[FRC BLOG] The Great Registration System Crash of 2016

[nuclearnerd]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

How can an algorithm decide if I'd rather be on the waitlist for one event rather than confirmed for an event 7 hours away that I know won't be filled? There's too many human decisions in this process for me to want to automate my decision making in an algorithm.

This is the easiest thing in the world to automate:
1) Each team submits priority list for their first event.
2) first event slots are raffled off. Some teams receive their second pick instead of their first
3) In the time between the first event and second event raffles, teams can adjust their priority list for the second event. We give the option to choose to be on a "waiting list" for a filled event.
4) Rinse and repeat

This would be a much more equitable system than "may the fastest clicker win" (or perhaps, may the fastest-coded-registration-bot win).