Where I won't be this summer
Apr. 18th, 2012 02:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magidLast year, Burning Man sold out. This year, for the first time, instead of selling tickets first come, first served, they changed the process. There was a two-week window to register for a lottery. Each person had to tie a unique credit card to each application, and indicate up to which tier ticket they'd be willing to pay for. Then there was a wait, and then people were eventually emailed their results in the lottery. Apparently, the organization didn't expect anyone to try to game the system, which might have worked for a smaller event, relying on community, but didn't for something as large as this. Unsurprisingly, lots of regular attendees were out in the cold, and there was much hue and cry online about how this system had failed.
This lead to a change for the last block of tickets: instead of a regular sale at the highest price, they were released to established camps, to make sure that they had critical mass. This annoyed me for a couple of reasons, even though I think it was probably necessary; the city would be a vastly different place without the contributions of a lot of people on a scale that impresses the heck out of me. However, I dislike that the rules were changed midstream. I dislike that this creates a barrier to attendees who aren't part of an established camp, making levels of citizenship and access in more subtle but equally unpleasant ways like the original sale.
Also unimpressive was the organization's resale plan, which they encouraged people to use rather than give money to scalpers. Registering for the resale possibility meant that when one's number came up, one had the chance to buy whichever tier ticket was next available. It would be a single ticket, nontransferable, and held at will call. All of these would be reasonable if they applied to the original sale, but they didn't, so yet again, it was penalizing people. Oh yes, plus a 'restocking fee,' when the tickets aren't sent out until June (and might not yet be printed). If the original sale had been nontransferable tickets, the whole issue likely would have been avoided. Oh, and the issue with will call is that it means waiting in a separate line that always takes hours longer than the already extremely long, when people are often exhausted from travel, with camp setup still to come.
So, long story short: in years of buying tickets and getting them at tier 1, this year I lost the lottery. I was offered a ticket through other means, but I realized that I haven't been earning enough to really make it a good idea. I won't be attending Burning Man this year. It occurred to me I might spend a bit more on Kickstarter/Indiegogo campaigns for the playa, and send things to friends who are going (and perhaps the post office; I think they do a fabulous job).
I figured that at least I'd go to the regional burn, Firefly, which has a fifth day this year. Except then I looked at the calendar. Firefly is from the Fourth of July through the following Sunday.... which happens to be 17 Tammuz, the longest minor (dawn to dusk) fast day of the year. Breaking camp and shlepping my things down to the car without hydration is not a good idea. I thought about leaving the night before, but (a) Shabbat ends late in July, especially that far north, (b) it's the night of the bug burn, and (c) it's definitely not a good idea to break down camp and shlep stuff in the dark. Which put me at leaving on Friday, and early enough to make it home and prepare for Shabbat, when it would be difficult to get away, since I enjoy chatting with people. And really, I'm not going for only a day and a half.
So, no Firefly for me this year either. Suggestions for other things going on around the Fourth appreciated.
And while I think the little scissors could be cute in a period playbill, it looks out of place on LJ as part of an icon.
This lead to a change for the last block of tickets: instead of a regular sale at the highest price, they were released to established camps, to make sure that they had critical mass. This annoyed me for a couple of reasons, even though I think it was probably necessary; the city would be a vastly different place without the contributions of a lot of people on a scale that impresses the heck out of me. However, I dislike that the rules were changed midstream. I dislike that this creates a barrier to attendees who aren't part of an established camp, making levels of citizenship and access in more subtle but equally unpleasant ways like the original sale.
Also unimpressive was the organization's resale plan, which they encouraged people to use rather than give money to scalpers. Registering for the resale possibility meant that when one's number came up, one had the chance to buy whichever tier ticket was next available. It would be a single ticket, nontransferable, and held at will call. All of these would be reasonable if they applied to the original sale, but they didn't, so yet again, it was penalizing people. Oh yes, plus a 'restocking fee,' when the tickets aren't sent out until June (and might not yet be printed). If the original sale had been nontransferable tickets, the whole issue likely would have been avoided. Oh, and the issue with will call is that it means waiting in a separate line that always takes hours longer than the already extremely long, when people are often exhausted from travel, with camp setup still to come.
So, long story short: in years of buying tickets and getting them at tier 1, this year I lost the lottery. I was offered a ticket through other means, but I realized that I haven't been earning enough to really make it a good idea. I won't be attending Burning Man this year. It occurred to me I might spend a bit more on Kickstarter/Indiegogo campaigns for the playa, and send things to friends who are going (and perhaps the post office; I think they do a fabulous job).
I figured that at least I'd go to the regional burn, Firefly, which has a fifth day this year. Except then I looked at the calendar. Firefly is from the Fourth of July through the following Sunday.... which happens to be 17 Tammuz, the longest minor (dawn to dusk) fast day of the year. Breaking camp and shlepping my things down to the car without hydration is not a good idea. I thought about leaving the night before, but (a) Shabbat ends late in July, especially that far north, (b) it's the night of the bug burn, and (c) it's definitely not a good idea to break down camp and shlep stuff in the dark. Which put me at leaving on Friday, and early enough to make it home and prepare for Shabbat, when it would be difficult to get away, since I enjoy chatting with people. And really, I'm not going for only a day and a half.
So, no Firefly for me this year either. Suggestions for other things going on around the Fourth appreciated.
And while I think the little scissors could be cute in a period playbill, it looks out of place on LJ as part of an icon.