Hello and Welcome... What's your name? Tell me about You...

[ngawhat]

hello my name is caleb cosgrove and im planning on going to this burn. It'll be my first burn. I have known about burning man since like the late nineties when I was in High school. I remember staying up late on sat. nights at home watching SNL and then some independent show called weird T.V. In one of the episodes they showed burning man and some of the community. Shit was bad ass. People burned stuff, rode around on crazy homemade go-carts, and dressed like it was Mad Max beyond thunder dome. Straight up Bartertown. Whatever, so this year I'm hoping to go.
I reside in the bay area right on the coast. I am an art student who loves biking, surfing, music/making music, and videogames.

[Roseweed]

Hello !!! My name is Chery . Read about Burning Man a few years ago and recently it popped into my mind and started checking it out online to find when it actually was held. Needless to say OMG its next week! Never have attended but I am soooo going next year!(with the exception that the tickets don't sell out before I buy them. lol) Ever since I recently started researching online about Burning Man , I cannot get it out of my mind. Log in everyday on my Fb to get updates on the events and whats all going on atm. Although , it wont be till next year that I plan to attend, I am so excited!!!!! Cant stand that I am not attending it THIS year, but like Haicyon says "It's only a year away" Looks amazing and am looking forward to meeting people of like mind , spirit, and heart. I think I found HOME <3

[FeedMeBeats]

Hey Hey,
Name is Justin from Australia,
Planning to make the big trip to the states for burning man next year.
Cant wait!!

[Honey-Bunny]

Hi All,
I'm Hilary aka Honey Bunny. I'm a multi year burner trying to get home this year and have by rv all packed and ready to go with my vehicle pass and my virgin burner friend who is finally able to make it out but alas we have no tickets! We both got jumped out of the regular AND omg sale without getting tickets arrghhh! So now we are on a frantic hunt after 3...yes 3!....different people tried to scam us. Came here to hopefully find a good, honest, fellow burner to sell us tickets. Hope to see you all out on the playa!!!!!!!!!!! <3 )'( <3

[sadhu]

Hi All,
My name is Prathamesh. Originally from India, but have been living in different parts of US for the past 7 years!
I felt lucky enough to get tickets in the OMG sale and I am all ready to be on the playa and meet you of you amazing folks..

Cheers!
Prathamesh

[Willivan]

Greetings from Norman, Oklahoma! My name is Dianna and I'm looking to experience my first burn 2016. I'm a photographer, married with a couple of fur babies (dogs). Happy to be here and looking forward to learning all sorts of BM tips and tricks while meeting fellow "tribal" members . Peace, Love and PoptARTs! Dianna

[Auspice]

I'm Melody, out of Portland. 2014 was my first Burn after six, seven years of longing to go. My yurt stayed up, I brought enough food and water, and I met folks like Ratty, Sojourn, and Abba Zabba, who were amazing and kind while I acclimated to the playa. Overall, great success. Going back next year.

[ikkaj]

Hiya,
My name is Jakki & i'm from Orlando Florida! I'm 26 & a BM virgin, I'm looking to experience my first burn in 2016. I'm part of a Roller Derby league (Lunachic) and i'd like to bring something like this to the playa. Or maybe i'll just hang out at the black rock roller disco!
Glad to be a part of the community and looking forward to all the wisdom that you have to share!
<3

[Jovankat]

I seem to remember seeing some pics of people in derby gear (I'm guessing) on the roller disco's rink.

Welcome!

[KrabbyO]

You can call me Kortni.. I like stuff. Professional Sleeper / Procrastinator / Beastmaster. I'm also an artist, I paint mainly on canvas or whatever I find lying around.
I'm also nice, stubborn, open minded, a little forgetful, pretty creative, too caring, quite silly and somewhat interesting among other things... In spite of me being positive, my favorite genre is tragedy. Dark gloom will always grasp at my heartstrings. This next year will be my first burn. So excite.

[theCryptofishist]

Jakki
You want to find Misablue. Misa's in the Prague Roller Derby team under the name "Body Czech".

She's also a total sweetheart. I think she's the Czech regional representative. Be careful going drinking with this woman.

[ikkaj]

Jakki
You want to find Misablue. Misa's in the Prague Roller Derby team under the name "Body Czech".

She's also a total sweetheart. I think she's the Czech regional representative. Be careful going drinking with this woman.

Awesome, I'll try to get in contact with her, she sounds FUN! Thanks so much for the info.

[biggybaps]

Hello, everyone Name is Nazz. from LA. first timer here. would be an honor if i can participate / attend one of the even pretty soon. been to several Insomniac events (typical raves) last few years. love all the energy and positivity in people. and from what i heard everyone been telling me i got to experience the Burning man community and what we are all about. would love to get to know more of you guys. peace & love <3 it would be also great if anyone can tell me how i can help volunteer and participate in any activities

[BootKickingStrumpet]

This is my first time to Burning Man and i am so looking forward to it!

Welcome to ePlaya, BootKickingStrumpet! Say, does "Jaguar E Type" mean anything to you?

Other then its a hot car, not really. So back from BM and my mind has been blown apart in a million different directions. Decomp it easier then others some days.

[chlo5fo]

Hi! My name is Chloe, and I am very new to all of this. I first heard about Burning Man when I was living in Oakland, CA attending art school. I never had the financial means to go, but have always been absolutely fascinated by the concepts of the temporary city, the art projects, the camaraderie, and the mysticism surrounding the event. I'm now getting my M.A in Library Sciences and am currently taking a class on Information Communities. We were asked to pick a community to follow for the semester and write an in-depth research paper on it. I naturally decided on Burning Man, and am really excited to learn more about the customs of the community while working on this project. I wanted to ask if it would be okay to post a simple questionnaire to the ePlaya about the different way people prepare for the event, and if so, where would be the best place for me to post this, to get as many different answers as possible? If this goes against the what the message board is used for, I completely understand. I have a personal interest in BM as well as a research interest, but am not looking to disturb anyone's privacy. Anonymous answers would be fine! Thanks for any help

[Sham]

Welcome to eplaya and to this great community.

A questionnaire won't help you. There are countless articles, books, YouTube videos etc. on this amazing temporary community. None will really prepare you for the actual event. As almost everyone says after they attend for the first time---"this is nothing like I thought it was".
So in preparation of your first pilgrimage, read all the preparation guides and first timer information, and once you come to Black Rock City, all your questions will be answered.

[Savannah]

Hi Chloe.

Open Discussion, Philosophy or the Experiences forum might be okay for a survey, depending on what the survey is like (the mods will move it as needed) but you can expect some crankiness if you do (participation levels will be difficult to predict). There are a lot of reasons for this.

1. Answering very personal questions is emotionally taxing, whether or not anonymity is offered/guaranteed/possible.
2. Burning Man tends to attract outsiders, artists, independent thinkers and other stubborn cusses with a disinclination toward being pigeonholed, classified or studied.
3. We see half a dozen requests for this per year on ePlaya, and simply get tired of answering.
4. Any publicity in the form of research/documentaries/etc leads to greater interest in the event and makes getting a ticket that much harder.
5. Keen awareness among those who have been that the event cannot fully be explained, only experienced. Trying to explain & failing feels pretty cheap & wrong.
6. Overall lack of incentive.

I'd take your survey on the playa if it takes 10 minutes and serve cold drinks. Maybe I'd take it online too, but . . . I dunno.

Welcome to the board. Hope to see you in the dust.

[chlo5fo]

I totally see what you mean Savannah, thanks so much for those points. Would it be okay with you if I paraphrased your thoughts on my blog? I wouldn't feel comfortable doing this without your permission..

[BBadger]

Chloe,

Surveys are quite possibly the worst tool for someone like you to follow to get any meaningful data. The reason? You don't even know the answers to ask.

Instead, why don't you just data-mine the forum or just observe how the dynamic changes throughout the year or semester. Then you don't have to come up with survey questions, receive tainted responses to your contrived questions, and interpret results given in an artificial context. You'll have data in raw form and you can do the analysis without perturbing the data.

There are more than enough stories from people given in their own words, information about how people prepare, and lots of clues about what the customs are, aren't and how they're being challenged all the time.

Go do some research, not some lazy survey.

[chlo5fo]

I agree, beginning to realize that's the way to go..thanks!

[^Rhino!]

"Go do some research, not some lazy survey." Crypto, truer words have never been spoken. Surveys are just good for a statistical 'feel' about a subject; field work is where (in my case) the hammer hits the rocks. A couple of researchers I know did a survey on the numbers and diversity of a couple of taxa of ancient and extinct organisms, by contacting researchers and getting estimates of numbers and genera. When it was all done, they had a list of genera that showed that things changed at major system boundaries.

They didn't publish it, because they found out that the NAME of the organisms involved ALSO changed at the system boundaries. There were no extinctions taking place, just the knowledge of the organisms was becoming extinct.

[Burbian]

I am a person. Spawned a cute babe in 2010. Currently attending university. Can the burningman organization reschedule the event to earlier in the summer so I can attend? In seriousness I patiently plan for my arrival and hope that the event has not jumped the shark before I attend. I read all that I can here and in other places on the interwebs (mostly here) and have my plan mapped out. Hope to see you guys soon.

[^Rhino!]

I am a person. Spawned a cute babe in 2010. Currently attending university. Can the burningman organization reschedule the event to earlier in the summer so I can attend? In seriousness I patiently plan for my arrival and hope that the event has not jumped the shark before I attend. I read all that I can here and in other places on the interwebs (mostly here) and have my plan mapped out. Hope to see you guys soon.

Earlier in the summer? Your best bet would be to attempt to attend the 4th of Juplaya celebration, but I don't know if that's still on or not.

[Elliot]

I am a person. Spawned a cute babe in 2010. Currently attending university. Can the burningman organization reschedule the event to earlier in the summer so I can attend? In seriousness I patiently plan for my arrival and hope that the event has not jumped the shark before I attend. I read all that I can here and in other places on the interwebs (mostly here) and have my plan mapped out. Hope to see you guys soon.

Welcome aboard, person!
Having the Event conflict with the school year can be viewed as a tool for weeding out some of the less-dedicated folks, such as "frat boys". Tourists still show up, but there will always be dedicated Burners to keep the Event plenty worthwhile.

[Ratty]

Welcome to eplaya Burbian. You have plenty of time before the burn to be an expert in preparation. The only thing you can expect is for it to be different than you expected. Let us help you on your way. [ insert hug for Burbian here].

[DirtyPachouli]

Hello!, I'm Pachouli Julie. I'm really excited to find you all! I am from the Gulf area of Florida and I'm looking to make the journey this coming year.
I was introduced to the burns by a friend who needed help manning his medical post back in 2005 and offered me the opportunity!
I consider myself very new to the internet, but finding it to be very useful in preparation of many adventures.
A little bit about me: Currently working in the Allied Medical Field and part time retail. Cohabiting with the greatest person I've met, my lover Dirty, who will naturally be my sidekick throughout this voyage. We are lovers of all animals and have a few beasts ourselves. Young at heart and gawking at our futures with great enthusiasm. Thanks for the opportunity to introduce myself to this wonderful community! Cant wait to find my way home!

[Sham]

Welcome to eplaya PJ. I hope you find things useful here. Make sure to read the preparation guide as well as the first timers guide. Lots of useful information there.
Good luck in your preparation for your journey to the desert.

[SSOSVA]

Hi

My name is Silent Bill, I am from UK and I mainly exist within theUK urban art scene. I founded The Secret Society of Super Villain Artists to bring people together to pursue creative activities . We exhibit, raise money for charity, network and generally try do good deeds. If any board members wish to join the process is simple which involves undergoing severe bouts of sensory deprivation and teh drinkign of goats blood.... or you could just fill out the application form.

[FreePeacelove]

My name is Thomas, and last year i´ve been on BM for the first time. it was really amazing.

I live in Adelaide and like to dance, read, talk and maybe get new Campingfriends for BM next year

[ThePrescientPariah]

What's up its the Prescient Pariah here. I have not been home in over three years and planning to make a return in 2015. Colorado Native here living out in the sticks. Very much into sustainable living and deep thoughts. Trying to network with more people in the state (and other states/countries as well). Wanting to start planning this big return and make it another EPIC Burn.