Air Travel History Theme Park

I recently bought some plane tickets via Travelocity, as one does when one finds the lowest price there. I am ever mindful of the fact that you get what you pay for; I accept some loss of refundability/flexibility when using discount travel sites.

But in this case, there was an extra twist: the particular flights I wanted were only available as paper tickets (because the deal was just that awesome). I didn't even know they printed paper tickets anymore!

OK, that's an exaggeration, but really, buying online and having to get paper tickets mailed? Isn't that more trouble than it's worth for everyone involved? (Well, evidently not...but it should be.)

And now it develops that I can't check in online in advance with these tickets, but have to actually wait in line at the airport tomorrow, as if civilization had never advanced to the point that the internet possessed the capability to assist us with these annoying details.

What is this, 1997?