You would be surprised at how many state/government service started printing QR codes (for more info) everywhere only to neglect the domain name. One that stood out to me was at Los Angeles International Airport. The sign said to scan get more info (flight info? I can't remember). I scanned and ended up on a parked domain name.
The OP is a perfect gentleman for not using the domain to exploit people instead. I want to say "how the hell do they let the domain name expire?" but I've worked in large companies where this was the running joke every few weeks. There must be a better way to notify people about an expiring domain name.
I'd bet that they started doing it, had zero uptake, cancelled the project, didn't bother re-printing promo material or renewing domains. QR codes are still too geeky (and maybe will always be).
Then here in Australia we now have a QR code system for 'checking in' to an establishment (for Covid tracing). I'd say at this point the vast majority of the population must be using QR codes multiple times a week/month. I've also seen quite a few bars/restaurants implement NFC/QR discs on tables that then point you to the menu/online ordering. It works surprisingly well (and I believe some countries in Europe have done the same in terms of menus at the very least).
So this might be the year of the QR code!
Another "attack" is simply to print and stick a different QR code on top of a public one. Then you could redirect unsuspecting users to a malicious or advert website. The fact that this isn't done tells me nobody really scans public QR codes...
Anecdotally, I bought a personal shortlink domain which expired and was later sold for $500 (http://slm.li). Still wish I could get it back :(
I half expected OP to turn the NFC tags into a scavenger hunt. Like, set a cookie and display a progress bar how many of the NFC tags have been scanned by that device.
put up a form to ask for the name of the station, and get the browser to share the gps location. also ask for which lines stop here and where they are going. submit all that to openstreetmap.
then do a search on the station name and gps location and display some useful information.
for the scavenger hunt, save the station codes in local storage in the browser, so that visitors can track their progress but you don't track visitor movements. only upload highscores to the server.
also display a random family friendly joke to encourage scanning.
experiment, see if you can find something that makes this go viral...
let people submit photos of the station...
let them report on bus delays...
Tender documents: https://qtenders.hpw.qld.gov.au/qtenders/tender/display/tend...
One of the downsides of your website being down is that it's really hard for anyone to get to the "Contact Us" form on your website and let you know about it.
That is not the main domain or website for Translink, the public transit authority for the state of Queensland. Which is at https://translink.com.au/, with a "contact us" link at the top.
If Translink's entire web presence had disappeared, due to a domain renewal problem or anything else, I am confident it would have been noticed and fixed quickly. It's the public transit authority for the whole dang state!
It's possible(? not very likely?) there are QR and/or NFC using customers who without QR/NFC links working can't figure out any other way to contact Translink to let them know.
I think it's also possible that few actually use QR codes/NFC links.
"Tap your phone at Gold Coast bus stops to access my website"
Otherwise please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait; don't editorialize.
In Australia, at least, every venue (restaurant, shop, indoor place you spend more then 5 minutes in) has a QR code that links to a form to add your name/email for contact tracing.
I guess the alternative is a book and pen and the front (which places have as backups) but it would be interesting to if all these QR codes everywhere have introduced many security issues or how much easier it actually made contact tracing vs the book.
That’s probably the quickest way to get the website back to them.
> If Translink wants to get in touch via email, I'm happy to get this domain name back to them.
(Edit: removed a typo from the quote after the author fixed the original)
