Some Theme Camps unaproachable

[VikingNomad]

We were camped near 3:00 and Landfill. There was a theme camp a couple of blocks in that we named 'no show camp'. They did show up, but not until Friday. Their space sat empty most of the time, and when they did setup I had no clue what their 'theme' was. There was almost no central theme going on, few decorations, and it was a bunch of trucks building a wall around their camp like wagons circling in an old western flick. WTF is that?

That's not a theme camp, that's reserved camping at a KOA. If you're going to have a theme camp, use Lamplighters as an example. They have a lounge setup with misters and a bar. That's the common space. People are camped around and if someone wants privacy, they can go back to their camp within the Lamplighters theme camp. Why haul out all that crap out to have a party with just your friends. Go rent all the cabins by a lake one weekend, and hang out with your little click.

I saw many camps setup that weren't even theme camps that were totally inviting. I passed by a camp of people from Albuquerque, and within two minutes they were offering me beers and eggs with green chile for brunch. I passed camps that were book mobiles, had bars setup for drinks or even cereal in the morning.

I think that Burning Man should be a lot more picky about who they give two acres of real estate to going forward. If your theme camp doesn't contribute to the community, and isn't inviting, then it's not a theme camp. The direction it's in now, they might as well have assigned camping spots, and charge more for prime spots, like floor tickets at a concert.

[bleurose51]

To be fair, a couple of blocks in from 3:00 and Landfill isn't precisely "prime real estate".

We were at 2:30 and Intertidal and we saw a few theme camps like that too. On the other hand, if you wandered around between Arctic and Estuary from about 4:00 to 8:00 or around the plazas, you would find that almost every theme camp (maybe a few exceptions) were open, inviting and quite "with it".

However, I do agree with you on one thing. We arrived on Thursday and found several very large theme camp spaces still marked off and unused or barely used. There should be a rule that if your preregistered and reserved theme camp isn't established by some date/time (say Wednesday midnight), the markers come down and the space becomes open camping area. We were disappointed that we couldn't camp in closer and that a bunch of "prime real estate" as you call it was still reserved but completely unused.

Registered theme camps are clearly a benefit for the community, but they also have a higher impact on the event. Unregistered theme camps, on the other hand, are no burden at all. They are just a larger group of drop-in burners who decide to try to find a space big enough to do their thing in. I find unregistered camps often to be much more approachable (as you do) and sometimes a lot more fun. We should encourage more of it.

I also like the idea of charging a fee for preregistered theme camps. Make the registered camps pay a $10 fee per 100 square feet for however much space they reserve. A 100x200 camp which is a pretty large area (20,000 sq ft) would have to pay an additional $2000 which isn't much when spread across a lot of actual burners (that area can easily hold 50-100 burners which works out to between $20 and $40 per person) but would certainly encourage some careful thought about how much space a theme camp is going to reserve and then not use. Maybe it would also raise enough money to help reduce the cost or at least hold the line on the costs for the rest of us.

[jyesika]

This is the first year I've had any sort of serious breach of neighborly etiquette with a camp. The perps: Skinny Kitty Teahouse. Invited by one of their members to ride an art car to watch the oil rig burn, we arrived early and helped load a piano onto the car. We asked both the driver and some other organizer if it was OK to be there. We were first on. A good half an hour later, some late members or friends of the camp arrived and instead of booting the latecomers some hippy hag came over to me and said she didn't recognize me so we needed to get off. I protested, told her of our prearranged checks and attempts to be rational and pleasant. She was joined by some other belligerent toe rag and we got into a rather curt shouting match about "private parties".
I protested, not only because we had been invited, confirmed our invitation and helped with the preparations, but also because a "private art car" is very much at odds with the community of burning man. I think it is also at odds with the licensure agreement. Some neighbors later told me that they had been walking next to the skinny kitty art car (the next day!) and overheard others rudely being banished in a similar way.
I understand limitations of art cars, and obviously it's fun to organize camp parties. We weren't demanding booze or anything unreasonable. The skinny kitty camp people really soured my experience.

[bleurose51]

Ah, interesting. It does not appear that the DMV has any requirement for carrying passengers.

I do think it SHOULD require that any art car en route that has empty space should be required to offer a ride to anyone who wants it, and once someone gets on, you should NEVER be required to exit at any point except the home camp.

At the home camp, entrance to the car should be at the discretion of the owners, so if they fill up a car at home, they can travel wherever they want and as long as the occupancy of the vehicle is full, they don't have to let anyone else on. But if someone gets off, their space should be up for grabs.

[Isotopia]

I think certain rules and requirements are pretty fucking stupid. More so when they come about as an attempt to mandate an idea that supports less self-reliance.

[stargeezer]

I also like the idea of charging a fee for preregistered theme camps. Make the registered camps pay a $10 fee per 100 square feet for however much space they reserve. A 100x200 camp which is a pretty large area (20,000 sq ft) would have to pay an additional $2000 which isn't much when spread across a lot of actual burners (that area can easily hold 50-100 burners which works out to between $20 and $40 per person) but would certainly encourage some careful thought about how much space a theme camp is going to reserve and then not use. Maybe it would also raise enough money to help reduce the cost or at least hold the line on the costs for the rest of us.

Theme camps already cost a lot and now you are wanting to make them pay more and allow you to pay less. Just what BM needs is to drive out the good camps due to cost and allow individuals cheaper access.

I actually believe in the opposite direction. Reserved area should be provided for those camps that have been an asset to the community. In addition, these camps should be provided with free tickets that they could either use to help offset the cost of the camp, or be gifted to others that are less fortunate. Camps that are not an asset to the community should continue to pay their own way, and in addition should not have a designated camping area prior to entry night.

[djero]

Well, it was my first year and though I found some camps to be less "inviting" than others, in general I found the spirit of the event welcoming. Some people do come to do their private thing, as you would expect. Other camps, like the camp I was involved with (Cyphertown), have a public area and a private area which makes it all rather easy to deal with. Unfortunately our camp was pretty much destroyed in Thursdays dust storm, but we kept it alive through the challenges.

[run_w_xcors]

Ha-Ha-Ha, you've fallen to one of the classic blunders. The first of course is never begin a land war in Asia...but second and only slightly less well known is this: Burning Man is a city made of people, not some Utopia made of dreams and glow sticks.

There are tons of invite-only places around Burning Man, some are extravagantly lavish almost to the point of ridiculousness, unless you're staying there.

Sadly, as the Burning Man Corporation sells its soul to it's corporate peers, you'll probably see more of this as opposed to less, for many of the reasons others have identified. I don't suppose you got a drink at the Stilter's Bar either (well, unless you were on stilts). There are an increasing amount of takers at BM, and a hell of alot of watchers. I don't blame anyone for taking a few hours off to have a great time with their favorite participants w/out being bothered by others. You should feel blessed they're open for you at all.

[Dork]

I do think it SHOULD require that any art car en route that has empty space should be required to offer a ride to anyone who wants it, and once someone gets on, you should NEVER be required to exit at any point except the home camp.

En route to where? I've had people jump on without asking while I was heading back to my camp or parking to go spend time somewhere. I haven't needed to kick someone off, but I've come real close. Occasionally riders can be dicks and need to be kicked off. Or maybe I'm going somewhere to pick people up and have room right now but won't once I get to the destination.

I know art car drivers can be dicks as well sometimes, but I'm not sure more rules would help. The dicks will still do whatever the hell they want, and those of us who do try to give as many rides as possible will get more grief than we already do from those with a sense of entitlement.

[bleurose51]

My point was that the purpose of an "art car" is the "art", not the "car". In addition, a mutant vehicle MUST have a license and as with any license, it comes with obligations and responsibilities. So when you say if I have space because I am enroute to pick someone up, my point was precisely that there should be NO reason for you to be enroute to pick someone up (as in a prearranged taxicab ride).

Art cars should cruise the playa for the purposes of being on display and anyone should be allowed to ride on them at any time if there is available space (like a bus, not a taxicab - a bus can't refuse someone a ride as a cab can).

Use of an art car as a private vehicle for the benefit of a small group is directly opposed to the purpose they are permitted in the first place.

I realize that a lot of burners don't like rules, but at 50,000 people, BRC is a lot different than it was in 1998 or earlier. Rules are required, there is simply no way to manage an event like ours without them. What we need are rules that make sense and are in the spirit of the event.

Yes, riders may act like dicks and in that case, you get a Ranger and have them ejected. Honestly, if there were more ejections of people who were acting like dicks, BM would be a lot more fun.