FirstServed

Firstserved is a term used to describe the practice of granting access, services, or opportunities to users in the order in which requests arrive, aligning with the principle of first-come, first-served. The exact term is not universally standardized, but it appears in discussions of policy design, product releases, and software features as a concise label for a simple queuing approach.

Applications include online product drops, event ticketing, and cloud or computing resources where access to limited items or time-slots is allocated to early requesters.

Implementation often relies on a queue that preserves arrival order, sometimes with timestamps to reduce ties, and may incorporate tie-breakers or rate limits to handle high demand.

Criticisms focus on fairness concerns during peak demand, potential delays for users with slower connections, and vulnerability to gaming or manipulation. Proponents argue for transparency, predictability, and minimal discrimination.

There is no formal standard for 'firstserved'; its use is context dependent, and it is related to related concepts such as first-come, first-served, queue management, and priority queuing.

See also first-come, first-served; queueing theory; service design.