Greasemonkey/Tampermonkey script to highlight R/RN bucket availability
Nov 3, 2013, 3:55 pm
#16
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Houston
Programs: UA Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 12,693
So the travel coordinator wouldn't even be allowed to use the website because it's not for that user's personal, noncommercial use? What about reprinting itineraries for travel reimbursement? That wouldn't be allowed either? Or, if you want to make sure it's personal, non commercial use, you couldn't copy/paste your itin to your spouse so he/she would have your travel arrangements?
There's been one so far, a couple hours ago, and it's been entirely ignored.
Nov 3, 2013, 4:53 pm
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: CLE
Programs: UA 1K MM, DL Plat
Posts: 982
Nov 3, 2013, 5:15 pm
#18
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 311
This app is fantastic. Thank you!
As for the comments about it violating the UA website Terms and Condition, it could reasonably be argued that it does technically violate them. However, I doubt UA will have a serious problem with it because it does not violate the spirit and purpose of the Terms and Conditions. UA is trying to prevent things like third-party websites from aggregating and/or selling UA availability data and mileage tix brokers from using the info to their advantage. I really don't think they're trying to prevent individual users from accessing the data for their own personal use in booking their tickets. I think UA will ignore until and unless someone figures out a way to abuse it as described above.
In any case, it's a phenomenal tool. I intend to use it today to find R avail for my next TATL. Good for UA's bottom line too b/c otherwise I'll be booking in T or L for hundreds less and you know they wouldn't be giving out the R if it wasn't sure to be empty C space.
Thanks again to whomever did this for us
As for the comments about it violating the UA website Terms and Condition, it could reasonably be argued that it does technically violate them. However, I doubt UA will have a serious problem with it because it does not violate the spirit and purpose of the Terms and Conditions. UA is trying to prevent things like third-party websites from aggregating and/or selling UA availability data and mileage tix brokers from using the info to their advantage. I really don't think they're trying to prevent individual users from accessing the data for their own personal use in booking their tickets. I think UA will ignore until and unless someone figures out a way to abuse it as described above.
In any case, it's a phenomenal tool. I intend to use it today to find R avail for my next TATL. Good for UA's bottom line too b/c otherwise I'll be booking in T or L for hundreds less and you know they wouldn't be giving out the R if it wasn't sure to be empty C space.
Thanks again to whomever did this for us
Nov 3, 2013, 6:12 pm
#19
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Moreland Hills (CLE)
Programs: Over-entitled UA 1.3MM Gold, AA Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott L-T Plat, Hertz PC
Posts: 5,521
Great job, Darlox!!
BTW, FlyerTalk is dead....the virtual community, created for the benefit of frequent flyers, is dead and gone.
Can't use the script?
What's next? "Sorry, you can't do that mileage run because the fare must be a mistake."
BTW, FlyerTalk is dead....the virtual community, created for the benefit of frequent flyers, is dead and gone.
Can't use the script?
What's next? "Sorry, you can't do that mileage run because the fare must be a mistake."
Last edited by Billiken; Nov 3, 2013 at 6:28 pm
Nov 3, 2013, 6:18 pm
#20
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Benicia, California, USA
Programs: AA PLT,AS,UA PP,J6,FB,EY,LH,SQ,HH Dmd,Hyatt Glbl,Marriott Plat,IHG Plat,Accor Gold
Posts: 10,820
Haven't used this yet, but thanks very much for putting this together!
It's of course absurd that, thanks to UA, you even had occasion to do so.
It's of course absurd that, thanks to UA, you even had occasion to do so.
Nov 3, 2013, 6:22 pm
#21
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Van down by the river
Programs: UA GS, AA EXP, Marriott PP/LT Plat, Golden Circle Diamond
Posts: 718
Nov 3, 2013, 6:40 pm
#22
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: PHL
Programs: UA 1K 1MM, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum, Raddison Platinum, Avis Presidents Club
Posts: 5,271
I think every customer should call United requesting that United send, through the mail, written permission every time that customer wishes to print a boarding pass or itinerary via the website. It would be lovely to rub United's lawyers' noses in the fact that their TOS explicitly prohibits certain activities that the website provides implicit permission for through it's very (albeit limited) functionality.
Anyways, all the TOS are meaningless, its all up to who's lawyer is better paid.
Nov 4, 2013, 10:01 am
#24
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: CLE
Programs: UA 1K MM, DL Plat
Posts: 982
version 0.3 released
Hi all,
Based on the feedback and bug reports received so far, we've released version 0.3 to hopefully smooth out the issues for most users.
Download it HERE or update your script in GreaseMonkey/TamperMonkey/other...
In short, the changes are:
Keep the suggestions coming, and we'll do what we can.
Happy Searching!
Based on the feedback and bug reports received so far, we've released version 0.3 to hopefully smooth out the issues for most users.
Download it HERE or update your script in GreaseMonkey/TamperMonkey/other...
In short, the changes are:
- Made the fare bucket search configurable. You can now search for R/RN, PN or all three.
- Fixed the date navigation links in FireFox & GreaseMonkey. (Hopefully didn't break this for other browsers in the process, but it seems to test ok...)
- Modified the date navigation feature to target the specific segment you're currently viewing. Because of the way the UA site seems to work, if you change a date in your search, you have to start selecting segments all over again from the beginning. But now, the date nav buttons update the appropriate segment.
EXAMPLE: If you're searching a r/t from 1/5/2014 to 1/9/2014. When viewing the outbound segment on 1/5, if you click Next or Previous, it will re-submit your search for 1/6 or 1/4, respectively. When you select a flight and are shown the return segments on 1/9, if you click Next or Previous, it will resubmit your search from your original departure date to either 1/10 or 1/8, respectively! The same principal applies to multiple-destination searches.
Keep the suggestions coming, and we'll do what we can.
Happy Searching!
Nov 5, 2013, 11:19 pm
#27
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Texas
Posts: 640
* In fact, ghostery does report that the 24/7 Media web tracker is present on united.com, and I am not going to unblock that in order to comply with some set of overly broad terms and conditions.
Last edited by Miggles; Nov 5, 2013 at 11:25 pm
Nov 6, 2013, 12:07 am
#28
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: BOM, Ex-TX/ CA
Programs: Ex CO/ UA Gold, Hotels.. TBD
Posts: 734
Ok, so I am not a lawyer. And it was certainly not our intent to spur THIS discussion with this script. Though, I suppose given the nature of what led to it, it may have been inevitable...
That said, we are in the software business, and we have lawyers on-staff who do advise us on issues similar to this, as most of our work is in systems integration and data motion. So it's not entirely outside our experience.
User scripts have not been rigorously tested in case law, but what little exists has been entirely in favor of the script users. Prime examples are ad blockers, child/parental content controllers, and other such tools that selectively filter content based on a user's preferences -- even if those preferences violate what a site would like to have happen. (ie. Ad-supported websites hate ad blockers, but they have no legal standing to prevent their use.)
User scripts have never been found unlawful unless:
1) They distribute or relay information to some 3rd-party site or service not authorized to use the content.
or 2) They exist to exploit a material bug in a site, or to use the information for fraudulent purposes.
Website operators are free to block user agents as they see fit -- which many do, especially in the case of certain Internet Explorer versions that break some sites terribly. But as user scripts do no more, and no less, than what web browsers are already capable of -- and that some custom browsers provide by default -- there has not been an instance where their use could be considered an enforceable violation under any law. (Again, to our knowledge.)
Trying to block use of a user script like this would be precisely analogous to trying to block use of an Ad blocker. Sites may not like them, but thus far, there is nothing wrong with their use.
Anyhow... my opinion and $2.19 will get you a cup of coffee.
That said, we are in the software business, and we have lawyers on-staff who do advise us on issues similar to this, as most of our work is in systems integration and data motion. So it's not entirely outside our experience.
User scripts have not been rigorously tested in case law, but what little exists has been entirely in favor of the script users. Prime examples are ad blockers, child/parental content controllers, and other such tools that selectively filter content based on a user's preferences -- even if those preferences violate what a site would like to have happen. (ie. Ad-supported websites hate ad blockers, but they have no legal standing to prevent their use.)
User scripts have never been found unlawful unless:
1) They distribute or relay information to some 3rd-party site or service not authorized to use the content.
or 2) They exist to exploit a material bug in a site, or to use the information for fraudulent purposes.
Website operators are free to block user agents as they see fit -- which many do, especially in the case of certain Internet Explorer versions that break some sites terribly. But as user scripts do no more, and no less, than what web browsers are already capable of -- and that some custom browsers provide by default -- there has not been an instance where their use could be considered an enforceable violation under any law. (Again, to our knowledge.)
Trying to block use of a user script like this would be precisely analogous to trying to block use of an Ad blocker. Sites may not like them, but thus far, there is nothing wrong with their use.
Anyhow... my opinion and $2.19 will get you a cup of coffee.
Nov 6, 2013, 5:07 am
#29
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: LAX and LHR. UA lifetime Gold 1.9MM 1K , DL Gold Medallion, HHonors Gold, Marriott Gold, Avis President's Club
Posts: 3,592
[In a final note, most of us here have been moving most of our travel to AA, DL and AS for a variety of reasons irrelevant to this thread. We plan to keep all of our UA enhancement scripts up-to-date indefinitely, but please note that after 1/1/2014, updates and fixes may be considerably slower as UA and UA.com will not be nearly as large a part of our traveling lives. Please keep the feedback and bug reports coming in, and we'll fix them as quickly as we can!]
Nov 6, 2013, 6:48 am
#30
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: CLE
Programs: UA 1K MM, DL Plat
Posts: 982
I would take issue with the first sentence of this note. While some of us have undoubtedly moved some, most or all of our travel to other airlines, that's no basis for assuming that everyone else has. And to state that after 1/1/2014 UA and UA.com will not be nearly as large as part of our traveling lives is inaccurate and not supportable unless you include a definition of "our".