Is it too late to become a Luddite? Tired of fighting tech!

[themechanic]

Technology is the bane of luddites.

Fixed

 

[themechanic]

Try being an IT guy that doesn't advocate for "unnecessarily overly complex" implementations of IT.

I recently bought tickets to Triumph.

Ticketmaster (which I also hate) says on their site (but only after you buy tickets), that you have to either-
1- download their app to access your tickets, or
2- transfer them to your digital wallet.

I spent half a day finding a way to download and install their app, without registering for the google store.
When I finally was successful , there was no place inside the app to view the tickets, only a paragraph saying I had to transfer them to a digital wallet.
Guess what you can't do without registering with googleplay store?

WTF, ticketmaster?
Why not say all this before I spend money.
...and more importantly, why LIE about accessing tickets in your app?
I'm half tempted to sell them for a loss.

That's when you get a friend or family member who can do it for you.

 

[YY1]

...unless your friends and family member share your views on harvesting personal info.

 

[themechanic]

...unless your friends and family member share your views on harvesting personal info.

There's always a way around technology.

 

[themechanic]

I used technology to find these options.

Tickets for Triumph's 50th Anniversary Tour, their first tour in over 30 years, are now available for purchase The general on-sale began on Friday, December 12, 2025, at 10 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster Fans can also access presale opportunities: American Express® Card Members in Canada had early access from December 10 to 11, 2025 , while Live Nation and venue presales were available on Thur… Triumph Concert Tickets

 

[Kern Dog]

Technology is the bane of mankind.

Careful, the Muslims and Amish live by this mindset. There is a point where it is helpful before it is all encompassing.

 

[YY1]

I used technology to find these options.

Tickets for Triumph's 50th Anniversary Tour, their first tour in over 30 years, are now available for purchase The general on-sale began on Friday, December 12, 2025, at 10 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster Fans can also access presale opportunities: American Express® Card Members in Canada had early access from December 10 to 11, 2025 , while Live Nation and venue presales were available on Thur… Triumph Concert Tickets

Unfortunately, I've done much more extensive research than that.

They are basically forcing buyers to use a third party product (apple or google digital wallet).

There's a LOT of web chatter about this.

Depending on the venue, there might, might be a will-call window option.

I've got a few months to see if I can work around the technocracy.

 

[OneWheelPeel]

I think alot of the technology is making us dumber.
Many younger generation can't read a map, use a compass, navigate, or even know the basics behind much of the technology.
It also seems to make education a joke as many students just Google answers or have AI do homework.
I got fooled at work by a newer employee who "wrote" some nice software code. Later when the code needed to be updated the employee seemed to make a mess of the code and after looking at what they were doing, I figured out they didn't understand their original code that was likely AI generated and copied.

I'm like that newer employee, where I will build a lot of code with AI, and before that I would grab a lot of code from sites like Stack Overflow that I then hack at for my situation. The difference is with me there is transparency, you wouldn't have to guess because I would tell you what I did when I shared the project.
I've seen people try to hide how they did what they did when I feel no shame. I think its pretty good if I can say I'm not a Dev but I built this with AI or by grabbing code examples. The job that recently laid me off was interesting because I started there a year or so before AI took off, so I did my example code thing to build stuff and then BOOM AI happened and I built seriously cool stuff (cool if you are a geek anyway) and I was rewarded for using those tools to make our processes better.
So anyway, the challenge is being balanced with tech and not letting it rule your world.

 

[themechanic]

Careful, the Muslims and Amish live by this mindset. There is a point where it is helpful before it is all encompassing.

The Amish don't use cell phones to trigger explosives.

 

[Kern Dog]

They don't? Really ?

Muslims use tech to further their goals. The Amish are peaceful and avoid technology and are able to maintain their goals, their faith.
My point was that living a live devoid of tech is not realistic if you live in the mainstream.

 

[RemCharger]

" life"

 

[4406bbl]

This is my biggest fear. Does anyone know how to protect yourself? What actions can a non-tech savvy guy take?

Use Fidelity as your broker, they are the only one that has an easy option where you can stop large transfers, others are working on it. Other brokers "claim" they cover these losses. Maybe lock your credit so nobody can open new accounts? I have not called to see if that would truly work. My bank calls me anytime there is a large transfer, maybe you could set that up.

 

[themechanic]

They don't? Really ?

View attachment 1964964

Muslims use tech to further their goals. The Amish are peaceful and avoid technology and are able to maintain their goals, their faith.
My point was that living a live devoid of tech is not realistic if you live in the mainstream.

I took what you said literally. So, thanks for clearing that up.

 

[WileE]

Even with my advanced, superior education ( me an' Jethro Bodine both gradiated 5th grade together) ... I had to look up what this luddite means !

 

[WileE]

Luddites unite.

We can start an organization: L.O.A.F. Luddites Of America Foundation

 

[Davefinan]

Use Fidelity as your broker, they are the only one that has an easy option where you can stop large transfers, others are working on it. Other brokers "claim" they cover these losses. Maybe lock your credit so nobody can open new accounts? I have not called to see if that would truly work. My bank calls me anytime there is a large transfer, maybe you could set that up.

As you said. Freezing or locking your credit is the easiest thing to do. I’ve gotten notices about data breach and since I don’t need to open any new credit , I’m like why not….easy enough.

 

[Detective D]

This morning I pulled my phone off the charger and went to check email right away. I noticed no new emails since yesterday, which seemed impossible, as I get 8-10 mostly junk miles overnight every night.
Went downstairs and looked at my iPad, and found the expected bunch of mostly junk new emails in its inbox.
I fought with the phone a bit, turned it off and back on. Sent a test email, and it sent ok.
Gave up and called T Mobile, and then proceeded to spend the next 2 hours on the phone with a tech while he guided me through everything they had in their book to try to resolve. At some point we tried deleting the gmail app and then reinstalling it.
Of course several times I had to wrestle with finding correct passwords, which is something else I’ve come to despise.
Didn’t fix anything, but did clear all the old emails out on the phone, so it just has a blank screen that says “problem synching”.
In the course of playing with various settings with the tech, several times doing something with synch and it would say synched 12-18-2025 at 10:15 or something similar, but nothing shows up in the email folders except the error message saying problems synching.
Since I use Comcast email, the T mobile tech finally ran out of ideas and suggested downloading the Xfinity app and trying getting my email there. The play store to get apps doesn’t want to let me in without adding a password or the like so they can bill me for ones that cost money. I don’t want to buy apps now just download xfinitys free one!
I eventually found a workaround and downloaded the app, and now can get email again on my phone directly from xfinity.
But the Gmail app I’ve used for the last 3 to 4 years I’ve had this phone for some reason won’t work now, except to send a new email.
After getting off the phone with the tech, I did google searches and found things like YouTube videos on this issue, all the steps that were suggested were ones the tech had me do over the course of 2 hours.
That’s how I spent almost 4 hours this morning!
I’m old enough to remember a time we didn’t have to try to maintain a list of hundreds of passwords or spend hours on the phone trying to make something work with the internet! Life was so much easier.
Rant off, but I really find myself wanting to live off the grid sometimes….

I have not had a personal phone in over 6 months now.
I do not miss it one bit. I can go onto my PC for stuff like this forum, or email, or whatever. I don't need it in my pocket, life is too short.
You should try it some time. leave your phone on the kitchen counter and go about your day, see how much you really missed out on.

 

[Detective D]

Try being an IT guy that doesn't advocate for "unnecessarily overly complex" implementations of IT.

I recently bought tickets to Triumph.

Ticketmaster (which I also hate) says on their site (but only after you buy tickets), that you have to either-
1- download their app to access your tickets, or
2- transfer them to your digital wallet.

I spent half a day finding a way to download and install their app, without registering for the google store.
When I finally was successful , there was no place inside the app to view the tickets, only a paragraph saying I had to transfer them to a digital wallet.
Guess what you can't do without registering with googleplay store?

WTF, ticketmaster?
Why not say all this before I spend money.
...and more importantly, why LIE about accessing tickets in your app?
I'm half tempted to sell them for a loss.

Ticketmaster is like that guy in a dark alley asking if you want to buy a watch. Their business model, which is supposed to be 100% service based, is the most anti-consumer BS you could imagine.
I personally refuse to go to any show where they are the exclusive way to get a ticket. I sleep better at night.

 

[RemCharger]

The only downside to ditching the phone is if your livelihood depends on it. Especially since the landlines are dodo bird material. I absolutely don't keep it by the bedside though, need time to unplug.

 

[MarPar]

The only downside to ditching the phone is if your livelihood depends on it. Especially since the landlines are dodo bird material. I absolutely don't keep it by the bedside though, need time to unplug.

Yep. I have to have mine on my hip 24/7. I tried not having it at my bedside once and that one damn time, I got a call from the alarm company. Well, since I didn't answer the call (it was a false alarm-lots of wind that night and the roof door tripped it though it was still closed) They dispatched the police and I got a $500 fine for the false call.