3 ms·

It's really a pretty strong web of trust system, if you know anyone who's volunteered previous years there are vouchers floating around by word of mouth. If yo

It's really a pretty strong web of trust system, if you know anyone who's volunteered previous years there are vouchers floating around by word of mouth. If you don't know anyone in the community, purchasing a ticket online is a crapshoot. IMO this is a feature not a bug.

bergen 2y ago
We were a group of 5 and there were 3 separate presales for public. We all got tickets and it worked out pretty decently, like last year.
pantalaimon 2y ago
It’s an inventive to volunteer
- arlcode 2y ago
  It really isn't. Tickets are not that hard to get and you are not required to do anything once you have one. I believe some core orga members (aka The people contracting the venue, getting permissions and renting equipment etc) are guaranteed a ticket but almost everybody else has to buy their own. The fact that the "hacker space community" gets preferential treatment is very much intended.
- aveao 2y ago
  Other way around: Easier tickets is an incentive for volunteers, as a bit of a payment in kind. It helps people known to volunteer come back, and it encourages them to keep volunteering year after year. You need to work, honestly, ridiculous amounts of hours to get a voucher (15-20 hours), and so it'd not be a very good incentive for average person. You can absolutely get tickets on public sales by knowing when sales start, refreshing on the dot and doing the captcha as fast as you can. Reducing your latency (ethernet, fresh browser profile without extensions) helps. Add some friends into the mix and you'll get all the tickets you need.
wkat4242 2y ago
For me the price of accommodation is pretty prohibitive. It's one of the most expensive times of the year and Germany is also one of the most expensive countries in Europe. I've looked at it once but the hotels were too expensive for me (I think it was in Hamburg then). But it's ok, I can watch it online. I don't like travelling during this busy period anyway.
- namibj 2y ago
  There is affordable accomodation: nearby gymnasiums where you bring a "bed" and "duvet" and "towel+shampoo" and get by with like 5 bucks a night.
  - kalium-xyz 2y ago
    I dont think thats for everyone. Speaking as someone who has done it.
    - mr_mitm 2y ago
      Of course not, it's for people who can't spend more than five bucks a night.
    - crest 2y ago
      It's an option for those on a tight budget aka "beggars can't be choosers". Hotels are a lot cheaper if you book a (fully) refundable stay months in advance instead of waiting until you have a ticket.
      - aveao 2y ago
        Friends who booked months earlier still paid a bit of a premium. Much cheaper than now of course, but you should still budget for €150/night or so.
  - wkat4242 2y ago
    Oh yeah I'm too old for that though :)
aveao 2y ago
1) Volunteers (who worked 15+ hrs on last congress for free) get two tickets with priority. 2) Hackerspaces get a number of tickets with priority, thru replicating tickets (you can only buy one per day). The amount of replicating tickets given depends on size of area (a hackerspace can be tasked with giving vouchers to relevant people in their city). There's a limited quantity of these tickets, separate from amount of vouchers. The main point of the congress is primarily to bring the chaos crowd together, then the rest of interested parties. That model may not fit your vision, but chaos events year after year succeed at not leaving out the core crowd. Also, this year I have bought 2 tickets on public sale for friends without issues (best way to get tickets is to group up with your friends). It's always taken high effort to buy tickets for c3, needing to be exactly on time (not 30 seconds late) to each sale round. 37c3 was an exception due to low sales, caused by skepticism in the event returning after years of not happening. This year that trust was regained and buying tickets became hard again.

bergen 2y ago

We were a group of 5 and there were 3 separate presales for public. We all got tickets and it worked out pretty decently, like last year.

pantalaimon 2y ago

It’s an inventive to volunteer

arlcode 2y ago
It really isn't. Tickets are not that hard to get and you are not required to do anything once you have one. I believe some core orga members (aka The people contracting the venue, getting permissions and renting equipment etc) are guaranteed a ticket but almost everybody else has to buy their own. The fact that the "hacker space community" gets preferential treatment is very much intended.
aveao 2y ago
Other way around: Easier tickets is an incentive for volunteers, as a bit of a payment in kind. It helps people known to volunteer come back, and it encourages them to keep volunteering year after year. You need to work, honestly, ridiculous amounts of hours to get a voucher (15-20 hours), and so it'd not be a very good incentive for average person. You can absolutely get tickets on public sales by knowing when sales start, refreshing on the dot and doing the captcha as fast as you can. Reducing your latency (ethernet, fresh browser profile without extensions) helps. Add some friends into the mix and you'll get all the tickets you need.

wkat4242 2y ago

For me the price of accommodation is pretty prohibitive. It's one of the most expensive times of the year and Germany is also one of the most expensive countries in Europe. I've looked at it once but the hotels were too expensive for me (I think it was in Hamburg then). But it's ok, I can watch it online. I don't like travelling during this busy period anyway.

namibj 2y ago
There is affordable accomodation: nearby gymnasiums where you bring a "bed" and "duvet" and "towel+shampoo" and get by with like 5 bucks a night.
- kalium-xyz 2y ago
  I dont think thats for everyone. Speaking as someone who has done it.
  - mr_mitm 2y ago
    Of course not, it's for people who can't spend more than five bucks a night.
  - crest 2y ago
    It's an option for those on a tight budget aka "beggars can't be choosers". Hotels are a lot cheaper if you book a (fully) refundable stay months in advance instead of waiting until you have a ticket.
    - aveao 2y ago
      Friends who booked months earlier still paid a bit of a premium. Much cheaper than now of course, but you should still budget for €150/night or so.
- wkat4242 2y ago
  Oh yeah I'm too old for that though :)

aveao 2y ago

1) Volunteers (who worked 15+ hrs on last congress for free) get two tickets with priority. 2) Hackerspaces get a number of tickets with priority, thru replicating tickets (you can only buy one per day). The amount of replicating tickets given depends on size of area (a hackerspace can be tasked with giving vouchers to relevant people in their city). There's a limited quantity of these tickets, separate from amount of vouchers. The main point of the congress is primarily to bring the chaos crowd together, then the rest of interested parties. That model may not fit your vision, but chaos events year after year succeed at not leaving out the core crowd. Also, this year I have bought 2 tickets on public sale for friends without issues (best way to get tickets is to group up with your friends). It's always taken high effort to buy tickets for c3, needing to be exactly on time (not 30 seconds late) to each sale round. 37c3 was an exception due to low sales, caused by skepticism in the event returning after years of not happening. This year that trust was regained and buying tickets became hard again.