Only 30 IRKs on offer each time.

@KNmeh7

I tried with some of the late night and super-early-am ones. Same thing.
Internet speed, browser, and human click speed all too slow.

Oh well.

@rinrinrin
So your results seem to indicate that with more in a batch, those interested at the time might have more of a chance of actually getting one…

Sometimes an “opportunity” is just a trap because the playing field is anything but level.

@tinamarie1974 Oh, I missed that you got one! Congrats!

@Kyeh thanks, I was pretty excited

@Kyeh @tinamarie1974
My life doesn’t allow me to sit by or near a computer all day waiting for the timer to prompt me to try.

But it’s cool. Think I’ve finished with “whiny” for now. : )

@f00l @tinamarie1974 I’ve been getting them on my iPhone 7, but of course that’s reliant on my home wireless, too. Haven’t used a timer, though.

@f00l @Kyeh I used my android on the home wireless. I was at the computer all day, but that is the work equipment…no mixing pleasure on the work machine.

@tinamarie1974 I’ve been able to get them on only an iPhone XR, no home internet, just att and only one or two bars of reception

@tinamarie1974 I got one first try, but it was middle of night most people on East Coast asleep in their beds so I was only competing with people on the opposite coast.

That was with my slow phone.

However, i never usually have success on anything under 100 at a time. I wish they’d go back to fewer IRK drops but more available each time.

@OnionSoup @tinamarie1974

I wish they’d go back to fewer IRK drops but more available each time.

Yes. Fairer too.

Congrats @Tinamarie1974.

I was in an area where we have no internet, no cell service some of the day (although did drive my cousin to the top of the mountain so he could check his cell to see why the heck why his wife hadn’t come back yet as she was over an hour overdue- turns out she was on her way) and family funeral events the rest of the day. Didn’t even log in but twice and ironically both times 5 and 10 or so min after an irk drop. Almost 1800 miles later in a rest area after sleeping in my car headed back to my mom’s (ferried her back and forth on Friday).

Greetings, new robot friend. In time you will come to accept your robotic ways.

@f00l

And repeat

@f00l i can never score one on my work laptop (that i use from home.) The countdown timer is always 15 seconds slower than the site. I have gone through the effort to adjust the clock on the laptop to match the site but it resets itself after a while. BC it is a work machine, i am locked out of some of the settings to make the change permanent.
So, i am only able to score one on my phone. I just upgraded to a newer Samsung but I’ve had success on an S8 with both FIOS AND XFinity internet service.
What i have noticed is its all about perfecting the timing; Refresh, Buy, Swipe Down, I am not a Robot, and Confirm. If i am off by a little on any of those steps, i am guaranteed to come up short. Timing the refresh is the biggest factor in winning one, IMO.
Hope you have better luck next time. If you want a box of crap, I’ll gladly send you one.

There is no spoon.

@mediocrebot Did you learn a new thing?

Beep beep boop boop. (I assume if you failed CAPTCHA you now understand Robot.)

@blaineg I’m guessing the meh crew would have a soft spot for serial losers.

@blaineg @macromeh I don’t even have 30mbps. I have 10. And that is on a 42 year old hard wired cable wire that also now carries internet (in my apt that is also our only choice).

@ShotgunX
Well jeeze, I never thought of that!

@ShotgunX I do, but my computer is an HP laptop and slower than my phone. Then again, I’m not complaining because I have managed to get them several times recently.

@Kyeh If your computer is too “slow” that can mean one of two things:

1. It’s an extremely old computer, whose hardware can no longer handle contemporary computing functions and operating system load.

2. Your system is clogged up with junk programs that impede normal operation.

The solution for #1 is to try to stay even remotely up-to-date with your tech. My mom’s Chromebook is 4 years old, and loads web pages in microseconds as expected. But if you’re using a decade-old computer whose processor doesn’t have modern instruction sets and struggles with basic browsing, it’s time to upgrade.

The solution for #2 is to, well, not clog up your system with junk. Also, restart your browser occasionally, as modern browsers seem to have a lot of issues with clearing up memory properly.

Also, the horror stories are true. People will say that their computers are slow even though they insist they don’t do anything “bad” on them, but when you take a look, they’re loaded with fake security software and BonziBuddies.

@ShotgunX The underground cables for my DSL corroded so badly that I no longer have WiFi or a working landline. I battled for 2 years with Verizon and they won’t repair it due to me probably be the only one in my development who was using the service. Since the service died, I have been using my mobile phone as a hotspot, so my desktop computer’s internet is as bad as the phone itself. This makes IRK’s hard to get from either device.

@ShotgunX Thanks; I don’t need my computer to be fast the things for I usually use it for, really - “official” stuff like checking bank accounts and healthcare sites, etc. I don’t love it and will replace it at some point, but I do 90% of my Internet stuff on my phone these days.

@heartny Where do you live? Do you have other alternatives for service? I’m not sure, but you might also have some legal recourse for your issue, because the courts are likely to treat internet as a utility and not a luxury these days - it’s essentially required for life.

@Kyeh Still, it’s a good idea to have access to a decent, working computer as a contingency. Plus, once you do have a good computer, you’ll find yourself wanting to use it for more and more things. Maybe you’ll decide to play a game you’ve been hearing about, or process some photos you took. The sudden increased usage phenomenon is real.

Black Friday is coming up soon, and you can get a good deal if you shop around. Last year I got a Gateway gaming laptop with an GeForce 2060 for $650 as a backup for my $2,500 gaming laptop. It was one of the more popular deals. Got an HP gaming laptop with a GeForce 1650 for $450 for a friend. It was also a very popular deal. The $450 option was perfect for anyone who doesn’t use a computer that much, but wants to have one actually capable of doing stuff regardless.

@ShotgunX
I have three systems up to and including one running on a Ryzen multicore, and that one has only a handful of well behaved items installed, running 8.1 because 10 pisses me off by breaking things, and I need to keep this box stable and reliable. The local network is gigabit, it’s six feet from the switch, and the router is twelve feet past that. The WAN is cable recently updated to fiber to the pole outside. So my hardware should not be an obstacle. I have been using the NIST time server to set my clock daily. I reload using ctrl-F5. I have not had an image-based “r u bot” check in months, but I have been hit with the extra-checkbox delay Every Single Time. And the result is a batting average of precisely zero. Got any actually useful suggestions beyond continuing to do that which has so singularly failed to date?

Batting zero cumulatively.

@ShotgunX @werehatrack Your fingers are too slow?
/giphy finger exercises

@heartny @ShotgunX Thanks; I can’t believe Black Friday’s coming up again already!

@werehatrack I have a (fairly generic at this point) 100MB Verizon Fios connection, and am using a nice gaming laptop that isn’t bogged down with anything aside from Steam and my Chrome-based browser. I have no slowdowns that I can attribute to either the hardware or the network.

However, I have captchas almost every single time, sometimes even double or triples ones. Yet I’m still able to get IRKs every single time, even multiple times a day when I test my reflexes after scoring one (I know when I get the “can’t buy more” instead of the “sold out” message that I would’ve been successful). I haven’t missed an IRK since 2017.

There’s no trick to it. You just have to time your refresh when the sale actually rolls over, which at various days can be any number of seconds before the timer actually hits 00:00. Then react as quickly as you can and go through the purchase process.

Can you make a video of you going through the process to get an IRK next time? Seeing the process in motion might help point out possible issues on your end.

I installed CAPTCHA to save my fellow robots from wasting money on this crap.

@heartny @Kyeh @ShotgunX

because the courts are likely to treat internet as a utility and not a luxury these days

That didn’t stop the schools around here from having required online live school K-12 when 1/3 of the kids had no internet or computer and roughly 1/2 of that 1/3 couldn’t even get internet if they wanted to as there was none in their area and they would have needed 60’ high towers to even get anything from any provider.

100 mbps is fast compared to the max some of us can get - that would be 25 or under I have (an alleged) 10 at the moment because even paying for 25 you usually have less than 10 so why pay for 25?) in this old apt building with 42 year old wiring that was originally used for cable only. And the ping usually runs 175+. It just isn’t possible to be fast enough because with even 50 and under by the time the page even loads everything is sold out. In the past I have played with the timing of refreshing - sometimes too soon and get the old deal again, other times a smidge later. Usually when I load I don’t have to worry about streetlights and cross walks. I get the sold out page.

@ShotgunX

Thanks for your suggestions
They would seem useful to many, and might be useful to me if/when I opt to different obligations.

not have access to a computer and a landline?

Exactly. On many days. Due to what I do at work. And due to ongoing project w internet-recalcitrant and “unweathly” family member.

Yes, these are choices I’ve made. I can change those choices if I have a motivating reason
(over time; the family thing involves a sort of ongoing moral familial obligation I’ve accepted).

An IRK isn’t really a motivating reason. And I used to be able to get one using the phone, once in a while, when they sold offerings of 100 at a time.

Now, even if I do a perfect (as far as one can tell) refresh, usually they are sold out by the time the “buy” page loads.

This is attempting using two different phones, a pixel 4a with 5g, the other with LTE and it’s not that old.

Neither phone is “overloaded”. Both have at least 30G space free on-device memory. Both phones’ attempts to get IRKs are made using browsers with at most 1-2 tabs loaded.

Neither phone is “full of junk apps”. I broke myself of that a few years ago and now keep them lean. I try to avoid apps famous for background data use, excepting a few news apps and a weather apps. I don’t load them with games. And I periodically check app permissions, cut those or uninstall.

Each phone has full bars of signal when I have tried. And altho I can’t measure something like tower congestion, there is no visible reason (such as lots of traffic, full parking lots, crowds) to believe the towers are particularly overloaded.

And the behavior feel the same in terms of speed and page loading re trying to get one at 3:30am vs 3:30pm.

Obviously I don’t know all the factors. (Maybe if I tweaked this or that…)

I simply notice that offering IRKs in lots of 30 at a time biases the likelihood of being able to purchase even more emphatically toward those with clean, fast machines and fast connections.

It’s Meh’s perfect right to do that if it makes sense for them.

And there are compensations.
If I don’t get one, I lose bragging rights for getting one, but gain the possibility of mild, brief, light, public “poor me moaning”, if I’ll in the mood and think I can make it humorous.

So… I guess I’ll just deal, eh?

/giphy “deal with it”

@f00l I sympathize with you, I really do, but unfortunately there aren’t any better suggestions than living somewhere with good internet options.

If I had to choose between two places to live, one being a considerably nicer place but with bad “digital utilities” and the other being a not as nice place but with better landline and cellular connections, the latter would win every single time. That’s how important digital communication is these days (plus I’m a gamer). But I get that sometimes moving is impossible due to circumstances like family.

The only other thing I could suggest is getting in touch with a friend or family member who lives somewhere with reliable internet, and having them try to score IRKs for you. I’d offer to help, but I’m a stranger, and doing this would expose your personal information and credit card info to me, so I think it’s a non-starter.

@ShotgunX

I sympathize with you, I really do, but unfortunately there aren’t
any better suggestions than living somewhere with good internet
options.

And that, for most folks, is precisely no suggestion at all. Even where it’s a theoretical option, it’s a pretty damn drastic approach to what is, after all, a sub-impulse-level non-necessity purchase. And often, relocating is not even a theoretical solution, either for reasons of inability to move due to standing obligations or otherwise-unmeetable requirements, or because the options that are possible will provide no improvement in the results in this specific area. Don’t try to dispute or dismiss this unless you want a pile of Internet dumped in your lap, as it has become Discovered Reality in spades this past year where urban schools have suddenly run up against as much as 50% of their student body having no internet access options at all, and not just because of money.

@werehatrack So basically half of the US is like a third-world country, that’s what I’m taking away from all of this.

Are people trying to put these issues at the forefront of their local elections?

@dyounghbic you’d probably like this t-shirt, then…

@capguncowboy we must be neighbors. LOL

@mikey YES. Back when they used to do it that way (and they even did, I think, 1000) it could take 20 or 30 seconds for them to run dry. Since it takes me 8+ seconds for a page to load I got some back then. So did the folks with several pages of no a bicycle is not a motorcycle nor are 18 wheelers and busses the same idiocy.

@mikey

Meh prob spreads IRK offers out over day in order to push continuing interest and audience for each non-IRK item. That way, people stay on the site.

For for that purpose, Meh having more IRK offers, each w fewer IRKs, prob works better for them.

@Kidsandliz @f00l hmmm have we tried making the Irks even crappier so people stop wanting them as much?

@f00l @Kidsandliz @mikey
Could they try making the stuff in the mehrathons more appealing so that we don’t actually have to give a crap about whether there’s a chance of scoring an IRK, particularly for the folks who have never been able to buy one at all for whatever reason?

@f00l @Kidsandliz @werehatrack

so that we don’t actually have to give a crap about whether there’s a chance of scoring an IRK

/giphy does not compute

@f00l @mikey @werehatrack

Could they try making the stuff in the mehrathons more appealing

The irks are the bait to keep people checking back in to see what failed overstocked morningsave product is offered next. Trouble is that the bait is now so unobtainable for many due to reasons beyond their control there is discontent brewing in mehland.

@f00l @mikey @werehatrack

Could they try making the stuff in the mehrathons more appealing

Mehrathons are more or less the fire sale for stuff they can’t otherwise get rid. They occasionally throw in something nicer or sometimes (rarely) spectacular, but for the most part if they can’t sell it at the mehrathon it is then tossed into irk boxes rather than the dumpster.

@Kidsandliz @mikey I agree as I use to be able to get one when they ALL went live at the same time.

@AttyVette @Kidsandliz
I gotta be honest, my comment was a bit tongue-in-cheek and I just ran out of steam seeing the joke through to fruition. My next suggestion was going to be too have all the Irks available in one slot at like 4am ET to minimize the crush to get one.

@Felton10 No matter how they structure it though there’ll be a bunch of pissed-off disappointed people who don’t get one. There were the ones that were hidden on Sidedeal for longer times; that’s how I got my first one ever, but it’s always a gamble!

@Felton10 @Kyeh But if they have some that have more, the reason they won’t get one WON’T be due to technology issues beyond their control. I think that is the issue that is pissing some people off. It is no longer a luck thing, it is something many have no control over. Instead doing it as suggested will mean not getting one will be just due to bad luck.

People have never been happy they missed one, but the undertone of the grumbling has changed because it is now a fundamentally unfair/rigged situation that shuts out people, rather than pure chance.

As a fellow robot, I understand your pain.

@Vrysen

It’s just a luck of the draw

For you maybe but for many luck has nothing to do with it. They are basically shut out due to technology,

@Kidsandliz agree

@joelmw
Thanks. I’m one of the “no success buying an IRK” folks who have legit tried All The Sooper Sekrit Stuffs, and yeah, none of it worked. And also yeah, it sucks that there are so many who don’t even seem to have to strain hard to score one. So, thanks for recognizing that yes, no matter what might work for others, it doesn’t necessarily work for everybody.

@werehatrack Yeah, that shit truly pisses me off, even if I mostly suffer vicariously. I might be even more pissed if I were the one they’re talking down to. I don’t mind when people try to be helpful, but too often it’s with the attitude that “you’re doing it wrong”. Gawd, I hate that everywhere. I’m tempted to get political, but I’ll refrain this time.

@joelmw @werehatrack Or the “you need to move” comments. For what, a five buck box of garbage? WTF?

I’ve told my husband “it’s the thrill of the chase”. And looking back on the last few IRKs I’ve been fortunate enough to snag, it’s certainly not the reward. Most of my last one (sans IRK bag) is in the garage in a bigger box where I put all the things I’ve collected over the years because maybe I’ll give them to someone at some point. This box will be taken to the kids at my vet’s office. That’s usually where my IRK winnings end up.

@joelmw But it would only be a plus one and maybe someone only gets the charity IRK once a calendar year. I honestly wouldn’t want to exacerbate the inequities. I’m just trying to figure out how to help out some folks.

@therealjrn

I NEED.

/giphy need

@therealjrn

I’m all in for socialism, truly.

meh is one of my capitalist indulgences.

I don’t know how well the two mix. Indeed, I like to think of meh as hardcore capitalism fucking around at the edges of capitalism. It works because it’s in some ways one with the evil.

Likewise, one of the things I hate about the Democrat party is that they seemed to think you can dabble and just take a little of this and a little of that. Not that I’m categorically opposed to welfare capitalism, but, for instance, we’re never really going to solve healthcare until we implement a comprehensive single payer system.

Not that you asked. But, well, you did push the button.

@Star2236 ENJOY!! I missed the last Athon due to vacation and ZERO regrets missing out on the Athon or the IRK.

@Star2236 I was out of town, but would check some but didn’t try hard.

I succeeded in not getting an IRK and am not upset about it. I will watch reveal to see if I really missed a change.

@raccoon81
Oh yeah, I always watch reveal.

Beep beep boop boop. (I assume if you failed CAPTCHA you now understand Robot.)

@AttyVette When was there not a captcha?

As a fellow robot, I understand your pain.