Talk:Burning Man/Archive 1

This archive page covers approximately the dates between Jul 15 2003 and August 2005.

Post replies to the main talk page, copying or summarizing the section you are replying to if necessary.

Please add new archivals to Talk:Burning Man/Archive03. (See How to archive a talk page.) Thank you. Kit 21:18, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

What do they do there?
What do they do there? --Menchi 23:26 15 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Well, having been there, the list given in the article is pretty good at showing the different things that go on at a burn. However, it does seem to lack a clear bit about "what goes on there". It is difficult to really say tho, unless you have been, and even then, its quite different for each participent. As there are no spectators, everyone is involved in the event in some way. The line "experiment in community, radical self-expression, and radical self-reliance." pretty much says it all - you come to burningman to participate. How and what kind of participation is up to the individual burner. Hyakugei 21:35, 19 Aug 2003 (UTC)

The writer(s) of

''The opposite of a burner is a "yahoo", the term used by burners to refer to individuals who come to Burning Man solely for the purpose of masturbatory self-gratification. Yahoos are individuals who express little sense of ownership or commitment to the community. They are boorish spectators and gawking tourists whose presence is wholly unwelcome.''

seem(s) to have a somewhat proprietary attitude towards the whole thing, although I wouldn't necessarily go so far as to call the passage POV. Maybe someone more familiar than I with burner culture could, er, depersonalize it a little? --Calieber 20:05, Oct 31, 2003 (UTC)

I'd have to agree, this does not follow POV rules, or even what "everyone" at BM thinks (and who the heck knows what that might be!). I've never even heard the term "yahoo", but i've not been to a burn in several years, so things change. Can we re-write it... maybe something like

"The opposite of a burner is a "yahoo". This term is applied to those that come to spectate rather then participate in the event. As the purpose of BM is to form community and radical self-expression, non-participants are generally frowned apon."


 * hyakugei 01:10, 12 Nov 2003 (UTC)

I've been to the last two burns and I have yet to hear anyone use the term "yahoo." On the other hand, "tourist" is pretty common. And there are quite a variety of burner attitudes towards both tourists and participation.

Gecko 19:03, 1 Mar 2004 (UTC)

We could fix the whole para by making some point about participants vs. non-participants, rather then about what they are called...

hyakugei 21:19, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Whoa. Someone with a serioux axe to grind just demolished this page! There's a whole slew of very biased and inflammatory edits.

This appears to be the handiwork of 4.240.192.35, who appears to have never edited anything else. It looks like a smear job, so I'm reverting to the prior edit.

Gecko 00:29, 19 May 2004 (UTC)


 * Interesting. I only know about Burning Man from reading about it, but a decent portion of what I've read is from people who have become upset with the behavior of the organization.  (For example, here.)  Perhaps somebody should write a "Criticism" section to show the "pissed off at Burning Man" point of view, if it's common?


 * Surprisingly common. At the event itself, there is a "mainstream newspaper" called the Black Rock Gazette and an "alternative newspaper" called Pissing Clear.  IMHO, this article would benefit from presenting a section highlighting criticism of the event. // NetEsq 15:19, 17 Sep 2004 (UTC)


 * I agree that there needs to be a criticism section. Especially in regards to JWZ's view of the event's copyright policies  --69.237.198.2 16:42, 22 August 2005 (UTC)


 * The article should have NPOV. Noting that the event has its critics isn't a bad idea -- it's a fact. Trashing the event in the article isn't NPOV. Also... I don't understand why there's a crude survival guide in the middle of the article now. Much of it is of dubious quality. I recommend replacing it with an external link to the actual Survival Guide on the Burning Man website. // Gecko 23:54, 17 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Deleted reference to commissary as exception to no-commerce rule, as no commerce takes place there. Free meal passes are handed out to staff and volunteer workers beforehand.

The Getting Around in Black Rock section is written in the second-person whereas the rest of the article is written in the third-person. Does anyone mind if I fix this? Fallstorm 06:20, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Black Rock City, LLC
I just noticed that one of my earlier edits was deleted by an IP registered to Black Rock City, LLC. I for one welcome our new NPOV Overlords.

Wikipedian Burners category
I thought there should be a category for Wikipedians who attend Burning Man, so I created Category: Wikipedian Burners. Hooray. Kit 01:41:13, 2005-08-02 (UTC)

the airport
I changed the section on flying -- it now links to the actual Burning Man page on the airport, and correctly reflects that flying is not an option just 'this year' but has been for several years. Kit 23:24:11, 2005-08-06 (UTC)
 * Added some more info on air travel. Kit 23:32:32, 2005-08-06 (UTC)

Vandalism
The other day I removed the following from the article, but figured I'd paste it here for posterity: one stab at why I go to Burning Man I like the art. I like the late nights. I like the fire, and the desert, and exhaustion, when others are exhausted, camping, funny names, gifts, gifting, not having to carry your wallet with you for a week, being naked, being dressed up, being encouraged, being mocked, working at the Post Office and commanding volunteers, making deliveries, being delivered, watching the sunrise in swivel chairs that swivel 360 degrees while playing trance through speakers by your ears (anyone else find that spot deep 	 playa, not far from the Temple?), making cool postcards to send to friends, sending friends art cards from the playa, playa stamps, riding on art cars with women dressed in pink or women and men in orange coveralls. the good music, collaborating with other musicians, being part of rock bands, losing my voice, the gifting economy, being away from the sstraight world for a while, making new friends, hugging old friends, trying new things, getting hurt, being thirsty, pissing clear, Piss Clear, the mountains, the drive there, the hotsprings on the way there and back, laughs, more laughs, crying wishing my family could be there with me, happy that my family is not there with me, talking to locals on the way there who sort of have an idea of what we're headed to, getting others excited about going, keeping in touch through the year, decompression, my Burning Man film collection, wearing pendants and necklaces, being recognized in a cafe cause I'm wearing a BRSD orange shirt, thinking about how this might be changing the world, noticing how it's changed me - caused me to get FreecyclePortland going, taught me about how to receive gifts and give them, taught me I don't need nearly as much stuff as I thought I did, figuring out how to live in the desert, sleeping in my tent, camping with my friends from SF, building the dome, visiting snuggletown,

Nutmeg Alfredo BRCPO.com - There is no Team in Fuck You!

Kit 22:56:55, 2005-08-21 (UTC)