Will lost & found database ever update?

[Burnorburn]

I have been checking the lost and found portal everyday since the last day of burn, but haven't seen any new images of lost items. I have even contacted burning man with descriptions of my lost item and haven't heard back.

I'm guessing (and hoping) that the lost and found volunteers are dealing with a lot of lost items. But I'm also wondering if more items were found in addition to what's already on the portal and if so, when should we expect to hear back or see new images of lost items on the portal?

[Addisonann12]

Following..

[gaminwench]

The items already up on the portal were turned into L&F on the playa; they were catalogued there.

The (small) L&F team in SF just returned from the playa in the last few days, they are probably sleeping and eating good food and taking lots of showers right now.

Patience, grasshopper.

[bluebird_day]

I’m trying to keep faith my phone wasn’t stolen, rather turned into L&F and just not catalogued yet. This has been a true lesson in patience….

[Yaman Jindal]

I’m waiting for a response from a volunteer too.
My phone is in the lnf catalogue.
But I’m not able to claim it and receive a reply from the team.
Hope I receive the same asap.

[neemaburn]

I read somewhere that over 1400 phones were turned into lost and found this year. I really appreciate the effort burning man volunteers have put into managing the lost and found items. However, some communication would be nice at this point. Even if it's a note that says we're still sorting through the lost and found items.

[bluebird_day]

neemaburn, do you remember where you read that 1400 phones have been turned into L&F?

I’m trying to keep faith that my phone was turned into L&F and not stolen…..

[neemaburn]

The burning man subreddit. Just Google search "burning man 1400 phones lost reddit".

The post was by a burning man lost and found volunteer (as he/she/it claimed) and it was very rude to say the least. The confusing part was where the post said 150 phones will be packed and taken to SF. What about the rest?

I understand that these guys don't get paid to return 1400 phones to their owners. But shouldn't there be some communication or accountability? Even a note that says consider your lost items gone forever would bring some closure.

I am honestly disappointed at the burning man l&f handling of lost items post Playa. Maybe, and hopefully, that will change in the next few days/weeks as we get some updates.

[Lembot]

My phone is also catalogued in the lost and found database. I have claimed it. Weeks ago.

Worse it had my ID and credit cards in it. All of which have been confirmed found.

But I haven’t heard from LnF. Do I need to get a new phone? Do I need a new ID? Do I need new credit cards?

Does return take days or weeks or months? If it takes months, let us know. I’ll cancel everything and reboot my phone and financial life. It’s already been weeks…

Getting by with no ID, phone or CCs is virtually impossible. If they’re unlikely to be returned any time soon please let us know!

[some seeing eye]

That sounds frustrating. The 3 main social media for Burning Man are multiple groups on FB, R*ddit, and ePlaya.

You could search for posts from the 2019 burn on how long returning found items took. But this year is going to be unpredictably longer. That is because the BMHQ is short staff and volunteers, including because of Omicron. It is ridiculously contagious, and the vaccine+booster didn't protect me from catching it. They can't return to work until they test negative.

As you probably saw, even DPW Playa Restoration, Resto, is very short paid and volunteer workers.

TL:DR start replacing the most necessary items in the most economical way because no one knows how long the process which wants to get items back to the right person, not an imposter, will take. If it comes back early throw a party for your burner friends!

This is in no way information from BMHQ, and I don't have any inside information from BMHQ. It is just a common sense conjecture.

[Burnorburn]

It is extremely frustrating to not get any updates/response in almost 3 weeks. I happen to have insurance on my lost phone and could get a replacement. But the phone manufacturer will kill the phone remotely and erase all the data if I file a claim. I want the photos in the phone so badly, which is why I'm still waiting.

I believe this forum is monitored and a BM staff has surely seen this post. Please give us an update if you're reading this!

[bluebird_day]

My phone’s location was updated to La Playa St in SF yesterday. I’m hopeful this location is associated with L&F although I’m continuing to check the L&F catalogue and still don’t see it…

[Yaman Jindal]

Just hoping for volunteers to contact us soon so that we all can claim our phones/ other items back.

[Burnorburn]

My phone’s location was updated to La Playa St in SF yesterday. I’m hopeful this location is associated with L&F although I’m continuing to check the L&F catalogue and still don’t see it…

That location is farther from the BM headquarters address. Maybe they charged it and turned it on at a different location to take photos and post it online? With the number of phones turned in this year, I wouldn't be surprised if multiple volunteers are managing l&f from homes or different locations.

My phone's location was updated to a block away from the headquarters address on Sep 8. Then it went silent. So I know someone has it in San Francisco, and there is a contact number on the screen with a note that says contact this number if found. Still haven't heard anything.

[bluebird_day]

Update- faith restored! I was contacted by an awesome guy who’s friends found my phone on playa! Because it was so late in the burn they didn’t get it to L&F (thankfully) instead they have it. Coincidentally I’m heading to SF next week, so I’ll be able to grab it. I hope everyone else on this thread eventually gets their happy ending too. Sending good vibes.

[dustybear]

Is the burning man lost and found a joke? Who's running this post playa? I don't care if you are a volunteer or paid, if you can't do the job then don't sign up. And if you're given the job and decide to insult everyone on social media, then you should not be given that chance again next year. Maybe you wanted a free ticket to the burn or a cool spot while you stayed there?

$46M in revenue in 2019 with some exec salaries near/over 300k and they still can't hire two staff members for 2 weeks to sort through the lost items?

Burning Man CEO Marian Goodell: $297,000
Director Harley Dubois: $216,000
Director Theresa Duncan: $192,000
Attorney Ray Allen: $185,000
IT Director Heather Gallagher: $183,000
Managing Director Heather White: $176,000
Director Kim Cook: $175,000

Even if you took $0.50 (as insurance) from each ticket sale it would cover the cost of paid L&F staff.

If you're going to offer a L&F, then do it right, or don't offer it at all. No update or responses for over 3 weeks is a joke.

[M F Bonz]

I don’t think you understand the immense massive undertaking of all the peoples lost stuff to be Processed.
It’s first request found… not …loudest heard.
I’m sure they could use a hand.
Go Volunteer.


But…
They should have had an automatic response email saying your request was received and we are working on it.
“”Don’t panic!””

That would cut down on the repeat requests for help. And some Anxiety.

Or don’t.

Eats popcorn.

[dustybear]

Oh I know it's a lot of work...and that's why it should NOT be a "volunteer" handled job. Take a $1 from each ticket sale and establish a reliable L&F. I don't think anyone would object if the cost of tickets suddenly went up by a $1 next year to support the L&F staff. This is not something to be handled in someone's spare time.

And you can't tell me that only 1% or fewer people at BM lose their items, and its their fault for not labeling their items. It can happen to anyone. You get stuck in a whiteout and drop your phone while trying to survive. But also, what's the point of labeling items when the L&F does not even respond to those whose items are clearly labeled and identified on the portal?

[M F Bonz]

Hey things could be worse …They could be dropping missiles on your home.

I guess all things are relative.
Man it sucks I can’t get any Topo Chico at the chef’s store …so no ranch water in my bar lately.
Man Life’s a bitch.

[BBadger]

Let me get this straight, the dumbass who loses his own shit at the event is now the one feeling put out because the volunteer-run, extra service is not running on his time table?

Have a little gratitude that anybody even bothers sorting this shit at all. There is nothing in the ticket price that guarantees that your stuff, or even life, exits the event intact or in your possession, or that you will ever get it back if you fuck up and lose it.

[dustybear]

Have a little gratitude that anybody even bothers sorting this shit at all.

You want us to be grateful for the half-ass run lost and found service that gives people hope and then takes it away? Keeps us in limbo for weeks, when we could get on with our lives if the half-ass service did not exist in the first place?

You sound very much like the disrespectful l&f volunteer on Reddit who called people dumbasses and other names for losing their items.

How about BM organization include a fee for the lost and found service in future years and deliver a reliable service that we can actually appreciate? It's not the first year that so many people lose their items.

[M F Bonz]

Because the long dollar always rules all? Fixing all things bad?
Just throw money at it?
Sorry.. not in Black Rock City.

You never learned some of the unwritten rules.

Rule: never take anything/anyone to the black rock desert you’re not prepared to lose for ever. Including people.

Rule: when you get to the burn..turn off your phone and lock it up with your ID, passport, or anything else you need to protect for a week.
Pirates roam the desert.

Rule: never bring rare one of a kind can’t be replaced items to the black rock city.

But you do you.

That’s what’s great about the burn.
Yep.

But that also means we can make fun of you for not knowing the rules.

Learn from your mistakes.

[Elorrum]

dustybear, You really don’t get how much sheer luck is necessary to reunite people with objects they lost in a huge expanse of desert. Some things get found taken home and counted as fortuitous ground scores. Some things get turned in, some things get run over, buried, or are considered busted trash. It cannot be a reliable “service” ever, and it’s folly to think some more money would change that. You lost your thing and cannot accept it. It isn’t someone else’s fault, or responsibility. IF, If you get it back, be grateful. You are welcome to keep pushing the water until it holds the shape you want.

[dustybear]

But that also means we can make fun of you for not knowing the rules.

First, F*** your burn. Second, you are making fun of 1400+ people with lost phones for "unwritten rules"? Third, shit happens and it can happen to the best of us.

Did you ever have to call 911 or go to the hospital because you didn't follow the "unwritten rules"? Yes, because shit happens.

Did you want your ice at BM to be handled by volunteers who made ice whenever they felt like it? Or were you grateful that you could pay $5 and have ice every morning? If the L&F staff were paid we wouldn't be having this discussion.

There is enough money to pay two people for two weeks to sort this out. They could even charge people who lost their items a service fee. There are so many better ways to handle this than going radio silent for 3+ weeks.

[dustybear]

dustybear, You really don’t get how much sheer luck is necessary to reunite people with objects they lost in a huge expanse of desert. Some things get found taken home and counted as fortuitous ground scores. Some things get turned in, some things get run over, buried, or are considered busted trash. It cannot be a reliable “service” ever, and it’s folly to think some more money would change that. You lost your thing and cannot accept it. It isn’t someone else’s fault, or responsibility. IF, If you get it back, be grateful. You are welcome to keep pushing the water until it holds the shape you want.

I'm not talking about luck here. I could be the unlucky one whose lost item got buried, ran over, trashed, etc. And if that's what happened, I accept it.

I'm frustrated because even the items that have been found and catalogued are unrecoverable due to lack of communication from BM L&F volunteers.

Even a note that said we are still sorting through items, or we are tired AF and need 3 weeks to recover would ease some of the tension.

[some seeing eye]

If your burn is giving you heartburn, take it up with management:

https://burningman.org/feedback-loop/

ePlaya is not management. Management does not waste time reading ePlaya.

The BMORG has a very small paid staff, and volunteers and participants go back to their regular jobs after the burn. As soon as the burn ends, the staff go on to their post-burn tasks on the internal schedule. You don't control that task list, I don't control that task list, and it is not a public task list. Much of that task list is required by law and the operations plan.

Available staff resources have been reduced by Covid, and the extra resources required to remove all the bikes dumb ass burners did not lock and abandoned as MOOP.

This thread is getting into bad Reddit territory which is sad.

[BBadger]

If you want to alleviate your stress, convince yourself that the stuff you lost is a total loss. Then treat any stuff you do manage to get back in any time frame as a benevolence bestowed upon you by volunteers who have zero obligation to compensate for your mistakes.

Because that is exactly what is going on here.

Any lost and found, whether provided by a festival or a casino, is entirely an extra operation that nobody is obligated to maintain. It is not a service -- go buy insurance if you want that. Have some gratitude that a lost and found exists at all, and that anything gets returned to you at any point.

If that's too much for you, again, write it off.

And, if this unfulfilled entitlement crisis leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, do us all a favor and don't attend this event or its regionals. Please also tell your friends that Burning Man sucks because they don't look for all your lost shit on your time table. Maybe they'll agree and benefit us all by not attending too, or maybe they'll just raise their eyebrows and blink in the face of such lack of self-awareness.

[Token]

This is a real good thread.

Inspires a bit of nostalgia for me.

I’m all for what DustyBear says … pay the L&F folks …

For the main sale, have an item available in the checkout marked ‘Stupid Tax Insurance’, charge a buck or two.

Then, at L&F everyone that paid up front gets to scan a barcode in and gets their stuff pronto from the happy paid workers milling about and cataloging stuff.

If they don’t have a barcode, it’s 20 bucks.

This is one of the few exceptions I would think fair to the whole decommodificatios.

[M F Bonz]

Oh crap I’m sorry.
Come sit in the shade, here drink some water, have a protein bar.

Take a breath and calm down we are going to get through this.
Don’t Panic. Breathe deep.
Please don’t take all of this so personal. I know it’s stressful.

You can’t hurt my feelings…it’s okay not many people can. Snark is fun for us old burners.

Okay now it’s my turn.
You can’t fuck my burn it was fucked years ago. Does the “old jaded burners dance.”
Good right?

As far as unwritten rules.
Rule: lock up your bike every single time. Every single time. Every single time.
Snickers…you’ll learn what the rules are…or not.

As far as for the 1400 people… I was only making fun of you.
Sorry.

I’ll stop now. It’s to easy.
It’s going to be okay.
Just….Stop making yourself a target. It’s hard for people to resist.

Above all Don’t Panic!

[dustybear]

This is a real good thread.

Inspires a bit of nostalgia for me.

I’m all for what DustyBear says … pay the L&F folks …

Thank you. Finally someone who understands. I'm not trying to discredit the work that the L&F volunteers have done or 'will do?'. All I'm saying is that this is the type of service that will benefit from more structure and paid staff.

The BM org knows you're going to take shit in the desert, so they contract 1700 port-a-potties every year and pay to have them cleaned. Nowhere in your ticket there are notes about how your shit will be cleaned. They know you're going to need ice, so they offer ice for a fee. They know thousands of people are going to lose their items, so why not plan and budget for a paid and better structured L&F too?

As for the entitlement comments...Do you know what entitlement is? "a situation in which you have the right to do or have something".

Here is another example of entitlement: Taking other people's belongings home, when some are clearly labeled and have contact info, sitting on them for weeks, and not responding to the owners inquiries until you feel like it. Not doing the job you signed up for. That's borderline theft.

Leave the shit in the desert, dispose of it, don't offer a L&F at all, or if you're going to offer one, do it right. Dropping off lost phones at a mobile carrier store is an even better option than keeping them in the garage until the second coming of Jesus or who knows when.