The Jack Rabbit Speaks Volume 16, Issue #12

[brcprincess]

Yes, BORG messed up. When they saw how many registrations there were for the lottery, it should have been clear that this was going to happen. They should have canceled the lottery before it happened and come up with a different system. They could have avoided much of the heartache. They definitely made some poor decisions. But hey, we all do it. .

The problem is, what system do you switch to? Once you see that you have 120,000 requests for 40,000 tickets what system do you go to that doesn't leave 80,000 requests unfilled.
First come first served effectively becomes a lottery at that point, it's just a lottery where your ticket vendors bandwidth replaces the random number generator.

If I had seen 120,000 requests come in when I normally see 40,000, I would assume that in conjunction with increased demand, there was also multiple registrations and scalpers at play which were exacerbating the situation. My solution?

1. Start the registration over again with people able to register for one single price, non transferable ticket.

2. Assess the number of registrations. If numbers were considerably lower than in the first round of registrations (which I suspect they would be), then proceed with the lottery.

3. Hire professionals who specialize in ticketing systems to implement the non transferrable system. If there is enough resources and planning, it can work.

4. Add additional gates to accommodate slower entry times.

[alt12]

the organizers are going to save the last 10,000 tickets for their closest friends.

that's the truth.

the only way regular theme camps are going to see any of those tickets is if someone in camp exchanged at least a pint of bodily fluid with someone in the office - minimum.

when sexual favors dry up, expect to see blackmail and other forms of extortion.

hahaha, so true its sad.... if there is a ticket redistribution, the most-favored-nation theme camps and buddies of the org will definitely be the ones getting them..... I can't imagine they'll just evenly spread-out 10,000 tickets among the 700 registered camps and 300 registered art projects.... the org has a great history of hooking up the same people over and over and over again and I will be blown away if these tickets don't find their way to those same crews that all other goodies already flow too....assuming they don't just follow-through with the main sale as announced...

[alt12]

BORG would be doing a huge disservice to newbies and veterans alike if they didn't take steps to ensure the core builders and contributors were able to attend. Imagine a Playa with no art cars and art? A Man and Temple only half built? For most people, it would be a huge disappointment.

Yes but the question is how this is decided. If history is any guide, tickets will be distributed totally or disproportionally to favorite darlings of the bmorg and braf... Personally, I would consider this adding insult to injury myself. I think they just need to accept that they fucked up and deal with the consequences of their actions. If that means less large-scale art and camps this year, so be it (and I'm saying that as someone involved in both). Next year they can try a better thought-out process. But to transfer thousands of tickets to the already privileged elite of the event wouldn't sit well with me or a lot of people. On the other hand, it will certainly highlight to the broader community the tremendous amount of nepotism that is well-known to those who have been involved with the administration/bureacreacy of the event at any level (i.e. volunteers, artists submitting grant proposals year after year, long-time registered theme camps, etc.) that have been able to keep an outsider perspective and not drink the bullshit utopian kool-aid. You don't need to be a conspiracy theorist to see that those in power anywhere tend to protect and support their friends, buddies, and lovers above strangers...

[chickendinner]

You don't need to be a conspiracy theorist to see that those in power anywhere tend to protect and support their friends, buddies, and lovers above strangers...

I agree. What we're suggesting is hardly a conspiracy, its just how organizations tend to function.

The irony is that in order to create the event where participants are given a great amount of personal and creative freedom, there is necessarily a very authoritarian and undemocratic power structure that facilitates that happening.

Certainly not complaining about that! For me its well worth the 300, 400 or whatever its gonna cost for a ticket. I was never under the illusion that this was a democratic endeavor in any way whatsoever.

[brcprincess]

Man this is complicated.

To the untrained eye (mine), it seems BORG has come crashing down to earth over the ticket fiasco. They are under a microscope like never before. They are thinking and re-thinking everything at the moment. Trying to look at it from every possible angle.

I don't doubt nepotism has been at play in the past, but I suspect BORG will go out of their way to avoid it this time around. They have already acknowledged they need to include the smaller, non registered theme camps and art groups. Everyone is watching... and discussing what is happening. The BORG simply can't afford any more bad publicity. They know this.

I'm actually starting to feel sorry for BORG. They are caught between a rock and hard place. No matter what they do, they can't please everyone.

If they send the remaining tickets to general sale, BM's infrastructure will be decimated, and it's core members will remain angry and alienated. If they divert the remaining tickets to core burners, the newbies cry foul, and any core burner who misses out (or is scared of missing out) complains about nepotism.

They can only proceed with making the decisions which are in the best interests of the community as a whole.

[moonwatcher]

I am a ticket-less virgin...and the 10K sale was my last best chance to get a ticket. I am not wishful thinking, I am despairing...

Moonwatcher, you will get a ticket *if* you can buy it later in the year (depends on travel issues depending on how far away you are). Art projects (even small ones) require lots of planning, prototyping, fabricating, etc. and that takes time. Theme camps can take a lot of time. If these people don't have tickets early, they don't do it, because they can't. It's hard enough to get some of these done when you don't have to deal with tickets. I've already seen several art collectives bail, 'cuz it isn't possible when only 20 - 30 % of your crew is ticketed.

But as a virgin, I suggest, you just get yourself there, as prepared as you can be, and help when and where you want to. Because believe me, no matter how much you read or watch, you have *no* idea what it's like...and I am sure you will love it.

Thanks RevDusty!
As you can see from my sig, I am hanging on and will not quit looking for tickets (I need 2) until I really can't get things organized to go. The main constraint is being able to rent a vehicle for that week - my 19yrs old car being a little old for a long distance drive to BRC and too small for everything we'd like to bring to the playa...

I am very serene about the 10k tickets (or chunks of it) going to established camps and collectives. BMORG hasn't confirmed that's what they will do, but the hints are very strong. Preserving at least some of the infrastructure of BRC is important. I am at peace with that. I guess these camps will ALSO have to accept some churn within the camps and amongst the camps. New blood can be good everywhere. If many longtime (non-camp affiliated) burners will miss out on tickets, it seems normal that some of the main camps also share in the sacrifice. They can recruit new members, share resources with neighboring camps, etc.

In this new era of ticket scarcity, churn at BM might well become a normal part of the event from now on.
Party on!

[spaghetti weevil]

But if they've already allotted 80% of the tickets, and only 25% of the theme/art camps have gotten theirs, how will even making sure that all of the remaining 10,000 tickets go to those camps fix things? It'll help, for sure, but there will still be a lot of important camps with half their members left out. What other enticements can the BMorg use to convince camps that are sitting on the fence to make the show? A promise to issue early-entry passes for any camp members forced to buy third-party tickets might help. But even that would reward the scalpers, making their tickets more valuable...

[moonwatcher]

I would think that 10K tickets (or a good chunk of those tickets) would go a long way to help *most* camps get going and organize for the playa. If the camps can make sure their most essential positions/roles are taken care of, they can start planning and preparing. You do not necessarily have to give them everything they WANT, just what they NEED.
They can then fill remaining "open positions" with new people, or as I said earlier, find accommodations with other camps to share resources, merge activities, whatever.
In the end, this could be good for everyone on the playa.
In any case, given the sell-out reality of the event, this could become part of the reality of theme camps for coming years.

[theCryptofishist]

Yes, BORG messed up. When they saw how many registrations there were for the lottery, it should have been clear that this was going to happen. They should have canceled the lottery before it happened and come up with a different system. They could have avoided much of the heartache. They definitely made some poor decisions. But hey, we all do it. .

The problem is, what system do you switch to? Once you see that you have 120,000 requests for 40,000 tickets what system do you go to that doesn't leave 80,000 requests unfilled.

Not to mention, what amount of outcry would there have been then?

[forty_eight]

tl;dr [/preemptive disclaimer for the following post]

I certainly didn't read it in the newsletter, but it was my self-interested hope that IF the 10K Open Sale is cancelled, that ALL of those tickets go into STEP.

I see how the newsletter could be telegraphing a radical shift to including theme camps, and since STEP is going to be open to ALL un-awarded Lottery registrants first, I guess it is easy to then assume that the 10K are going to be meted out based on preserving the community (Theme Camps, et al). While prejudging STEP before I have details, it seems that the quantity of tickets in that program is destined to be very small. In combination (cancelling 10K sale and minimal tickets in STEP), those are scary details for a ticketless intending virgin.

I wanted to fly under the radar as a virgin. Set up my camp, help neighbors with theirs and do some whacky amateur art installation inspired by Marian iconography and Fertility 2.0. I feel that the Virgen de Guadalupe want to come home, too. lol

Once I hear that Theme Camps are DEFINITELY getting the 10K tickets dedicated to them, I really think I will be reaching out to Theme Camps. I can work, and I don't flake.

I'm sure other virgins might be knocking down Theme Camp doors, too. My thing is that I actually don't care anymore if I get to attend this year. I want to be part of what I witnessed on the Camp Envy stream, and if it means volunteering with a camp locally and sending them off to the playa without me, so be it.

I've thought about BM 2012 everyday since last year's burn. I'm not letting it pass me by without touching it ... even if in a fleeting moment. I will participate and being on the playa would just be icing on the cake. I never looked at this as a chance to party in the desert. I want to BUILD that city even if I don't get to walk or pedal the streets.

I hope I get my ticket without too much more hand wringing and uncertainty; that would be great. But, I didn't start following this event in earnest just to go to a party. I wanted to be PART of something. And obviously, there are many many more like me wanting to do the same thing. I am fine if I don't physically attend. The universe is a bitch, but the playa provides. If I put in what I have to offer, I believe I will get out of it what I need.

For some reason, I can't throw away the energy I have expended so far. That would just feel hypocritical. I've been thinking about the city and the community and the personal meaning continues to build and grow. It would simply be hypocrisy at this point to abandon all of that, and that is what is driving me to stay the course with positivity and understand this OUR problem. In some ways, I feel like I've always been a burner (a label I would avoid gymnastically) ... I just haven;t burned in the desert. Now I am rambling for catharsis alone ... thanks for reading. Or not. haha

[alt12]

tl;dr [/preemptive disclaimer for the following post]

I certainly didn't read it in the newsletter, but it was my self-interested hope that IF the 10K Open Sale is cancelled, that ALL of those tickets go into STEP.

I didn't read it that way, but that is an excellent idea...