They might improvise new art, they might overturn the established rituals and hierarchies, they might lose it with the cops and start a f…n riot.

It might be interesting to see what happens.

We need to trust that the Burner Community will give back and provide what the organization and the playa needs. Gifting 80% of tickets to returning Burners is a great way to keep the frustrations at bay and build a stronger community. Ticketholders will understand that if they want to keep this magical world alive they must maintain it. And each person should only be able to receive a ticket for themselves.

Once the returning community is in place, the community that must take the most time to plan, build, and create for the event, it is at this point that you take the remaining 20% of tickets and distribute them to newcomers or re-born burners. Newcomers need to understand the honor of becoming part of the ranks of an established community. As on the playa, we expect nothing out of the virgins except to try and give back with their time and cleaning up MOOP. We can’t expect newcomers to understand our gift process immediately and not try to take advantage of the system at first, so charge a ticket price for these tickets.

Every year it seems the gift principles we learn at Burning Man exist only on the playa because the people who run BM have not taken the leap of faith to incorporate it into the entrance process in the default world. Do something to truly shock the world and give away the tickets so we can show the world that Burners truly know how to give back in order to maintain their community.

As far as who to let in….a possible solution could be breaking up “ticketing tiers” by type of participant rather then price……
large sound and art contributing camps apply for X% of the tickets
groups working on art installations, cars, interactive projects apply for X%
participants volunteering at the burn apply for X %
individual and smaller art projects apply for X %
and of course newbies can apply for X% of the available tickets

Theoretically this would allow for more control over the mix of participants, which is clearly necessary. I am truly concerned about participating this year if only 30% of established participants and camps will be there and 40% are all newbies. If that ends up being the case I foresee disaster! You can’t have the spirit of Burning Man when 40% of the people there have never experienced it before and my not even know what it is! Its not fair to seasoned participants or those experiencing Burning Man for the first time.

Perhaps distributing tickets based on a system like I’ve outlined above but with out set prices. Each participant could then contribute what they are capable and willing financially…..pre-event even……..just a thought.

Just as an aside, the Buddhist center that I attend runs entirely on dana and is definitely “in the red.” Classes and retreats are taught by volunteers and it is rare when the give and take involved with the dana system takes in more than it gives. The hope is always that you can cover your costs and that the participants then extend the dana concept into the world at large — with time, talents and funding being given to the greater communities and to those that we love and interact with on a daily basis. Is this the intention of the Burning Man organization? Could the staff support themselves year-round in the fashion to which they are accustomed? It is not my experience there, but maybe change is in order.