Charlie opened by talking about how things they'd been seeing the last few years really came to a head last year, including:
Now, none of this is new to anyone paying attention - it's pretty obvious the culture is in trouble. Charlie (the BM Operations Manager) said that when they came back from Burning Man this year they realized that what their #1 focus this year has to be isn't anything to do with improving gate operations, or whatever: It has to be addressing the slow dissolution of the culture that made Burning Man what it is, or was. I was really shocked - pleasantly - to hear this, as it was the first time I'd heard the Org so forthrightly admit that there's something slowly going rotten in the culture.
Ultimately, the worst case scenario is that we end up with an event dominated by idiots like this (not sure where this was taken or who took it, but it's not at BM....yet.) What is the Org going to do to combat this?
The good news is the Org has clearly put a lot of thought into this, and correctly, I believe, it's a diverse, multi-faceted approach.
To begin with, they've got four high-level areas of focus:
Ultimately, most of what they're going to do boils down to communication and education, focusing on about 75 different ways they have to reach individuals, and getting better at boiling down their messages into short, digestible chunks.
For example:
Individually, all these (and they're just some of the tactics that will be used) probably don't seem that impressive, but there's no silver bullet here. This has to be a communication and education war waged on as many fronts as possible, because we're ultimately talking about influencing peoples' attitudes. We can't force people to give a shit about our culture, but I do think that most birgins would, if they understood what the culture is, enthusiastically participate. There'll always be some we can't reach, but we shouldn't let perfect by the enemy of good. Let's do what we can! What Can We Do?
Correctly, Charlie and Jim also pointed out that this isn't just the Org's problem. It's the problem of everyone who doesn't want to see Burning Man's culture further deteriorate, meaning we veterans. How can we help? Some ideas from the session included:
I'm hoping the Org provides some suggested action items for individual Burners to take too, as I think there's a not-insignificant population that would respond to that with passionate action. I'm really happy to see the Org taking this growing threat to the culture of Burning Man seriously, and I hope that as they start to get the message out to the veteran Burner community, we respond by, collectively, enthusiastically joining in the fight to save our culture. I also hope this is only the beginning of action by the Org, because this will not be enough. So...are you with us?
242 Comments
Neon
4/1/2017 08:10:23 pm
Instead of making tickets more expensive make it cheaper for camps who provide back to the playa. Also allow them to buy more tickets. the last few years Ive heard from several camps that they barley got enough people tickets to be able to provide what they wanted to provide.
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Tomas
4/2/2017 05:12:49 pm
Exactly! Don't sell tickets to douche bags! This can be done effectively and will solve many issues. I know TONS of veterans that cannot get tickets every year. THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM. In turn a lot of these people are saying fuck BM and attending other festivals. So to me it looks like ticketing is one of the main culprits.
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Prince aka Sweet Baby Ray
4/3/2017 07:05:32 pm
I think the single most important issue to address that I believe changed the culture at BM was cellphone getting coverage on the playa. Every year coverage gets better & better & I see people communicating while on plays with the outside world which prevents them from fully becoming immersed in the culture and ways of the playa. Outside of departments in essential public services needing internet like the police, EMT's, BM org, cellphone service should suck. It should be like the old days where you had to go Playa Info to gain wifi access or use the wifi. Get people's head out of the phones, help people disconnect not encourage it. People can post pictures when they return home. This simple yet profound change along with everything else mentioned regarding education and getting the word out will set things back on track I feel.
bryan
4/5/2017 07:36:43 pm
I am part of 2 theme camps, 1 of the camps didn't get any tickets in the general sale and the other camp scraped up only a few. Why can't theme camps get more DGS tickets? We know if the camps have a surplus those tickets will be sold at face value or even gifted to people who are more likely to be real burners and not instgramming douche types....
Highway
4/6/2017 01:30:53 am
Loads of issues with this comment, but possibly some truth there.
Voo-Doo
4/30/2017 10:48:38 am
Tomas "So to me it looks like ticketing is one of the main culprits".
Rodney Fontenot
4/30/2017 09:36:38 pm
I was part of a camp called The Necklace Factory. Generally I helped with a lot of other camps as well. My gift was making runs to the dumpsters, in Featherly, mid-week- bringing the garbage of several camps with me. I was an annual participant and then the recession hit and I lost my job. I did not want to unnecessarily burden anyone, so I stopped attending. When my finances recovered, I found it impossible to obtain a ticket. I would love to return and gift my labor and talents, but obtaining a ticket has become nearly impossible for sincere participants. 4/3/2017 08:55:56 pm
I have the solution!
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Kevin Wanamaker
4/3/2017 11:10:16 pm
Not a bad idea in the gist.
Austin Grant
4/4/2017 11:31:39 pm
Love that! Great idea!
Jay
4/5/2017 11:48:52 am
I think the biggest thing is about the connection of fly-in people generally to plug and play camps. By far the worst offender is White Ocean, but there are at least half a dozen big camps like Monkey Love who are in the same boat. I really don't understand why these guys are allowed back year after year. I'm a 4 time burner and every year it's the same with them but worse. They have a huge crew wasting ticket allocations for people who should be contributing and experiencing not cleaning up after douches.
The 10 principles are (in my mind) much like the Bill of Rights: Noble in their intentions, often open to interpretation, and (increasingly and sadly) a shield to dregs who would use them to insulate themselves from responsibility for their actions.
GIOVANNI POLLO
4/5/2017 11:48:48 am
more camp tickets and hold the camps accountable for the people living in them...
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Mermaid
4/5/2017 09:24:42 pm
I aged with Neon. How can a culture be passed on, when the people to pass it on... Do not get tickets? A few years ago, for the first time more people who wanted tickets then tickets. That year, I felt and noticed the change. A lot of wonderful people who planned their year around small projects for the burn did not get tickets. Starting that year, there seemed to be as many newcomers as repeat burners. Radical inclusion at the burn is something my camp takes very seriously. But, in terms of ticketing, radical inclusion has not been a physical possibility for several years now. Acknowledging that, when it comes to ticketing, some people will be left out, the question I think is most important is- How do we get tickets to the people who contribute positively to the culture of volenteerism, giving, and self reliance ( including cleaning up after themselves.) A good start would be to make tickets cheaper and get a lot more of them to those who will set up a theme camp or art car giving something.
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Ale
7/30/2018 01:48:34 pm
Same! I applied to low income ticket and I did not get it. I know a person who owns two Tesla and beach house and got a low income ticket and they are decided not attending. I am disappointed from both sides, attendants and organizers
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Adam
4/2/2017 08:51:59 am
I'll support the Radical Ridicule. Strangely enough, the moment I fell in love with BM was when I was walking down the street and some dude with a megaphone was standing on the corner making fun of EVERYONE. More of that!
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Niko
4/3/2017 09:02:47 am
Definitely agree. Turns out also, if you've got a lotta beer, and you heckle people with a megaphone, they'll come and drink it. I don't know how this works, but trust me, it's a universal law.
Tug Spano
4/3/2017 10:37:42 am
NO AIRPORT.
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Alyce Lawrence
4/5/2017 01:58:26 am
I like the NO PHONE idea, TOO! Disconnect is important for a lifestyle-thinking change. I loved B'Man...before!
KellY
4/1/2017 08:35:13 pm
There are plenty of things the Org could do to fight against this, and it doesn't sound like they want to do any of them. Want more volunteerism? Try offering tickets to past volunteers first. Don't want a bunch of entitled tourists? Stop selling tickets to cam that the org KNOWS will turn around and resell as part of a package vacation deal at a huge profit.
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Kenabis
4/2/2017 01:55:06 pm
Some body put HER in charge!
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Beth
4/3/2017 03:47:42 am
I second that emotion
Billbo
4/3/2017 10:03:58 am
At some point the Org needs to step up. Taking the "this is my circus but don't expect me to control the monkeys" approach is a bit lame.
Nic
4/2/2017 02:54:02 pm
There is a "profit margin" for the "organization" "behind" burningman and maybe we should direct the lens of scrutiny there considering this is supposed to be a decommodified event
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Franzia Spritzer
4/2/2017 04:51:20 pm
Perhaps moving HQ out of the 2nd most expensive city in the country would help to lower operational costs. The staff overhead and property costs could be RADICALLY SLASHED by moving to Reno.
Gpmp
4/3/2017 10:47:08 am
'The staff overhead and property costs could be RADICALLY SLASHED by moving to Reno'
Todd Gardiner
4/3/2017 01:37:31 pm
The event was turned over to a non-profit organization years ago. There is no "profit margin". The transition from Black Rock LLC to the non-profit Burning Man Project was completed in 2014.
Fun Size
4/1/2017 09:54:09 pm
In response to the Burner Air Express idea: it may be helpful to go audio rather than written regarding the 101 lesson considering the Pavlovian habit of plane passengers not reading things in front of them. Something that encourages discussion would be beneficial, and definitely DEFINITELY tell them to TAKE THEIR OWN SUITCASES when they get off the plane. Thanks. <3
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Punkyme
4/2/2017 11:33:00 pm
hard to read the things in front of you while you're taking selfies.
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Kevin J White
4/1/2017 10:23:13 pm
I said several years ago; that as the gates opened to try to be more inclusive to a larger segment of the population, the more 'watered down' the original culture would become. My thought back then was to somehow have a vetting process where in order to get a ticket(s); you would have to have veteran burners vouch for you.
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4/3/2017 08:13:03 am
Yes! I have been saying this exactly! Verbatim 100% my first year (1999) felt like ppl were almost discouraged to come to the playa... This made you for check about the culture beforehand...its was always 'changing' but at least the percentage of counterculture prevailed. Its already tipped. The culture it was good founded on is now thw minority out there just like in the home cities.....
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Big John
4/4/2017 07:05:21 pm
The thoughts written above are on point!! Couldn't have said it better brethren! Brilliant!
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Catnip
4/6/2017 02:36:07 pm
Exactly!! The faster a culture expands the harder for the culture to be transmitted to the newer folks (who already bring their own culture with them). My first year was 2003 with maybe 22,000 folks or so. When the population took off is when I started having to lock my bike and be more on guard. Plus I think the cell phone point is also right on. When you stay connected to the default world, it's harder to be a fully engaged BRC citizen. I also think there might be some incentives for folks that volunteer. Once you volunteer, it really changes your experience (in a good way for me). A pain in the butt to establish and enforce, but with computers, not so hard. It sucks to have to make more rules, but a larger population always needs more rules.
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Bubbapuddle
4/11/2017 09:42:37 am
Yes, ditch the cell phone coverage.
capnjoe
9/9/2017 10:13:43 am
No cell phones!!! I remember when you had to take the bus out to Gerlach to get cell service.
Deckard
4/1/2017 10:23:24 pm
You can fix most of these problems by requiring first time burners to attend a regional or participating in a significant way to a project before being allowed to purchase a ticket to the Black Rock event.
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Kevin J White
4/1/2017 10:25:46 pm
Exactly!
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Fun Size
4/2/2017 01:07:06 am
Cheers to that
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Yeah right
4/2/2017 03:12:32 am
That is fucking stupid.
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Billbo
4/3/2017 10:07:03 am
Well, here in New England you may think running the Boston Marathon is a birthright, but you actually have to prove you are capable before getting issued a number. See http://www.baa.org/Races/Boston-Marathon/Participant-Information/Qualifying.aspx
Gustaf Josefsson
4/2/2017 03:25:35 am
I'd rather limit international Burner tourists with 10 years of experience to coming to our regional. Our local virgins are participating above and beyond. The burnerlite who do 5 or 10 burns per year, not so much.
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Deckard
4/2/2017 09:50:29 am
I'm with you on that. I know I've changed my focus over time to bring involved with my local community way, way more than caring about getting to the playa. There really wasn't an organized community I could jump into when I first went to brc, and I really wish there had been.
alyce
4/5/2017 02:09:19 am
I agree, Deckard, I have BurningMan@Home every year now! Sooo fun!
piper
4/2/2017 10:04:07 am
you hit the proverbial rebar on the head
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Jessica pearson
4/2/2017 06:28:45 pm
Wonderful idea!!!! Please take note❤️
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Cam
4/8/2017 10:31:08 am
Make a majority of the tickets only available thru the theme camps. I have not gone since 09 because it has become to commercial and frat party ish. Theme camps would provide teaching and weeding out the spoilers
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Bob C
4/1/2017 10:58:59 pm
Here are a few ideas...
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Kimric
4/2/2017 10:44:35 pm
Lot's of good points here.
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Wraith
4/3/2017 10:45:45 pm
Lot of really good stuff there.
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Salman
4/2/2017 12:21:51 am
None of this is going to work. What needs to happen is that newcomers are only allowed in if 'sponsored' by an established theme camp or a certain number of veteran Burners. Radical inclusion does NOT mean including people who will destroy what Burning Man is
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Tiki
4/2/2017 11:16:30 am
Playing devil's advocate here... Isn't that exactly what the RADICAL INCLUSION means? Radically including everyone?
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Chiña
4/3/2017 05:28:30 pm
You can include people and still have basic house 'rules' or way things are done. You do it in your home, why is it different at Home
Cristina
4/4/2017 11:23:57 am
Radical inclusion should not self destruction.
Wilma
4/5/2017 03:31:05 am
Radical Inclusion is not the same as Universal Inclusion.
mournlight
4/5/2017 07:32:16 pm
I was a newcomer once. I didn't know a soul there. There was no regional near me (not even in an adjacent state.) I knew I needed to be at BM and that I would fit in. Here I am, ten years later, and I work my ass off (volunteering.) And I think that's something that would help. Require EVERY ticket holder to volunteer SoMEWHERE. Regardless of where they are camped. I think this would go a long ways to making things more equitable and weeding out those who wouldn't dare do volunteer work.
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Jon
9/25/2017 07:52:38 pm
That's a tough requirement, because it requires that you break into an established and potentially insular community.
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JuneBug Ochiai
4/2/2017 01:20:43 am
Agree.
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I Care
4/3/2017 12:33:28 am
The portrayal in the default world of the goings-on on the playa are a problem. They are inviting a douche-bag spring-break culture to come, and the random assignment of tickets ensures that the more of them that decide to come, the more of them that get in. Cameras and videos should be banned. Immediacy is one of the principles - a reason that video'ing and taking selfies should be banned, going home and "looking back" is not immediate at all, and leads to posting and objectifying on-playa experiences as a "show-off" experience and "one-upmanship" you are talking about in your article - ie the Fashion shows). Bmorg won't be able to stop it entirely but the community can shame people easily who they see with go-pros and cameras/phones out. No different than shaming someone you see dropping their empty beer cans onto the playa at White Ocean (which I am seeing so much more of now).
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Salvage
4/4/2017 04:16:34 pm
+1...whole heartedly agree!
Mike
4/2/2017 03:09:55 am
Then let the people earn the partisipation by buying the Tickets and crawl through 100 Meter mud and rubbisch insted of a slap. Sounds like army yes but the bonding Faktor is higher.
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Jake
4/2/2017 04:22:39 am
1. Ticket distribution is tiered - theme camps, regional attendees, and volunteers first.
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Deckard
4/2/2017 09:41:54 am
In a way they already give preference to theme camps and some volunteers for tickets.
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Starrrrbooty
4/2/2017 03:26:03 pm
5. Limit first burn year tickets to 10,000.
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I care
4/3/2017 04:52:46 am
Love that idea - the break. And also prioritizing tickets to core camps, volunteers, and long-time burners, with max 5-10,000 to virgins.
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Madeleine
4/2/2017 04:26:05 am
It's going to be difficult to control the culture change because even Burning Man wants to be inclusive. After the main sale was over, there were already jacked up tickets being sold on Craigslist and Stubhub. The people who buy those tickets are most likely not "burners". Burning Man is now a bragging right as opposed to a unique experience and unless they take back control of who attends, it'll just turn into just another "festival".
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Violet
4/2/2017 11:32:58 am
Jacked up tickets are not allowed. The BMOrg will cancel them out right before allowing scalpers to profit. Anyone trying to buy these kinds of tickets should be aware that they may not get in at all. ...
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H.G.Crosby
4/2/2017 04:48:26 am
"we will teach them to wear the reeeeeebon"
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Shakes
4/2/2017 07:13:49 am
Limiting large sound camps will limit the amount of "internationally renowned djs" which will limit the number of people buying tickets to the "Burningman Dance Festival"
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Shakes
4/2/2017 07:14:56 am
It is good to see the Org finally admitting that it has a problem.
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Argyre
4/2/2017 07:54:24 am
Kill (with extreme prejudice) plug & play camps.
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Scott Kelley
4/2/2017 08:51:33 pm
how about 'no amplified music' ?
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Scott Kelley
4/2/2017 08:51:46 pm
how about 'no amplified music' ?
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uh no
4/3/2017 12:35:37 pm
headphones dont let you feel the bass in your chest, unless you had that backpack thats a sub (the activator it was called)
JV
4/3/2017 02:05:33 pm
I don't care about silent disco or whatever, but to your point about not feeling the bass, I can only say, so what? You want a rave, go to any number of EDM festivals. I love dancing on the playa, but I'd gladly give that up if it reduced the number of people there ONLY for the rave/party aspect.
FuriousGreg
4/2/2017 08:20:37 am
Eliminate the current system of ticket resale instead start doing what some regionals are doing: Tickets are tied to an individual and only that individual and cannot be transferred and you are required to have a matching id at the gate. If you cannot or choose not to attend your ticket is placed back into the system and is sold to the next person on a waiting list where upon you get reimbursed minus a small fee to cover
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FuriousGreg
4/2/2017 08:27:59 am
Oops, some how cut off the last but :P
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bbb
4/13/2017 05:03:31 pm
I can only imagine how much longer the gate line will be if everyone has to present an ID that matches a ticket. Not realistic. Besides, people's plans change, life happens. Why should people be prevented from choosing who to sell their ticket to? Sure, some will jack up the price. Many don't. Buying a late ticket on the open market sorts out the people who really really want to go, and make it happen, from those who give up after one try. Tenacious burners.
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Jason
4/2/2017 08:36:34 am
How about every first year ticket buyer is automatically enrolled in a volunteer role. Sure, some will just flake, but many will learn first hand how much work goes into running things. Plug and play camps have no reason to exist. And the charters at the airport are only serving the glamorous crowd that fly in for a few days of partying. The org has to decide if they want rich, glamorous crowds, or to keep the culture alive and sustainable.
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Margaret
4/2/2017 11:22:20 am
I like this idea a lot! I think it could encourage a sense of responsibility to the community at large, as well as help folks (like me in 2010) feel less anxious about how to participate in a meaningful way
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Tayln Lang
4/2/2017 09:08:45 am
I took last year off, for the first time since I started going thirteen years ago. Decided to come back this year and take both of my significant others and my mother in law, but since I decided to camp slate from my theme camp I couldn't get directed group sales, and then didn't get tickets in the main sale. Don't know if I'll be back out on the playa this year now. Tickets probably got snatched up by some EDC bros looking for their next rave. This is one of the biggest contributors to the watering down of burner culture. The percentage of first time burners has been increasing and veterans like myself can't seem to get back. Without veteran burners to keep the culture of what the burn is(or was, at this point) virgins are just going to treat BM like any other festival. The org should consider how many years a potential city inhabitant has gone and give them some sort of preferential ticketing. There really aren't that many of us left, and fewer go every year, so this shouldn't be a big problem. I fear it something like this isn't done the culture will be simply wanted away by the steady stream of virgins washing the culture down more and more each year.
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Bexx
4/2/2017 10:40:36 am
A problem with this, however, is that involved regional burners (like myself), who would REALLY like to finally make it out to the big burn, would have a hard time getting a ticket. I TCO for a regional theme camp, volunteer every burn, and give back to the community. I'd like to bring this spirit to TTITD, but trouble with ticket sales (and general costs) are a huge factor in not being able to attend!
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Starrbooty
4/2/2017 03:21:30 pm
Maybe instead limited direct ticket sales we could have a limited birgin ticket sale?
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Jen
4/3/2017 08:38:22 am
I hear you. Our camp has all but dissolved. We had theme camps, we had an art car, we volunteered. And then we started not getting enough tickets. And then a few of us skipped a year and then practically ALL of us skipped last year and now I just can't see us going back any time soon... Nice that org is acknowledging the problem, but frankly, it's too little too late.
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hihoreno
4/4/2017 09:44:47 am
The weather takes care of a lot. As a 22 year burner who does my own non registered theme camp it has been a trip seeing the evolution. Fly in camps create no self reliance just a party. What do you expect? It will continue to be the best experience of my life. I would like to have priority to get tickets but do not expect things to change. Yes I have volunteered and it was ok. However I do not go to work. I go to play and am radically self reliant and help whoever needs help as I have been helped. Burn on and enjoy. Stop trying to control something that cannot be controlled
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Dr Eye
4/2/2017 09:30:12 am
Thanks for this. Maybe I'll write something more substantial later.
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Adam
4/2/2017 09:32:56 am
Get rid of the social media presence. All official FB groups, Twitters, Instagrams, Google+, or any and all of that. We all found BM once upon a time without it, and those who want to find it could do the same. Word of mouth will never be the same thing it once was, but I think lessening the popular presence of BM could do some good.
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nncoco
4/2/2017 10:26:45 am
Last year was the first time I saw full cell phone access on the Playa, We are never going back to the way it was. If anything, this development will increase the numbers of people who never came before for fear of bot being connected to their default life 24/7.
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I care
4/3/2017 05:00:10 am
100%. Cell coverage is a HUGE change and adds to the existential threat. The 1st thing I would do is kill that coverage entirely if possible
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Jason Silverio
4/3/2017 09:26:33 am
Cell phone connectivity and messaging ability kill all spontenaity and happenstance experiences on the Playa.
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Citrus
4/5/2017 09:10:48 am
I was honestly blown away last year when I went to put my cell phone in my glove box come Monday when connectivity usually drops and found I still had signal.
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Citrus
4/5/2017 09:48:36 am
You're a goddess, this list is amazing. 6 years in and I *still* always forget something. Totally using this. <3
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Joe
4/2/2017 10:49:26 am
I believe that there should be more ticket allocations prioritized to long standing and responsible camps that best display the ideas & ideals of BM culture. Filtering tickets through these proven camps let's them be responsible for upholding values and their reputations first - less work on BMorg directly. Next would be to have a required online workshop or tutorial for newbs (or everyone), quiz at the end sort if deal - pretty pictures, ugly pictures, things that will make them think and be aware. Once Tix are bought, the confirmation page should have a sign up list for volunteering across any & all BM related tasks, camps, etc.
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Starbooty
4/2/2017 03:16:56 pm
Maybe instead of 10-20k direct sale tickets, we could have only 10-20k birgin tickets?
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Nick
4/2/2017 11:27:31 am
One main big thing the Burning Man Project can and hopefully will do for its part is no longer contract and permit with RV and other lodging/package vendors to deliver and set up lodging within BRC. This can only help reduce the creep of plug and play camps, principally by forcing camps/individuals to experience the 10 principles more first-hand. If you don't have to set up your lodging/camp, then you're missing out on a critical part of the playa and BRC experience. No amount of money or donations can substitute for this.
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sam
4/2/2017 11:47:20 am
Perhaps it's time to shut down the temporary festival. Local burns haven't all been taken over by bro-culture and that's where the edge of culture and that family feeling still exists.
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Pipki
4/2/2017 12:02:27 pm
Yes...we are with you.
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Gustav
4/2/2017 12:02:48 pm
Google is catfishing people, that don't want to be at the burn! Just give them a proper chance to not show up!
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CG
4/2/2017 01:19:28 pm
Wasn't going to weigh in but frankly surprised this main issue got press. But its at least 6 years overdue. Too little too late. You think Reddit AMA is going to save the event? Here's a dare: delete plug-n-play and get rid of the airport. Limit the sound camps.
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Bbb
4/13/2017 05:36:33 pm
How you get there is less important than what you do while you are there. The airport is an integral part of burning man. Not everyone arrives by car or truck. It's like saying "ban all sedans, four-door people are not welcome because they don't get it." Not everyone stepping on/off a plane is a rich, entitled a-hole. The point is to leave behind preconceived notions for a spell. Fresh eyes for jaded souls. Having a few comforts from home while in a strange land will not spoil the immersion entirely. There are areas for everyone. Sound camps are positioned at 2 & 10 o'clock so people can camp (relatively) undisturbed. I think the experience people want to have varies from person to person. This whole notion of burning man purity is a bit absurd. Burning man is people. We make it what we make it. We shape the environment with RVs and airplanes and lots and lots of sound. That IS burning man.
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Randy George
4/2/2017 02:02:52 pm
I'm surprised at how upset people are about the big boogyman the plug n play camps. If you don't like them, then stay out of the burbs. The Playa is REALLY big. Find somewhere else to be. I feel sorry for them because they are walled off from all the fun in a lot of cases, and they probably aren't doing a very good job of having a meaningful burn.. But banning them is just going to make BM less inclusive because ticket prices will have to be raised for everyone else. And I am very sorry to hear that BMorg plans to reduce their focus on their annual fiascos like the gate and the police state situation. I think that the loss of control we feel when we have to wait 7 or 10 hours to have someone search our ice chest for stowaways at the gate, or because we get a speeding ticket for going 7 miles an hour in a 5 mile an hour zone are much bigger threats to our empowerment and ability to maintain the culture than a sound camp we don't like.
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kimric
4/3/2017 12:49:14 am
At one point this was a valid argument, but there is not anyplace you can go to get away from the noise. This also has a negative effect on art pieces that try to create a soundscape for the particular piece.
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Neeewt
4/4/2017 12:22:03 pm
Exactly, even deep deep Playa where I spent most of my time at night last year it was impossible to escape the big sound camps and the Mayan Warrior's sound system.
Shemling Preffler
4/2/2017 02:29:00 pm
All of the "fixes" being floated by the BMorg are just a smokescreen. The real problem with Burning Man is all the money going under the table that created the plug 'n play culture in the first place.
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Magnum
4/2/2017 02:35:08 pm
One of the principals of burning man is radical inclusion. All are welcome. So that means everyone, frat douches and the like.
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Scott Kelley
4/2/2017 08:50:13 pm
yeah, but you can still have policies that incentivize the behaviors you wish to see and discourage those you don't.
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bcbob
4/2/2017 02:46:02 pm
As I read these comments they sound eerily similar to the calls for border patrol for the United States, and I quote . . .
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Nathan
4/3/2017 12:37:14 pm
I thought I was the only one. I think it's hilarious that the people pissed off about plug and play and airplanes want to create a VIP tier.
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Chi
4/3/2017 05:49:57 pm
The club is existing contributing citizens, of a volunteer made city. Anyone can get in the club if they're down the basic principles and a PAL system or sponsorship by a veteran's part of it. If the principles of the city are what holds it together, then some frat boy being a jackass or plug and play walking themselves off... you the person are included, every time, but that shit you're doing don't float
ifellfromthesky
4/2/2017 03:03:30 pm
The culture of "participants" is not the only part of B-Man that is in trouble , just ask some long term DPW how far south that crew is going...
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Starrbooty
4/2/2017 03:06:54 pm
One thing that's been noticeably harder every year is getting a ticket, which for people traveling from far away makes it hard to plan ahead, if you don't get a ticket in the main sale or direct sale. It would be really helpful if bmorg did not send out an email to everyone the day before tickets go on sale that tickets are going on sale the next day. All that does is increase demand for a very limited supply of available tickets. And demand far outways the supply at the moment, so what's the point of that?
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I care
4/3/2017 05:08:31 am
Great comment. Agree - what of radical self-reliance if you can't even rely on yourself to check the site and know when tickets go on sale without constant email reminders from Bmorg?
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Disa Lindquist
4/2/2017 03:20:14 pm
Radical inclusion sounds cool, but it's impossible to implement in reality. As an attendee of both the 2001 and 2011 burns, I thought that most of the elements I loved was still there ten years later, but as a mostly shy, sensitive, artistic type, the crowds were overwhelming, and the inclusion of the kind of people who bullied and derided me in my teens doesn't help. Also, I liked the lack of privelege, or appearance of equality under the raw elements. If I want to feel safe for conversations on the fringe, there has to be empty spaces, not just noise and ego. My two cents. Radical inclusion needs to be seen for what it is and what it will become. Introverts, curious loners, crowd-phobic artists, autistics - how do you plan to radically reinclude us?
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grace womack
4/2/2017 03:58:42 pm
If, I can manage to buy a ticket, this will be my 4th Burn...with a camp of experienced Burners, who made certain I knew the expectations, in camp, around town and on the playa...
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David s
4/2/2017 04:47:13 pm
Why aren't burners fighting for their culture? 'in danger is an understatement. Rise up and fight for your culture or perish!
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Twilight
4/2/2017 05:35:23 pm
When Burning Man was growing slowly - say 20% newbies each year -- the passionate ones built the theme camps, art, and infrastructure, and were then able to acculturate the newcomers. It was part of the mission, and it was achievable.
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Kimric
4/2/2017 10:40:31 pm
The event grew much faster than that, when I first attended it was 200 people. The number almost doubled each year. You could figure that not all the people from the previous yer would return so it was safe to assume that at lest half the people had not been there before.
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4/7/2017 11:39:50 am
It's an important lesson from this radical experiment against capitalism. The idea of "let's be fair to everyone and welcome everyone" leads to the complete destruction of culture.
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Dr. Yes
4/30/2017 11:25:39 am
Thanks!
Z
4/2/2017 05:35:55 pm
Don't have ticket sales at all, just let anyone in who shows up. We don't want/need walls, and we shouldn't limit who attends. And who is to say BM culture is better than any other culture. Appreciate diversity, celebrate it.
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That's not possible, alas. Burning Man's population cap is set by the US Government's Bureau of Land Management, as the Black Rock Desert is public land managed by them on behalf of the public.
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Adam
4/2/2017 06:27:02 pm
My camp (Mudskippers) holds a mandatory orientation call with slideshow. It discusses moop, self-reliance, etc. we also require everyone bringing a birgin to be their mentor and we really do hold them both accountable. It works! People really are open to learning the culture.
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Frogbeater
4/2/2017 06:36:06 pm
One element that I sense is the EDC/Coachella-ing of BM. The music festival elements of the event could be limited... As long as there are clubs that emulate coachella stages we will have coachella crowds. I love loud music, but to me the key is returning BM to it's rightful and unique place as an Art Festival.
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4/2/2017 07:00:07 pm
Share my packing list with virgins. It should wake them up a bit. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TngAudqHerT9UdfDVEhTrig9BuJCktsdcgRET4jzcck/edit#gid=20
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Ray
11/13/2018 11:24:25 am
THE most comprehensive packing list I've ever come across in my 20+ years of burning. Absolutely AWESOME!!
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F-yerburn
4/2/2017 08:13:53 pm
I say only offer tickets to virgins and we all take a year off. See what they come up with,
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adam
4/2/2017 10:12:56 pm
Distribute tickets via regional events.
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4/2/2017 10:32:58 pm
The problem with Burning Man Culture is that the leaders are so full of themselves that they host things like a "Global Leadership Conference". Since when is Burning Man about "Global Leadership"? Are we a branch of the UN now?
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4/2/2017 11:27:28 pm
This article is not really about regional burns. It's about the general issue, and is focused on the main event. My comment is about the subject of this article.
D DeLong
4/3/2017 11:54:51 am
I'm not a burner but I live in SF and have many burner friends. Seems like there are literally thousands of people burning up (pardon the expression) a whole lot of time and energy on how and what and why etc. - look how many comments on this article. Aaron's post seems to resonate most clearly, and I appreciate reading his point of view. I wish you all the best. Peace, D
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Nathan
4/3/2017 01:04:05 pm
Very well put. The event is no longer a free-for-all where a bunch of people are thrown together just to see what happens. Now it has a purpose. It wants to preach a message. It also, like any organization, has special interest groups like theme camps. The SIGs all feel they deserve special treatment of some sort. The org does it's best to compromise competing interests.
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Kimric
4/2/2017 10:35:25 pm
Interesting , but I don't see them addressing the Plug and Play which is where these detached party people are catered to in a way that allows them to treat BM like any other music festival they might attend.
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Punkyme
4/2/2017 11:51:01 pm
Plug & Play has been addressed by the org and they have decided that if it's done "right" it will expose and possibly change people who camp at the P&Ps from entitled consumers to active participants of the community. They do bring in a lot of money for the org and the event both directly at the event, and indirectly, in the way of hosting wealthy potential contributors. I don't think we're going to see P&Ps going away. Biting the hand that might feed & all.
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kimric
4/3/2017 12:36:40 am
This is the problem, is has become about money, and not really about art anymore. Not sure why people did not think this would happen.
Misha
4/3/2017 08:25:05 am
Everything has to still be there, as exclusion goes against the main intention. Holding space for the experience to co-create with you, is the magic. Creating a safe space, where that original intention, and all of the blossoming out that has occurred, is key to BM's survival as a catalyst. Meditate on where the entropy is, and you will find your answer. Change that rule. When you organize a concert, you only let your crew backstage. You have no backstage, so may I suggest the ideal of "encircle." <3 ~Misha
NorthernStarr
4/2/2017 11:51:25 pm
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Misha
4/3/2017 12:34:17 am
One has to maintain the greater #. The environment is held together by the surrounding vibration. There has to be a way to keep a certain number of loyal Burners, who can and will uphold the intention of the experience, in key positions. <3 ~ A question to the main crew - from the Cacophony Society ~ Do you feel you should maintain some sort of parameters? On your creation? If you see it leading to a harmful place, do you stop it?
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kimric
4/3/2017 12:43:22 am
We tried.
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HoldZ
4/3/2017 03:10:07 am
I don't think any of those measures will make the slightest difference!!
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Jason1969
4/3/2017 03:15:24 am
I agree with many of the points made here, especially the idea of first year participants having to do a volunteer shift and also have to be invited by a trusted burner. The problem with that is it sets up a cliquish "Burnier than thou" situation. Sure, that idea challenges the radical inclusion principle, I think radical inclusion can have rules at the point of entry. "Radical inclusion of people interested in joining a specific community and understand and can prove what that means," is how I see it more clearly defined.
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Jason Silverio
4/3/2017 09:32:12 am
Sorry for the typos
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James Holdsworth
4/3/2017 03:54:38 am
Maybe hold BM at the same time as Coachella!!
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sm
4/3/2017 02:39:33 pm
This is actually the most brilliant idea on here.
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generic name
4/3/2017 02:53:58 pm
That's a really neat idea.
Carbon Buildup
4/5/2017 02:49:55 pm
Wow! This is a great idea! I can't see any conflicts with Burning Man culture hear, except for the pseudo-profit aspect. They would have to be transparent about what they were going to do with the earnings.
Badger
5/2/2018 12:27:42 pm
That's an inspired idea!
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Rice 916
4/3/2017 08:13:21 am
What if you made small test on all the serious info and you have to complete the test before you can even be put in to a sale. It would make it so scalpers would have to actually read and answer questions before they can buy. It will also help people read all the info they might have missed.
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doctoriknow
4/4/2017 06:55:49 am
Yes: a test as one registers for the General Sale! I've done the Cali DMV online traffic school, and it will teach you page after page of info. At the end, you take a test. There is no way to go back to a previous web page and get the answer. You can take the test over as many times as it takes to get a high percentage correct. This should be very do-able!
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2000-2005 burner
4/3/2017 08:28:35 am
seems to me that if they want to bring back more of the old burner ethics, they should try to bring back some of the burners from years ago. i.e., "this batch if tickets, at this price, will be available to only people who were on the playa from '19xx-20xx' years. we know who you are, so don't apply unless this name was associated with a ticket sale for those years." you might even through something out to test what an audience response would be to this.
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Punkyme
4/3/2017 09:51:37 am
I think blocking internet access would be a great idea. No Insta posting might mean fewer fashion tourists and networkers. I don't know how this would be accomplished technically but totally down. I really miss those days when on playa was off grid.
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JK
4/3/2017 09:46:50 am
Communications are great, and needed but will have no effect on the type of people and behavior the Org is trying to curb. Give me a break, that just eggs them on. 4 simple fixes:
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4/3/2017 10:03:51 am
I pay my money, I get to come do WHATEVER I want. Fuck your hippie shit, if you aint here to RAGE get the FUCK OUT MY FACE.
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obvious troll is obvious
4/3/2017 02:53:07 pm
and boring. zzz.
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Ray
11/13/2018 11:28:31 am
XJswaG_EDM, yours was a truly snore-worthy post. Excuse me now while I yawn....
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Misha
4/3/2017 10:52:04 am
So I am seeing placement as being really important. Make a Yin Yang. Embrace the darkness and light, and put them accordingly - and make a neutral zone where they meet. And as I have stated ~EnCircle~ the Event. Better planning for next year, super huge moves for this one. Offer an Essay contest for a large Number of people, and have the write about this very thing. You will know who is representing Heart - and then bring them into a camp as Volunteers, Vibe Squad, Prayerformers and wandering Shaman to keep the light space you set forward. Not sure how far you are in with the camp maps - Feel free to Email me (ground crew).
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MARMADUKE THE DESTOYER
4/3/2017 11:37:23 am
Thank you for writing this. This is such an unspoken problem. I have built many things, only to see someone buy something better, and feel like I completely wasted my time and money.
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MARMADUKE THE DESTROYER
4/3/2017 12:04:02 pm
A strategy for acculturation:
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MARMADUKE THE DESTROYER
4/3/2017 12:14:09 pm
ONE MORE THING! Make it rough and the tourists will think twice.
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Jeffrey
4/3/2017 12:31:48 pm
I am a third time burner launching a camp with a massive investment to give back to the community, and I find a few things comical. Our group has 6 tickets and we need 22 (the operational side of this is equal to the biggest camps).
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Chiña
4/3/2017 06:17:53 pm
So take in 18 new camp members from the people who did get tickets? Have such a clear inclusive and principle savvy culture that they become ambassadors of your great camp. You'll fill it. #inclusion And you may not need support and hand holding to succeed, big camp man. You got this #selfreliant
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Wraith
4/4/2017 10:42:08 pm
Water on the playa this time of year is normal. If it's still standing water into late June then you should start to worry. :)
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Carbon Buildup
4/5/2017 02:55:41 pm
No worries about the water. Black Rock is a playa lake, it was formed by water anyway. It's a huge evaporite basin that dries up every year. The water will infiltrate into the ground and evaporate soon enough.
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Richard
4/3/2017 12:54:29 pm
1. No plug and play.
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Jason Silverio
4/3/2017 02:59:28 pm
I have thought of something similar to closing gate on Wednesday, but it would be really hard to enforce in reality.
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Amit
4/3/2017 01:25:53 pm
A similar phenomenon was noticed at Afrikaburn. In my inquiry, I found that the principles of the burn were not being embodied by participants. When brought to the "town hall" meetings, I discovered that there was confusion around the interpretation of the burn principles. They were believed to be in conflict.
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Here's a suggestion from the world of 24 hour racing. It features similar environments (Moab Utah in September, for example) and a similar need for all to stay in one piece amid mind blurring activites: Require 1 in 6 at each camp to work 8 hr volunteer shifts. At such events, I have been a course martial with frankly no prior experience. But, it worked, because I knew I had to be it for my team to be there. And, I eanted a fair and safe race as bad as anyone else there. BTW, the injured (my status at the time) make excellent (if stationary) volunteers.
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Retired "Local Leader"
4/3/2017 02:12:09 pm
They started empowering PnP Camps (Jimmy Tanenbaum anyone? sherpas?) while asking us who were running local community efforts to do even more for absolutely nothing. On top of that local leaders get all the liability - so OF COURSE people aren't volunteering to throw local burner-raves as much.
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oops
4/3/2017 02:49:59 pm
oops accidentally unsubscribed from notifications
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Alex S
4/3/2017 03:12:48 pm
Make it a 2 week event. The first week can be for all of the veteran burners that spend all year planning + birgins that have been sponsored by veteran burners. The second week can be for unsponsored birgins and plug and play camps. This way it's still radically inclusive, just staggered a bit.
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Chuck
4/3/2017 03:37:26 pm
The rot comes from the head down. The organizers have sold out and shown they're primarily interested in money and fame. They're the ones that have courted rich assholes and broke apart the community.
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Keith Trader
4/8/2017 02:27:06 pm
Chuck has nailed it! The problem is with the leadership and their prostitution of artists. The art is the aura of the playa, not Larry or Marianne or any of the elite who do not build their own camps, or art or anything. Artists and participants from all over the globe go broke to entertain each other while the org get paid to pretend that they create the aura. I reached out to Marianne, in particular, before I went to Japan to organize a team of artists for 2016. Her only response was, "I just don't know how to respond."
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Niko
4/3/2017 03:47:04 pm
I don't think we need to necessarily be prohibitive, but the expectations that are set should be reinforced. Even if they're chaotic and imperfect. Encouraging the DIY aspect, encouraging people to ask themselves "what am I bringing to the burn for others?" (and encouraging them to figure out an answer to that), showing people ways to give, especially for first-timers, encouraging people to take care of themselves, and maybe printing "NO SPECTATORS" in huge print right on the front of the ticket lol. And maybe un-inviting groups and people who explicitly commercialize the event, though I think BMOrg does that already to an extent. Definitely hard to draw any lines there. Personally, pushing volunteerism would be good too. There are a lot of options for sure. :) Also, I dunno. I'd be ok if sound camps were not allowed to put up a set schedule or distribute them. Some of my best music moments were spontaneous there. "Special Guest" is good enough. Maybe returning a little more spontaneity wouldn't be a bad thing. There's not easy way to draw that line, but tbh, musicians are kind of their own brands, an unfortunate crossover of default,and maybe they need to leave that identity at the gate? I dunno. maybe not. arguably many musicians aren't big on being a "brand" as a consequence of a name either. But it's something to consider.
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ChefDaddy
4/3/2017 03:48:48 pm
This should not come as a surprise. The community had a collective fit when BORG started allowing/supporting Plug-n-Play camps. They violate the principle of Radical Self-Reliance by their very nature... It is natural that more people with come to the event and be unable and unwilling to take care of themselves.
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BergleBear
4/3/2017 04:23:06 pm
Regarding focus area 4, "to get people to think of themselves as citizens of BRC rather than people at a festival," my suggestion for the Org would be to consider not selling 'tickets', but having people 'apply for a temporary visa' through the lottery. I am by no means suggesting an approval/vetting process. Only that the simple word change could act as a valuable spearhead atop a campaign to drive the desired awareness.
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Wizard
4/3/2017 04:55:26 pm
I think this is a very intriguing idea. Simple framing changes can have a powerful effect on perception and behavior. The queue would still randomly select you, but for the opportunity to purchase a "visa" rather than a "ticket." This contributes to the treatment of Black Rock City as a community rather than a festival, without changing anything about the fairness (or unfairness) of the existing Main Sale process.
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Dr G
4/3/2017 06:19:16 pm
STOP blaming it all of the newbies, the birgins those that were not there the days before Burning Man tickets were always available. It is always easier to point the finger out and not IN.
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Double Dutch
4/6/2017 06:57:41 pm
Turn off the fucking cell service and Internet for everyone except the critical staff. Make it fucking scary for panty waist pussies to venture into the unknown and for fuck sake make it a person-to-person network to attract the adventurous people that created the God damned burning man spirit in the first place! I didn't use enough expletives but maybe the message will get through 😜
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Barely Housebroken
4/7/2017 07:53:08 pm
AMEN.
Steyo
4/3/2017 06:43:25 pm
As an event producer, I feel like there is growing commercialism on the Organisation side as well.
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sWitch
4/3/2017 09:38:08 pm
The Org has exacerbated the problem by their own policies. They give established theme camps / mutants access to less tickets every year, apparently preferring to make those tickets available to the masses, i.e. a lot of virgins. No culture can survive an overwhelming number of newcomers and keep their culture strong, it becomes diluted by newcomer values. When the Chinese invaded Tibet they could not defeat the locals strong Buddhist culture so they simply imported enough Chinese to overwhelm it, quite successfully unfortunately. The Org does not choose to take care of their long timers, who have a proven track record of loving giving to their City, by making sure they remain the preponderance of the city's denizens. You don't 'read' and learn how to acculturate, experienced burners actually teach/show you..
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Zora
4/3/2017 11:07:03 pm
As to the "decline in volunteerism," the prices are going up, the market scarcity means dedicated burners can't get in, and with board members propping up outrageous plug and play exclusive camps, it gets more and more offensive that they primarily rely on volunteers to produce this epic art experience, and ask poor artists to labor in the desert for weeks with minimal to no compensation. They are making a lot of money for a few Borg members, there's enough there that they could afford to pay their staff.
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CG
4/4/2017 06:29:57 am
Exactly. As more money flows in, how can anyone ethically volunteer for hard labor? So a rich asshole can import his hookers and post on Instagram? Anyone who volunteers for this event has to take a long hard look in the mirror. It wasn't always like this. It was never perfect, but its pathetic now.
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Burnt Out
4/4/2017 04:05:09 pm
I stopped volunteering for this reason years ago. We were "Changing the World" per the GLC - the same year Jimmy T ran the most expensive PnP camp ever noticed. Fucker was making money off of my personal volunteer investment to support the event and culture - and the org wouldn't address it afterward. Not Ok. No freebies anymore.
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Tom
4/4/2017 06:17:37 am
Propaganda will only get you so far... ticketing, airport, plug-n-play camps, and cell phones are the keys.
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panda monium
4/4/2017 01:54:28 pm
Unfortunately, there is very little that “we” can do about this. We cannot contain the symptoms when BORG refuses to address the cause. This one is on BORG and our philosophical leadership. They dropped a massive ball here. They failed to appreciate both the paradox of inclusivity and the threat of consumerism.
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panda monium
4/4/2017 01:59:19 pm
How consumerism corrupts and crowds out our culture is best illustrated by an example. One innocuous payment for a service (the consumption of that service) has cascading consequence that can be seen to confound all our principles. Let us take paid for catering (I use cooking, but the same could be said of building, cleaning, MOOPing or any other form of participation).
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Impressed Reader
4/4/2017 04:02:10 pm
I 100% agree with your point, and wanted to mention that I really enjoyed your clean and interesting writing style.
Carbon Buildup
4/5/2017 03:06:36 pm
What you are describing fits with a reacurring playa anxiety dream I have. I dream that I'm delayed getting to the playa, but when I finally arrive suddenly it's surrounded by a suburb, and every camp has a booth they're selling things from. I play in a marching band, but suddenly my band is spread out all over the place and too lazy to go out and march. I think your post finally explained to me why I've had this dream so often (and I'm a 15 year veteran Burner).
B00ga
4/4/2017 02:04:27 pm
As a numerous regional burn attendee who is hoping to make this year my first experience at TTiTD, I would suggest to the Borg to actually feel as if your community were in danger. Kick on survival mode. Make those tough decisions that put the ten principles before the "good feelings" that attendees want to have, and when people get upset or feel like you're un-including them, tell them they're wrong.
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Carbon Buildup
4/4/2017 03:03:36 pm
Wow, so many good comments here already. And I agree with many. Increased wi-fi and cell phone coverage has caused a major problem by reducing interactivity. And plug&play camps really don't add to the culture. BMORG will have to make some hard decisions and clamp down on both these problems, no matter how much they want to court rich friends.
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Rae
4/4/2017 03:06:17 pm
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Rae
4/4/2017 03:15:02 pm
I mean really. WTF??
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notsmartphone
4/4/2017 10:34:57 pm
I think it was 1999 I stood in line for a phone. You could call anywhere. There was an egg timer, with a sign saying "3 minutes max" and everyone in line obeyed that. You could hear the calls, and there was nothing frivolous about them. Passage of years, and then I see someone walking and texting on a phone. I thought "OK, this is it, get out now, make this your last burn as it's clear where it's headed." It did head that way, but I still go. I thought BMOG invented the regionals so they could personally get away from the yearly near impossibility of bringing this logistic and clerically intense monster to the desert. But no, they are like old prize fighters wanting to make a comeback...good luck with that. Best idea I've seen in this thread is to HALT this thing for 2018. Larry and BMOG step back and get humble. We don't buy this new humbleness. Back up your cry for help and shut down the office for a year and figure out, without pressure, what to do next.
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Filter
4/4/2017 11:02:25 pm
I'm also concerned at the property bought by BM leadership...what is up with that?
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AndyDaniel
4/5/2017 09:34:08 am
This is definitely a tough issue, because Radical Inclusion is one of our principles. I haven't personally experiences too much in the way of problems from those who choose to spectate rather than participate, the builders of the city (like our theme camp) do get bigger and more elaborate each year. But it's a big issue that participants have to fight for tickets with spectators and worse, scalpers. I've long advocated that each ticket be sold with a name that has to match your ID, and if you change your mind you sell it back to the org at face minus a tiny fee (like shipping). Another option might be to close the gates to new arrivals earlier, perhaps Wednesday.
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Michael Robertson
4/5/2017 11:09:42 am
We were placed near a camp that had dropped tons of little prefab units with a/c's hanging out the side and zero decoration, flair, style or anything that suggested they were giving back to the community in any way. Why is this prefab village of clearly 'pay your way there' allowed? When blocks of houses looking like a fema camp start showing up you know that someone is making a profit from housing those people and clearly they don't give a rats ass about burner culture. BM needs to crack down on the non self sufficiency crowd of profiteers or this just becomes a week long EDM. I think a lot of us are pondering if hanging out with frat bros and entitled rich are really what we want to invest our time and energy into in an age where there are so many festival choices closer to home and with more intact cultural values.
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David Naylor
4/5/2017 01:36:15 pm
In Australia we have a festival similar to BM that's been running for 40 years - "Confest" - much smaller and more grass-roots. One of its big secrets is to PROHIBIT ALL AMPLIFIED SOUND (except mini PA's for small workshops).
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Marlboro Man
4/5/2017 02:43:27 pm
Great read! Thx! The BORG cannot and should not be responsible to police 70,000 people. They must police the theme camps (leaders). The camps in change police there own. There will always be parasites. Grow the camps Growes the community.Hence more DSG tickets.
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Huggable
4/5/2017 06:54:16 pm
Imagine how vibrant and full of art the Regionals would be if Black Rock City went on hiatus for a year, and we were forced to put all our creativity into our own backyards. Not to mention the cross-fertilization of ideas, with people flying all over the world to attend different Regionals.
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Rae
4/6/2017 02:54:58 am
Tell that to the folks who run the Glastonbury event in England. Their numbers approach 150,000+ people yet they find a way to not have the event every fourth year.
Mojo
4/5/2017 08:12:17 pm
For an event that does a lot of chest pounding about "decommodification", there are certainly a lot of vendors providing goods and services on playa that everyone is supposed to be self reliant enough to provide for themselves. I was shocked to see many large shipping containers dropped off pre-event last year, rented by camps to haul and store their stuff and delivered to just the right spot days before they arrived. It was a nearly empty playa dotted with many ugly shipping containers.
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Jason1969
4/6/2017 04:51:19 am
Good point!
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John
4/6/2017 04:41:26 am
I think the biggest reason for the weakening of the Burning man culture is the tickets sales. The San Francisco and Reno/Tahoe area have always played such a huge part. Now the people mainly responsible for creating that culture are losing faith in being able to obtain tickets every year.
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Rae
4/8/2017 01:30:28 pm
A most salient point that bears repeating over and over until such a time as the ORG not only hears it but decides to actually address it rather than paying lip service to it.
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Joel
4/6/2017 02:36:53 pm
All these comments make me want to sell my ticket and never look back. This will be my 10th burn since 1997. Starting to reconsider.
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Mark
4/7/2017 01:07:04 pm
It's too late. Half measures will not avail. BM has jumped the shark and it can never go back. Fuck it.
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The Org seems afraid of stepping on the silicon-painted toes of the wealthy / legends-in-their-own-minds. Seems quite obvious that the culture around the airport, PnP camps that are RV-walled to keep out immigrants, and the ticket sales that allow those to thrive (to the detriment of veterans) need to be short-circuited, but those kinds of daring and innovative controls in the interest of the culture are not likely to be forthcoming.
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Dakota
4/7/2017 01:52:06 pm
I have been attending consistently since 2000. As a newbie I was taught the principles and my camp insisted on sticking to them. Such as; Every single person should do a "moop patrol" of the entire camp before even thinking of leaving. That is a solid must do. Every camp, every person. Period. Our camp is always green because if it. We think it is important.
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Felicious
4/7/2017 02:45:57 pm
One of my favorite ideas is to create a 2nd much smaller Bmaaaan complete with portapotties, sound camps, theme camps, volunteer corps etc, required to take a volunteer position -- and let the folks at the gate determine where this Burner should go. When met by an official Gate greeter that says Hi .. welcome to Burning Man.. they say.. Hi... Im so happy to be here.. overflowing with excitement and bliss to help create and experience Burning Man together. .then the gate folks.. show them the road to take to the real and epic Burning Man.. And when the Gate Greeters are met with .. Duuuuuuude.. this is so awesome.!!!!. I am soo looking forward to s---x d----gs and rock n roll.. aka trance / techno, didn't bring enough water, no tent, an EZ-UP and patio furniture --then they get shown the road to Bmaaaan ( Bman Training Event ) and we filter out the Frats and acculturation them with a little required volunteerism...and community participation in their very own smaller more easily cleaned event....Just saying... ..
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Corvus
4/15/2017 09:45:35 am
I like it!
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Dochumie
5/3/2017 07:40:04 am
Come to AfrikaBurn...still very basic, quite hard to get to, relative preservation of burn culture!
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i don't know what to think i have been burring for over a decade i have seen a lot of thing change it might just to burn the hole thing down what i mean is start having a burn every other year spread out find out who really believe in the dream not just some party every year but the life we have created
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Rae
4/8/2017 01:32:20 pm
Step away from the typewriter Joe. At least until you sober up.
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Silver b
4/7/2017 09:44:41 pm
We should end:
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Velvet
4/8/2017 10:29:01 am
Great to see the BORG talking about this! They move slowly and thoughtfully but do respond.
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Rae
4/8/2017 01:37:27 pm
Velvet, please give us a specific example where (within the last ten years) that the ORG has responded to an issue by directly inserting itself into a pressing problem or issue rather than sending it 'bid' by getting some other group of folks - usually volunteers - to take on the task at hand. Oh, and to be fair, let's give them the ORG credit for dealing with the Earth stopping issue of pen lasers.
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Bubbapuddle
4/11/2017 09:40:11 am
Here is a simple idea that would eliminate all the Instagramming and live posting: go back to the days of no cell phone coverage. It would also improve immediacy and interaction and honestly we don't need it.
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Sammy
4/11/2017 03:50:44 pm
Build a wall around the burn and make the default world pay for it!
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Tim
4/14/2017 12:09:09 pm
The shot:
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adebow alechidike
5/23/2017 07:30:44 pm
Burning man is changing to reflect modern ideas and people. When burning man was created collectivism was the "in" thing.But in the past 30 years Burning man has grown up and it's attendees reflect the modern capitalist society that America has become.The best thing that you can do to keep the patient alive at this point is to allow concessionaires on the playa in true capitalist spirit.
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Ambrose
9/6/2017 06:37:19 pm
After my first burn this year I'm curious how walled off secure camps set up for dot com billionaires and other rich douchebags are considered radical inclusion? I loved gifting the inclusion and the radical self reliance and self expression seemingly devoid from some camps. I live way off grid where these values are inherent to our community but in some instances we're totally ignored by some. Is it not possible to eliminate those who refuse real honest and genuine participation like the bigots from google. They don't even believe in free speech much less radical inclusion. Much love however to the many people who showed taught included and gifted their time energy effort love and my first tutu.
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Misha
9/26/2017 08:52:15 am
You knew you were going to lose control this year, you felt it. Hence this topic. The only way to maintain control of the energy is to make sure you have the majority.
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Two del Fuego
12/15/2017 11:06:49 am
Solutions: 1) close the Gate on Wednesday to cut down on the weekend warriors; 2) curtail the ginormous sound camps that attract DJ chasers; 3) single prop airplanes only at the airport.
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Dr. Yes
7/12/2018 10:01:55 pm
Haha, I don't know what 'saucey' means in reference to dabs, but I love it.
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The Rev
7/12/2018 10:08:10 pm
Sauce is a new form of THC concentrate. Mind blowing. Anyways. BM is first and foremost a community so to call it “a” culture is like saying that america has one culture. Many cultures exist within any one community. The beauty of BM is that there are so many to explore. Why worry over one? Try another!
Biff
7/30/2018 12:58:19 pm
First of all the org should stop selling drinks at centercamp. It takes away from the radical self reliance principal, prior to cc selling coffee we made it in camp, we'd have coffee percolating every morning (and still do). And now there are places to dump what you dont drink and stab your cup on the rebar. Pack it in and pack it out! CC is now like a starbucks with live entertainment.
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8/2/2018 03:15:47 pm
Burning Man REPORT -
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8/2/2018 03:20:26 pm
Picture of Pilot Sam DNA's Air Force B-52 Bomber at top of this website.
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9/11/2018 11:01:06 pm
Seems silly to reply - is anyone still reading...but I wanted to chime in with a 'first impressions' report from a birgin. I attended for the first time in 2018 with a lovely camp of experienced burners.
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Kimric
9/12/2018 12:04:42 am
What a great response. The sound camps have been a problem for awhile and have slowly gotten more oppressive over time. Glad you had a generally good time and got to see some of the smaller and more interesting things.
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Joy
9/12/2018 08:57:41 am
Hi there !
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AuthorI'm Dr. Yes. I run this site, lead a theme camp called Friendgasm, and make Burning Man videos. Just say yes, folks, and help keep Burning Man weird! Archives
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