Define event cancellation policy when tickets have been sold #12

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opened 2026-04-27 09:47:15 +00:00 by padreug · 0 comments

padreug commented

2026-04-27 09:47:15 +00:00

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Problem

Currently, event organizers can delete or cancel their events at any time. When tickets have already been sold, this creates issues:

Delete (DELETE /events/{id}) — removes the event and all tickets from the DB. No refunds, no record.
Cancel (PUT /events/{id}/cancel) — sets canceled=true and triggers refund via LNURL. Better, but still needs guardrails.

Scenarios to consider

1. Proposed event (no tickets)

Organizer should be able to delete freely
No financial impact

2. Approved event, no tickets sold

Organizer can delete or cancel
No financial impact
Should it return to proposed state instead of deleting?

3. Approved event, tickets sold

Delete should be blocked — tickets reference the event, and buyers need records
Cancel should trigger refunds — existing refund flow via LNURL works but needs verification
Should require admin approval to cancel? Or allow organizer to self-cancel with automatic refunds?
What if the organizer's wallet doesn't have enough balance for refunds?

4. Escrow mode (future, see #10)

Cancellation is simpler — admin holds funds, refunds from escrow wallet
Organizer never had the funds, so balance issues don't apply

Proposed rules

Event state	Tickets sold	Delete allowed?	Cancel allowed?	Refund?
proposed	0	Yes (organizer)	N/A	No
approved	0	Yes (organizer)	Yes (organizer)	No
approved	>0	No	Yes (organizer or admin)	Auto-refund
canceled	any	No	N/A (already canceled)	Already processed

Implementation

Block DELETE /events/{id} if event.sold > 0
Verify refund flow works end-to-end when canceling events with sold tickets
Consider adding a confirmation step in the UI showing how many tickets will be refunded
Consider notifying ticket holders (future: via Nostr DM per #8)

#10 — Escrow payment mode (simplifies cancellation refunds)
#8 — Nostr DM ticket purchase (could be used for cancellation notifications)

## Problem Currently, event organizers can delete or cancel their events at any time. When tickets have already been sold, this creates issues: - **Delete** (`DELETE /events/{id}`) — removes the event and all tickets from the DB. No refunds, no record. - **Cancel** (`PUT /events/{id}/cancel`) — sets `canceled=true` and triggers refund via LNURL. Better, but still needs guardrails. ## Scenarios to consider ### 1. Proposed event (no tickets) - Organizer should be able to delete freely - No financial impact ### 2. Approved event, no tickets sold - Organizer can delete or cancel - No financial impact - Should it return to proposed state instead of deleting? ### 3. Approved event, tickets sold - **Delete should be blocked** — tickets reference the event, and buyers need records - **Cancel should trigger refunds** — existing refund flow via LNURL works but needs verification - Should require admin approval to cancel? Or allow organizer to self-cancel with automatic refunds? - What if the organizer's wallet doesn't have enough balance for refunds? ### 4. Escrow mode (future, see #10) - Cancellation is simpler — admin holds funds, refunds from escrow wallet - Organizer never had the funds, so balance issues don't apply ## Proposed rules | Event state | Tickets sold | Delete allowed? | Cancel allowed? | Refund? | |-------------|-------------|-----------------|-----------------|---------| | proposed | 0 | Yes (organizer) | N/A | No | | approved | 0 | Yes (organizer) | Yes (organizer) | No | | approved | >0 | No | Yes (organizer or admin) | Auto-refund | | canceled | any | No | N/A (already canceled) | Already processed | ## Implementation - Block `DELETE /events/{id}` if `event.sold > 0` - Verify refund flow works end-to-end when canceling events with sold tickets - Consider adding a confirmation step in the UI showing how many tickets will be refunded - Consider notifying ticket holders (future: via Nostr DM per #8) ## Related - #10 — Escrow payment mode (simplifies cancellation refunds) - #8 — Nostr DM ticket purchase (could be used for cancellation notifications)

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Reference

aiolabs/events#12

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