currently it's only an information and availability API (can't make a booking). This _does_ make it easier to run a bot, but it also means that rec.gov servers aren't getting hammered by bots either, which is good for them.

An advantage of an API is that keys can be revoked for bad actors, so it at least gives some measure of control where there was none before.

I tend to agree that the lottery is the way to go for popular sites instead of first-to-book; it's fair and stops older folks from never getting a booking because they don't know how to build a faster bot.

There are a few other very effective hacks that I am loathe to publish here, but there _are_ ways to get sites for the determined.