly chosen out of the waiting room.

Why don't we just go back to the official lottery system for the main sale and eliminate all the drama? I'd give my left nut to see the algorithm that integrates real-time clickers with waiting room clickers. How do you fairly combine the 30,000 who click at 12:00 with those randomly selected from the waiting room?

Is the waiting room kind of like penalty parking lot for early playa arrivals or is it a secret VIP line?

http://www.rgj.com/story/life/arts/burn ... /99420424/

[kiss-o-matic]

If it works like it's supposed to, the waiting room is from 13:30 to 13:59:59. at 14:00, those in the waiting room are randomly put in line. People jumping in line after 14:00:00 are put at the back of the queue (fucked, basically). Last years glitch put those people in the front of the queue. They say it's been fixed. That part I believe. But as has been stated, there's something every year, and you learn about it when it happens. Embrace the uncertainty.

[homo ardentum]

If it works like it's supposed to, the waiting room is from 13:30 to 13:59:59. at 14:00, those in the waiting room are randomly put in line. People jumping in line after 14:00:00 are put at the back of the queue (fucked, basically). Last years glitch put those people in the front of the queue. They say it's been fixed. That part I believe. But as has been stated, there's something every year, and you learn about it when it happens. Embrace the uncertainty.

So if this is the actual working model, there is an advantage to being in the waiting room. If all 30,000 are randomly assigned a waiting room queue number and are all plopped in exactly at 12:00:00:00:00, most of the waiting room would be ahead of the live clickers because the waiting room system is inherently faster than the internet clickers. Do you really think you can click faster than the algorithm and beat out the waiting room? Or is there a delay for the waiting room, say 10 seconds (12:00:10), to allow for parity.

What if 90% are in the waiting room? Or 100%? Then we have a lottery.

[BBadger]

I think it is as Gaminwench mentioned above: who the fuck knows? Nearly every year there's some SNAFU that undermines the intended consequences and instructions.

If indeed people who arrive "late", i.e. after the pre-registration period, are added in "randomly" to the pool I could only posit that your position in line is not fixed and that the system just randomly picks a new person out of the pool when another queue slot is available.

The little green man is therefore meaningless, and I'd probably keep refreshing my browser window regardless. It seemed to have increased chances of obtaining a ticket last year since TicketFly appears to be way too incompetent to make their system work consistently.

[WildernessEnthusiast]

Hey!

To anyone who is reading this - what have you found has been the best way personally for you when trying to get tickets. Waiting in line or refreshing?


Thanks in advance, i'm crapping my pants about getting tickets.

[BBadger]

Anecdotally, I know of at least one person who refreshed last year -- after getting anxious following the instructions not to for a time -- and was instantly dropped into the ticket buying page.

You can read about what others have theorized happened last year to account for the above as well.

What to do this year? Who the hell knows.

It changes every year. In my first year purchasing tickets the queue got fucked and people early in the queue lost their spots and got dumped to the end of the queue, and this was despite some notice saying to the contrary (LIES). I managed to be able to get my spot back because I took a screenshot of my URL that contained the session ID, and could also retrieve it from my browser cache/history. Those were back in simpler times when people got pissed that they didn't get one of the cheaper tiers instead of no ticket at all.

I'd probably refresh, especially if they don't show you an actual position in line, just to refresh the session and such. Somehow I doubt Ticketfly has gotten their shit together.

[uncle sticky]

Don't stress about tickets. You won't get them.

[Ratty]

Wilderness you are kidding, right? If anyone actually knew how to be successful in the main sale do you think they would post it online?

Click 'home', archives, tickets, ticket discussion and read all about last year. Nobody even knows for sure what happened last year. They can't possibly predict the outcome for this year. It's luck and Karma. Have you been naughty or nice? Good luck.

[Meat Hunter]

No need to get all "Stressed-Out" about getting a ticket.

You either will get a ticket or you will not get a ticket. It is as simple as that. No more. No less.

Either way, you will be disappointed. And either way, your world will not come to an end. That is unless it doesn't and then it won't really matter. Now will it?

FYI: I heard a rumor that the green fiberglass box sitting beside Burno's gas station will no longer be the entry door to the underground subway to the playa. The subway will be closed for this year and those who purchased subway tickets in the "other sale" will not have their money refunded. Unless, they do.

[LukyPhil]

Last year's waiting room was a disaster. We were led to believe that the ones in the waiting room would move to the front of the queue once the sale starts.

From what I can glean from this article, there appears to be no advantage to waiting in the waiting room. Can someone please clarify how the waiting room will work this year?

TIA

From what I've read on BM.org and elsewhere the software developers have removed the exploitable traffic load overflow threshold that burst under pressure last year, so if this feature is no longer active and a sufficient amount of buffering has been installed there shouldn't be any problems. Obviously the software devs virtual cyber reality hardly ever stacks up to actual reality.

My personal experience with this years ticket window was with pre-sale. Hit the link on my BM profile page 15min before the ticket window opened and was placed in the waiting room, watching the time clock count down.

The ticket queue screen came up looking like a download bar showing my progression, then the ticket purchase screen.

I'm coming from Australia so pre-sale was the only realistic option but with the rising prices of regular tickets pre-sale is no longer that far removed from main-sale, kind of a one for the price of two.

[OscarElGrunon]

I inquired to the ticket department and this is the response I received:

The sale begins at 12pm (noon) PDT. We will be opening the waiting room at 11:30am, but sitting in the waiting room doesn’t gain you any advantage over someone who clicks on the sale link exactly at noon. If you’re sitting in the waiting room, you don’t need to refresh anything. If you’re not, you need to click your sale link exactly at noon, not after noon.

The sale does start at noon, that is why we say it starts at noon.

This process is exactly the same as it has been for the last two years.

Best,

Lulu | Burning Man Tickets

[Soul Patch]

Anecdotally, I know of at least one person who refreshed last year -- after getting anxious following the instructions not to for a time -- and was instantly dropped into the ticket buying page.

You can read about what others have theorized happened last year to account for the above as well.

What to do this year? Who the hell knows.

It changes every year. In my first year purchasing tickets the queue got fucked and people early in the queue lost their spots and got dumped to the end of the queue, and this was despite some notice saying to the contrary (LIES). I managed to be able to get my spot back because I took a screenshot of my URL that contained the session ID, and could also retrieve it from my browser cache/history. Those were back in simpler times when people got pissed that they didn't get one of the cheaper tiers instead of no ticket at all.

I'd probably refresh, especially if they don't show you an actual position in line, just to refresh the session and such. Somehow I doubt Ticketfly has gotten their shit together.

This was my experience the last two years. last year a refresh got me directly to the point of sale, the year before, because my little green man was not moving at all, I logged out and back in, and was taken to point of sale immediately.

[Jenifersteppat]

I haven't seen anything official from BMorg that the waiting room is happening this year. All I have seen is the sale starts at noon. Am I missing something?

[burner von braun]

I just received a sale 'reminder' email from ticketing an hour or two ago that directly states that they will be using the waiting room again this year. Just like you Jennifersteppat, I hadn't seen anything open and official from BMorg about it until just now, unless I also missed something. That said, I certainly appreciate folks here on eplaya posting info they've received or surmised over the last few weeks that more or less confirmed, at least to my mind, that there would indeed be a waiting room again this year.

[Jenifersteppat]

Just got the email. Thanks. Good luck everyone!

[trilobyte]

It's finally here, the Burning Man 2017 Main Sale! Assuming that you're all registered and got your email with that unique single-use code, you should be all set to go. Take a few moments for a quick sanity check. Remember, Burning Man Tickets can be purchased with Visa or Mastercard (just like last year). If you're not sure, double check your account to make sure you have funds available. Yes, you can use a debit card, but you may need to call your bank's customer service line to let them know about the impending purchase. Many (well, probably most) debit cards have daily spending limits, and getting in touch with the bank allows them to do the necessary stuff on the back end so you don't have any problems with a ticket order. I know, calling up a bank is a pain in the butt, but it is much better than getting through in the sale only to have the order not go through even though you've got the money, all because of a daily spending limit.

A couple other things I can suggest - go to the bathroom first. In the past, Burning Man ticket sale day was a marathon that required hours of stamina and you didn't want to be away from the computer during any of it for fear of missing the magic moment. Fortunately the technology has improved in recent years, and barring technical difficulties it will be over in under an hour, but that still means sitting in front of the computer and not wanting to miss anything. Next, you might be able to get through on a phone or tablet with a cellular connection, but if possible you want to use a computer. Regardless of how amazing your smartphone or tablet may be, the nature of these devices (small, handheld, battery-powered radio gear) makes them more prone to drop a connection for tiny fractions of a second. That's not a problem when you're surfing the web or buying tickets on days when servers aren't at capacity, but on days when they are that could mean that you lose your place in the queue. Do not open up multiple browser windows or use multiple computers logging in from the same IP address. Your position in the virtual line is determined by the most recent time that the page was loaded from that IP address. So if you keep popping that page open in multiple browser tabs, you're basically pushing yourself further and further back in line. Once you get through and are on the order page, double-check your info. Take a deep breath and make sure your name and billing/shipping address are correct. Once you've entered everything, agreed to the terms, and clicked the button to submit your order, you should be good to go within a few seconds. Lastly, print or screen capture the page with your order confirmation. On a really busy ticket sale day it can take a while for that confirmation email to get through to you, as long as you've got that order confirmation # there is no need to freak out.

For those who were not successful, as well as those who missed registration for one reason or another, I'm sorry that today was not your day. There will still be options, however. The Secure Ticket Exchange Program will be opening up in the near future, and in the weeks ahead we'll be opening up the ePlaya ticket boards. Each year, it's estimated that between 1/4 and 1/3 of Burning Man tickets change hands at least once between the point of purchase and when that ticket makes it through the gate (plans change, things fall through, etc). So don't lose hope.

Okay, I think that covers it. The ticket info page and ticket support site have lots of additional info, but we know you've probably been radically self reliant and already read those through, right? If you encounter an issue with your order, the absolute best thing to do is to send an email to [email protected] and be sure to include the pertinent details: Your name, Burner Profile username, and if you have one your ticket order confirmation. Yes the team is busy, especially today, but they are extremely helpful people and have a fancy shmancy helpdesk system and will get to you as soon as you can. Have patience, and avoid sending them several more emails if you don't get an immediate answer. If you do have to send a followup email (to provide additional information, etc), make sure to include the support ticket # in the subject line, so they can quickly connect the followup email to the original.

Good luck to everyone participating in today's sale! Feel free to use this thread to post your own excitement (and hopefully also some good news), as well as to congratulate those who get through. Cheers!

[homo ardentum]

Can't wait...the first Radical Ritual of 2017 is about to begin!

[lucky420]

Good to know about the multiple browser thing. I have the tech savy of an ant...

[antio]

[felixptorres8]

Does the profile have to match credit card info? Profile that is registered is my name but we are buying the tickets under my wife card which has her name? she would be ticket holder and card holder!

[trilobyte]

See this thread for more info.

[tattooedreceptionist]

I didn't know about the multiple browsers either....does this apply to different profiles/accounts logged in from the same IP?

[felixptorres8]

Thank you for the speedy reply! That was helpful, I basically in same situation as that lady! Im going to give it a whirl because it is to late to move funds around. I will however be emailing [email protected] just to cover my butt if I am able to get in and purchase!
Again thank you. Wish us luck.

[felixptorres8]

I also didn't know of the multiple computers with same IP address issue, dang I was set up. What about queue would i get in early or wait till 12? Thoughts?

[lucky420]

there's a discussion going on over at the burningman reddit page regarding waiting room vs clicking on link at 12:00. Personally i think it's a crap shoot. Regarding the profile in your name and the card in your wifes, you should be fine but screen shot the purchase to be on the safe side ( so you can explain how marriage works to bm)

[felixptorres8]

thank you for the info!

[vargaso]

I didn't know about the multiple browsers either....does this apply to different profiles/accounts logged in from the same IP?

That's a good question, as my son is staying with us over spring break and he'll be logging in from our house as well as me. Will that mess with things? I'm thinking not because we're on different Burner Profiles.