Read this thread:
http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic.php?t=36767
Now read it again.
Now a few more times, and pardon my giant ego while I quote myself.
I wrote:
DO:
-Contact camps EARLY! Every year, we are contacted 1-10 people wanting to join our camp.... about a week or two before the burn. I don't even reply to them anymore. We have spent the entire year prepping for this. You are not going to slip right in a week before. If you have not talked to us at least 6 months before the burn, odds are really low of you gettin in.
-Understand & be enthusiastic about the theme of the camp you want to join. The few that I did respond to had no idea what we were about.
-Find out what the camp needs, and bring it.
-Be prepared to do whatever the senior members of your camp ask of you, within reason of course. You are the one trying to join the family. Failure to pull your weight gets you disowned real quick.
-Ask ask ask and get clear answers of how the camp works. You should know before had how food, shelter, waste, dues, all that should work. It's one thing to get fucked by the camp, as illustrated in tales above. It's another if you show up surprised because you didn't listen.
-FOLLOW THE ADVICE HERE!
DONT:
-Expect the camp to buy you anything. That ain't how it works.
-Expect a ride down with no gas money to contribute.
-Show up without a ticket or the money to buy one. These both happened to me, same person. 2 days into being there, we kicked his ass to the curb and left him in the desert. (there's more to that story, but not in this thread) I'm a little bummed he didn't die out there.
-Tell us what a hard worker you are, particularly if you are contacting the camp late in the game. If you are such a hard worker, why have you been so lax in your planning? Actions speak louder than words. Contact early and help the camp for 6 months beforehand. That proves you are a hard worker.
-Sell yourself with any of the following:
My awesome system for recycling! Fuck off. We've been doing this for over a decade. Unless you are going to haul all the trash & recycling out, you are not going to do it better.
Good vibes! I have plenty of those.
Your digiridoo, drum, massage table, whatever. Those don't make the camp function, unless that is the theme.
The fact that your a dj. I can swing a cat by the tail and hit a dozen of those. In fact, I wouldn't tell anyone you're a dj. Ever.
-Get pissy if we don't let you join us. Word gets around, and we will tell other camps to watch out for you if you act like a ass-gasket.
Once you have read
all of it, and thoroughly, then you will be ready to start asking more questions.
.
