Of course if you have an important reservation (rental car/hotel/cruise ...) flying standby is not the way to go. But if your plans are flexible I'd much rather roll the dice and wind up with DeltaOne across the pond vs steerage.

My problem is with people who were planning a trip and decide at the very last minute to list for a flight -- thus crushing the plans of those who list early. I mean, why not list early so all the players have as much knowledge as possible of their chances of getting on the flight. Trying to take a little game theory out of the equation.