Plug n plays running amuk

[littleflower]

Fortunately I didn't see any of these but I camp at 5:00 in the quiet zone.

what I did see this year is a lot of is foreigners. everywhere! My camp, Althing, is named after the Icelandic Parliament, and we were delighted to find a few guys from Iceland. My favorite was a man who was looking dazed and when I asked him if he needed something, he replied "Only in America! I was born and raised in Europe, now I live in Honk Kong, and I can tell you .... only in America could you find an event with this level of creativity and freedom!"

Foreigners definitely are limited in what they contribute to the event, but I am so happy to see them there. a young couple from Italy who were in line for Embrace told me that they planned to stay after if possible, to help the restoration. they help as they can ....

I have seen plug 'n play types ruin many things, so it is definitely a potential problem..... but I'm not sure I see it as a problem yet.

[theCryptofishist]

I figure less than 1% are p&p. That wouldn't change the decor all that much at this point.

Heard somewhere that 40% were virgins this year. THAT might!!!

Tho those 40% probably have sugarplums and gumdrops in their imaginations now, and are likely to be overloaded next year with all kinds of interesting stuff.

The number of newbies always runs about 40, 50 percent. That's nothing new. It keeps the event fresh.

(And I've never liked the term "virgin" because it legitimizes and extends the use of a word that doesn't mean much, not really, in my view. "Birgin" doesn't really please me either, although I will use it. "Newbie" is alright. There's also "greenhorn", "neophyte", and I'm sure Roget could give us more, which could then be adopted and adapted as we see fit. *sigh*)

[bm_cricket]

Ditching the term virgin isn't what I care about so much as the political correctness that it seemed to be promoting. I had a good year. It really was good. I'm just noticing myself growing less patient with the spectators. I always tell people that if they can't build or create then they can still share a conversion. I'm pretty lenient about alternative ways of contributing.

[tattoogoddess]

I remember years ago on the way to BM, you always knew who the other burners were on the road or at gas stops because they invariably had U-Hauls full of mannequins, speakers, fur, poles, and freaky shit, or trailers carrying an art car or a whole camp stacked up and roped down, and they had bikes on top of their cars and/or whatever they were hauling, or they were in an old bus with water jugs and bikes all over it. At gas stops they always talked to you all excited if they saw you were also clearly hauling BM gear. Really, it was already Burning Man as soon as I hit the road.
I didn't see that last year, which I assumed was because I was on early entry. I hope it wasn't because that isn't there anymore.

TS and my self had early entry in 2013. About 3-5 hours out from gerlach we ran into.....

Simon


Hahaha
All of us looked tired and wanting to be at the playa.

[tattoogoddess]

Rich people coming to Burning Man with plug-and-play camps all set up by a servant class are there because of one thing: they are unable to create anything themselves. They must rely on people who know how to "build, troubleshoot, and tweak" something made with their own hands. So far that's the way I've learned to shrug and move on.

It's not that they are unable, it's they CHOOSE not to learn.
I did not know jack shit about el wire or swamp coolers... But I took time and trail to learn about them.

Rich people seem lazy to me.

[ACfromSAC]

I was camped at 8:45 & J. Lots of RV blockades and LOTS of segways out there. This was only my fourth burn but there were several elements that felt quite a bit different this year compared to my previous three. Off the top of my head:

-significantly more segways
-fewer people exploring the art on the playa at night (possibly as a result of all the dust)
-less nudity
-less snow cones
-more Asians (not racist, just an observation)
-more Saturday departures
-more cellphones (often being used while riding segways)

This was also the first year I've heard people have a heated argument on the playa that almost resulted in a fight. Three times in fact. I still had a blast but it felt a little different this year.

[spacetime]

Later in the week I had a pal swing by and ask if I wanted to check out the 'millionaire' camps around something and J. After the talk on here and in an articles I figured I should check it out.

So we rode over and the thing that really indicates a plug and play is the presence of massive generators and no sound stage nearby. You can follow these to the camps which are indeed ringed by big, new coach RVs. While riding in the area I did see a segway person move from one RV through a hidden entry that was two ends of RVs of matching color patterns meeting at 90 degree angle with _just_ enough space to ride a segway through. It was like that hidden door in labyrinth. I noticed a few other interesting things about these camps but they really aren't important.

I kind of feel bad for these folks because many of them are probably reasonably well-intentioned and thanks to the cash doing the hard work, they are so close to participating in some awesome way. (with that much fluffing, imagine how many shifts they could do!) And yet as Zhust and tattoogoddess sort of point out--by not wanting or being unable to learn the specifics of self-reliance out there means they can't mutually understand certain ideas behind Burning Man.

Fwiw, it did not seem like I ran into folks like this out around BRC. Apart from occasionally seeing one on a road, they were not at Spanky's rolling the dice for a hard drink. They were not holding it down at the Porn and Donut, nor exploring that weird space outpost thing near the trash fence. So, it did not feel like their camps directly impacted my experience that much.

[BBadger]

Off the top of my head:

-significantly more segways
-fewer people exploring the art on the playa at night (possibly as a result of all the dust)
-less nudity
-less snow cones
-more Asians (not racist, just an observation)
-more Saturday departures
-more cellphones (often being used while riding segways)

I noticed many of these things too.

Re: Segways: Definitely more Segways, but it may have been just one of the camps. It didn't seem like they were scattered about. I'm actually surprised that people aren't in the business of renting Segways to people for a week or whatever few days they attend. It'd be like renting an RV.

Re: Less exploring the art. From my perspective, there just wasn't as much art out there worth seeing. Sure there were some pretty cool pieces, but there were lots of problems too. There wasn't a whole lot of deep playa art (some were pretty cool, but some were repeats too). Some stuff didn't work (broken umbrella wheel) or was locked up (people-powered spinning people near the end of the week). Some art wasn't working until the last few days (e.g. the 3D skull projection). Some art were rehashes (e.g. the LED Torus was simply unfolded and had some of the clunky old animations).

I wanted to explore art, especially in deep playa, but there just wasn't very much of it. Usually, I'd be hopping from one solar-light illuminated spot to another, but this year it seemed there were only a few things up.

Re: Cellphones: I think it was because of that wonderful Time to Burn app, but also because people were actually getting reception! Lots of people in my camp were getting texts throughout the week, and it seems that Wifi was a bit more available this week than others. Perhaps cell coverage will become the norm. Hell, there's even a webcam feed these days.

Other stuff I noticed:

More people reporting having received Early Entry passes, notably in camps. Maybe this was because there were fewer needed for the art pieces? This could also explain why people weren't going out to look at art so much: they had already seen what was completed, and the rest was still being built.

And what is with all the late/unfinished art pieces this year? Okay, yeah, the weather sucked, but you're supposed to have your shit ready before the gates open. Not the final two days, or not at all. I remember walking up to some unfinished PVC and plastic maze thing on Friday, and it looked practically abandoned, with some generator left on site, a moopy diagram of the project, and some other crap strewn about. What happened? Then again, with seemingly fewer pieces to begin with, maybe beggars can't be choosers.

[skippy3k]

Well, I learned I was a very, very naive person. We wandered into the plug and play area not knowing it was plug and play. Walked into one that completely blew us away; it was a heaven and hell concept, heaven on one side, hell on the other. Full bar, beds, couches, etc. Very nice. This was Tuesday and no one was really in there. I gave them my cup and the very nice lady said "we don't DO cups here" and handed me a full can of Oskar Blues Red IPA. We snacked on bacon roasted popcorn and crackers. After lounging for a bit, we walked outside in the "courtyard" talking about how impressed we were with someone's creativity and yes, expense. I then caught a glimpse of some bikes. I like bikes, so I walked over and was stunned to see about 50 of them lines up. There was a canvas wall with a zippered window partly down. Yes, I zipped it down about an inch or two more and saw two beds (not cots....BEDS) with a dedicated floor AC unit. I stumbled out of the camp like I just witnessed a slaughterhouse. I knew what I had seen, I knew where I was.

On Friday, we went back to show our friends what we saw, just so they didn't think we were crazy. It was a completely different experience. The millionaires had shown up and the place was packed. I asked what they had in regards to beer and she said they didn't have any. Although there was a keg right there. I then was literally pushed aside by one guy who demanded more cups. The bartender said she didn't have any. He showed her his wristband, she sighed and gave him some cups. He got mad and asked why she told him they didn't have any. She started to explain that is what "they" told her to say, but he cut her off then stormed off. She turned to the other bartender and muttered "damn millionaire sons". I turned and walked out.

It was a disturbing experience in a place I love. Yes, we can avoid those places. And yes, disturbing shit happens all the time there. But it doesn't take away the fact that the city is changing in a way many of us may not like. This is sort of a useless post, but as I was writing it, the steam and indignation just left me. There is nothing we can do I think. I guess just wanted to describe what it was like through the eyes of a naive burner who sort of knew these places existed but never thought he would experience one.

[bm_cricket]

What if we find the most miserable and unpleasant natural environment on earth and move the burning man event there?...

[skippy3k]

What if we find the most miserable and unpleasant natural environment on earth and move the burning man event there?...

Like, the moon?

[shroom]

From what I've read on here and on facebook, some people were really annoyed, some didn't even notice them. I'm going back home next year and hopefully I won't notice them either.

[bm_cricket]

From what I've read on here and on facebook, some people were really annoyed, some didn't even notice them. I'm going back home next year and hopefully I won't notice them either.

Good choice! They were just weird.

[Sandstorm]

shroom & bm_cricket & skippy3k: I did not make it HOME this year but your posts reminded me of something that happened to me on the playa in (I think) '12. One night I was over on the 9 o'clock side of the city and I ended up climbing into a very fancy double decker art car that was parked not too far out from the esplanade. I recall it glowing in many colors and being covered in lots of white faux fur. I went up to the upper level of the bus, which did not have a roof and which was tightly packed with probably a couple of dozen burners. I hung out there for a little while just so that I could get an elevated view of the city. Standing near me were a man and woman who were probably in their late 20's or early 30's They were both tall and the woman was definitely model-esque. They both seemed to be intoxicated on something(s) and their outfits screamed money: you know, the Mad Max-esque type of clothing that's made from leather and which looks barely worn and is covered in lots metal spikes and studs. I'm a native New Yorker and something in me instinctively thought that the couple had an LA vibe about them. Well, at one point the woman leans over to her male companion and says in an annoyed voice "I want to get out of here. These people are weird." I thought that that was funny because to me that couple were by far the weirdest people I'd met at BM during a span of 5 burns. They were not like the people I've sat and talked with in the Naked Tiki Bar or at the Lamplighers Bar or at Conscious Dreamers or on various art cars. No, that couple that I stood next to that night in '12 on that art car seemed to me to be exactly the type of PnP people that skippy3K wrote about in his post. To me it felt like those people were far from whatever "safe zone" they had on the playa. I'm very thankful for the fact that over the course of 6 burns I've only run into 2 of those kinds of assholes.

[Justice]

I was up there a total of 14 days. The first week I was building a large installation, and the second week I was just exploring and hanging out with my wife and friends. I had one or two of my worst days ever at Burning Man, probably due to the harsh conditions and moments of physical and emotional exhaustion, but I also had a couple of the best days ever out there. I have never worked so hard in my life, under such extreme conditions (while thinking about divorce a couple of times),and yet in the end, I came out more grounded and content then I've been all year… Nothing like tearing it all down and having that re-birth on the other side.

I didn't get angry at the Plug-n-Play crowd this year, in fact, I truly feel sad for those who simply see Burning Man as another giant party they can check off their list. I think I may start a theme camp next year, where we can each adopt a billionaire for a few days and teach them how to build a swamp cooler, fix el-wire, and sew a costume. Maybe if they hang out in the dust with the rest of us for a while, they can see how a bit of hard work and community can lighten your soul and put a wicked smile on your face.

I bet none of them cleaned off at the "Faux Mirage Naked Disco Shower Camp"… Now that was FUN!!!

[skippy3k]

Ok, I've got one more story that I forgot about. (Which, for some reason, didn't make me upset, just more sad for the camp.) Walked into a camp. It had a really cool rustic vibe to it. Due to our previous experience, we were a lot smarter and suspected this was another P&P camp. A very nice girl walked up and we talked to her about it. How much, etc. Come to find out it was a camp done by a very expensive boutique hotel in LA. She then asked us if we wanted to see a magic show in a secret room. I say hell yeah, I like magic. She showed us a hidden flap in the tent and we found ourselves in a yurt with a bunch of pillows and a magician sitting there. Ok, sort of cool. Definitely comfortable. Then there, behind the magician, was a huge plasma TV on the wall. In a yurt. I just shook my head.

[Just_Joe]

Lot's of good discussion here.
I wonder.... are the PnP participants pulling their own tickets via profiles.burningman.com, open sale, etc?

I suspect that for profit PnP's have shills who are setting up profiles and buying tickets, just like scalpers who pay people to wait in line.
While it's interpretation can be fuzzy, ticket procurement should DEMAND radical self-reliance.

[skippy3k]

Just_Joe -

The two people we talked to about it (at two different camps) said they paid a flat fee, but didn't indicate if that included a ticket or not. One girl said it was $2300, but she was also from the Netherlands so not sure if that included airfare as well. But the fees were tiered, in that the Netherland girl paid the lowest amount and therefore had to "volunteer" in the camp to do services. This implied to us that if you paid more, you didn't have to do anything.

[Sandstorm]

"This implied to us that if you paid more, you didn't have to do anything."

While that doesn't surprise me it still disgusts me.

[ACfromSAC]

While it's interpretation can be fuzzy, ticket procurement should DEMAND radical self-reliance.

Here here.

[Mista_Zero]

I wouldn't rush to say that Burning Man is falling victim to Plug n' Play jerkoffs. Sure there seem to be quite a few, but (speaking from my own perspective) a part of it is the influx of international Burners who don't have the ability to build their burn and transport it here. With any luck the ascendance of the PnP groups will peak soon then drop off.

What I found most disheartening was the Suburbia around 7 & K where someone had brought in about a dozen pre-fabricated homes and put them down on the playa complete with generators and a few meager decorations. It was a weird experience to see walls and windows instead of tarps and LED lights.

On a sidenote, did anyone else run into the asshat with the megaphone bellowing about Coachella 2014 on the night of the Temple Burn?

[FIGJAM]

The ORG can vet them for what they are and keep them placed on the outermost streets.

They paid for transportation, they can commute to the esplanade!!!

[VultureChow]

On a sidenote, did anyone else run into the asshat with the megaphone bellowing about Coachella 2014 on the night of the Temple Burn?

No, but I'd like to buy that man a drink. Having been handed a bullhorn for the first time, NOW I get it. But you have to be funny. Spent a night listening to a girl heckling/barking across the street and she was horrible. You can't be just abusive and loud.

"Advertising" for Coachella at the temple burn strikes me as the right type of irreverence for the event. So much better than just yelling at dark wads.

[lucky420]

When I made reference to the fat tire bikes I wasn't talking about a group of friends that all have the same bike, I was mentioning this after riding by "plug n play" camps that had 50+ brand new alike undecorated bikes in their corral for their clients. In my view they take whatever's the hottest trend right now and bastardize it, rendering cool stuff down to lame and not nearly as cool as previous perceptions. I don't hang out at these camps or feel left out by them, I just don't see anyone making much effort without it all leading back to the almighty dollar. Didn't all this weird stuff start popping up in the desert only after someone got off their ass and loaded their drum kit or piano or Christmas camp onto their rig and hauled it out?

Who are these Burners turned Burning Man Sell-outs that decided to make a profitable business out of something that wasn't supposed to be for sale or for profit?

Were they ever true burners or just bean counters with a business plan aimed at the event?

Why don't these guys fall under the thumb of the BM legal team with cease and desist orders?

The message they are sending is that it's ok to make tons of money catering to pretentious douches, just as long as the BLM and the BMORG get their cut out of it.

I love this event and haven't as many years on my belt as many do, but I've seen shit changing. ALOT

The shame has been lifted from this practice, by the powers that be. They are becoming more blatant about their practices, they no longer have to fly under the radar. No one needs to moop or know about procedures, registrations, or guidelines when their sherpas do it all for them.

If all camps were as sanitary and organized as these plug n plays, what would the landscape look like? Disney Hotels INC.?

How long would it be before the regular self funded tinkerer decides he's no longer going to build cool stuff and bring it out on his own dime, he now wants to get paid. Why not, those guys over there all are.

All of those camp servants are detracting from available tickets that could find their ways into the hands of actual creative people that do it for the love of the weirdness, without any compensation or much fan fair.

THIS!

[shroom]

From what I've read on here and on facebook, some people were really annoyed, some didn't even notice them. I'm going back home next year and hopefully I won't notice them either.

Good choice! They were just weird.

I plan on enjoying my return home. For me 'roughing it' either in a tent or an rv that I set up myself is part of what makes it special. A plug n play would be so much easier but then it would feel like any other vacation. I'm not going for that, I go to the beach for that. I'm going for the experience, the art, the people, etc.

[tamarakay]

I found a little spot up at the front of an art car where i could see the man burn fireworks, booms etc. a group of 15 people with immaculately clean white fur coats and three foot tall feather head pieces came and stood in front of me. I nicely said, hey! Could you please move a little to the right. They laughed and told me to shove off, easier for one to move than a group.

If you don't put any effort into the event besides money, you miss out on the all in it together feeling. I felt sorry for them.

[honefone]

This topic came up a few times as we were camping on the 9 o'clock plaza.


I don't have major problems with plug n' plays as they reflect a real world inequality that must be addressed.

It's simple. The Plug n Plays need to share more with the public because they have access to more resource (money, etc).

[DrYes]

When I hear Burners complain about millionaires/billionaires, I roll my eyes. It's the well-off complaining about the rich.

I burned in a tent this year. A $650 tent. 40% of the world makes $2/day. Do the math. The difference between me and that huge chunk of the world is so much more vast than between me and the the guy staying in a $100k custom built RV that to even think about complaining that someone has things I don't borders on offensive. I have everything I need at the Burn and far far more. Shit man, I'm on vacation. VACATION. That's something most of the world doesn't get to do in any form, much less at something like Burning Man. And your problem is that someone else is vacationing more luxuriously than you? I don't even know where to begin to point out how entitled that viewpoint makes someone sound.

I don't treasure or relish the idea of people on the playa who don't contribute, which I assume we all agree on, but I know plenty of veteran Burners that don't really contribute either. They may fit in better (to the point of the earlier poster who mentioned the LA-looking couple that felt apparently out of place), but so what? Is being awkward and feeling sometimes uncomfortable on the playa not allowed? I feel uncomfortable occasionally on the playa (usually when I make the critical mistake of letting myself think about how dirty I am) too. And what does it matter if someone sets up their own swamp cooler or buys one? How many of you built the cars you took, the tents you slept in, etc?

I camped with an 81 year old woman one year. She won the Presidential Medal of Freedom the year after I camped with her in fact, and her husband had died a few months before. Fantastic woman. Birgin. Again, 81 years old. Did she do everything herself? No, she didn't. She came in an RV. We helped her. A lot. So what. It's not the same thing as paying for that help, I certainly agree, but then the objection is paying for something, not that someone isn't doing it themselves.

Many of you know Green Tortoise camp I assume. They've been coming to Burning Man for years. They charge you a fee, you can get your tickets through them, they transport you there and back, they feed you, and they provide shade. Gotta provide your own tent. I feel like people don't object to them because they don't target rich people and aren't particularly luxurious, but that's just classism.

If the objection is that the culture of Burning Man is going to change, well, yes, it is. It has. Immensely, from what the real veterans (only my 5th burn) tell me. But that's what happens when a city grows, right? We talk about ourselves as being the biggest temporary city in the world, with the streets, public services, media, etc to go along with it. People live differently from each other in every city on earth. Don't know why it's a big deal that that includes this one. The playa isn't some kind of utopia, even if we feel like it should be for a week.

I do think that the org should force plug n' play camps (however they choose to define them) to register, and that they require the camps be theme camps providing something back to the community though. That suggestion from a poster above seems pretty apt. Would be hard to enforce, but it's not a problem requiring a 100% solution regardless, and I'd imagine most of the big ones would, out of desire not to have their members be looked at as distasteful by the wider BM community, cooperate.

Anyway, they didn't bother me at all this year or any other year. No negative interactions. Maybe positive ones with their members, but I wouldn't have known who is in a plug n' play camp when they're out and about so no way to tell, and didn't have any negative interactions on the playa with anyone of any stripe this year.

[[jim]]

we took a trip on our neighbors art car down the 10:00 radial out to L, then down 8:30 to J and back over to 10:00. art car was tall enough to see over everything.

basically that whole area didn't have a single 'theme camp', unless the theme was 'stay the fuck out' for all of them. Obviously I'm not including Distrikt and the other sound camps out there.

a lot of real estate and tickets devoted to spectators and their minions.

can't wait until the whole event gets purchased by the these folks... they'll have a great time keeping each other out of their walled camps whilst looking cool and live-tweeting.

[FIGJAM]

I loved it on Monday when the segways turned into segwon'ts.