Originally Posted by
JIMCHI
I wish everyone would stop complaining about how KVS gets it's data. It's none of my concern. It's between KVS and the data provider. If you have serious qualms about it, you always have the option of discontinuing use of KVS.
KVS is an extremely valuable tool for me that is not matched by any other service. EF is excellent but it is only minimally helpful with OneWorld award searches. I would hate to see KVS disappear.
Except there is no relationship between KVS and the data provider as KVS is obtaining the data from the provider
without their consent and/or knowledge.
It is very possible that the 3rd party KVS users are piggybacking off of using KVS is being charged by GDS provider per query. If so, essentially KVS is enabling it’s donors to query data but leaving the 3rd party with the bill when this 3rd party had no knowledge of what is going on to begin with. This business model of KVS is very unethical and could very well be criminal.
Originally Posted by
Xyzzy
Nobody has said it isn't useful.
What's really going on here is akin to someone scouring a city looking for unlocked doors and then selling the information on whose door was left unlocked and what is inside. Time and time again those who provide the data have shut their sources off to the 't
l' once they've found out what is going on. That doesn't happen when data sources are used legitimately. It happens when data sources are used without permission.
^
Exactly. Similar to unlock doors; another analogy is unsecured WiFi. KVS is telling you where to access an unsecured WiFi (FAU website). Just because it is not secured does not mean you have permission to do access it.
BTW it looks like FAU already caught on. The Site ID/password key provided by KVS' link is no longer valid for account registration. Which shouldn't be a surprise. Let's say on average they get 20 new accounts from with fau.edu emails and and suddenly they get 200 new registrations from various email providers....someone will start taking a look at these new accounts.
KVS should just stop marketing flight availability as this approach is not sustainable. When FAU shuts it down, which looks like it already did, what next? Redirecting donors to another 3rd party victim?