For most people, Ticketmaster is just the gateway to gig tickets. In fact, it's the site they love to hate, as they mash that refresh button until that split-second when those golden, elusive tickets become available, before being snatched up by thousands in the time it takes to make a coffee. For Connon MacRae, however, it's been the journey of a lifetime, from humble call-centre worker to a global director of one of the most complex online systems in the world. Read More >>

Captcha is the worst, and Tickmaster's particular strain of the virus is especially, well, impossible. It's changing that, though, to a system that will hopefully be more friendly to actual people trying to use it. Read More >>

The scene: your girlfriend and/or boyfriend (hey, nothing wrong with polyamory) got you tickets to The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. You've been waiting your whole life to see those goats up close, so naturally, you want to post pictures of your beloved gift on Facebook, rubbing it in all your friends' rodeo-less faces. Here's a tip: don't. Because someone will steal it. Read More >>

School. Ugh. Nonstop, privileged toil. Growing up is sooooo hard. Days without sleep; binge-drinking; experimenting with bodies—it's a miracle that anyone learns anything. These gifts won't print a diploma, but they will help your student earn one. Read More >>

On September 26th at 10:00 AM, thousands upon thousands of fans—how many we'll never know—hit refresh on their browsers and converged upon Ticketmaster's servers like a denial-of-service attack. They were desperate for the chance to see Radiohead play one of a pair of shows at the Roseland Ballroom—a rare club show. And just like that, basically instantaneously, tickets were all gone. Read More >>