artistry meets artistry (image by Brad Hetland)

[This post is part of our ongoing Digital Rights blog series.]

January 19th is the big day — tickets go on sale for Burning Man 2011, Rites of Passage!

As you take your place in the electronic queue and wait your turn to click for your ticket to paradise, we invite you to pay special attention to something you might otherwise not notice: Burning Man, after spending much of 2010 working with volunteers from Creative Commons and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, has updated our Terms and Conditions relating to the use of cameras at the event.

The Terms and Conditions is the standard ration of legal language that governs the agreement between you and event organizers when you use your ticket to Burning Man. The language about image use was the subject of much discussion back in 2009, when the EFF first took Burning Man to task over the language restricting image use contained in the T&C. (If you haven’t yet seen our original response to that blog post, it’s worth reading too.) The EFF – and you – talked, and since we already knew that the time for evolution had come, we listened.

In our subsequent meetings with photographers, filmmakers, participants, the EFF and Creative Commons, and other interested minds, it became clear that the time was ripe to update the Terms and Conditions — not only to update existing policies regarding the personal use of imagery online (specifically accommodating uses like Facebook, photo sharing apps, and the like) but to actually make the language more “human readable” and better describe why Burning Man is such an unusual zone for photography in the first place.

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[Carolyn Ellis, aka Kali, rode in the Critical Tits Ride for several years before becoming one of the principle organizers of this storied Burning Man tradition. This post is part of the Digital Rights Blog Series.]

I care deeply about camera and privacy issues on the playa.  This has not always been the case.  My first Critical Tits Ride changed all of that – no woman who enters that ride with any degree of vulnerability comes out the other end unaware of the cameras and their misuse.  To ride is to experience, and witness first hand, the cost of photography without consent.

Critical Tits Ride, 2005 (Photo by Cameragirl)

To understand the harm inflicted, you must step inside the body of a woman riding topless and attempt to feel how vulnerable and courageous an act that truly is, even at Burning Man.  My greatest wish, for all who ride, is that they would be witnessed with nothing less than compassion and respect.  As a rider and now member of the CT Crew, I would like to offer a perspective from the “composition material” – those who inhabit the images taken, the riders themselves. Join me, if you would, for a perspective from inside the ride. . . .

It feels fabulous, and I mean fabulous, as a woman to ride topless on my bike!!!  No man can ever understand the freedom of a topless bike ride in a female body.  I was slipping free of the ‘rules’ of my family, culture and government – so well programmed that I thought they were my own.  A collective oppressive cloak was sliding off of my body and being powdered into playa dust by all those goddesses on bikes.  It felt so good and free.  An adventure like this would land me in jail in the default world!!  Here at BRC, it was a lyrical day on a bike.

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Burning Man is trying to  figure out how to respond to the revolution in digital photography.

Old timers will tell you that cameras weren’t much in evidence in the early years of the event. But now you can’t help but see cameras everywhere on the playa –  from cellphones and point-and-shoots to expensive and sophisticated digital recording equipment that produces everything from stunningly artistic imagery to high-res but low-rent voyeuristic crap.

And the places that those pictures wind up is changing, too. Burning Man has always said it was fine to share your pictures among your friends and family. But what are friends and family these days, when you might have 1,000 “friends” on Facebook, or thousands of visitors to your Flickr or YouTube sites?

What happens to the privacy rights of, say, a schoolteacher who enjoys the freedom and empowerment of the Critical Tits bike ride? Should she have to worry when she gets back from the desert that her picture will be easy to find on the internet?

Last week, the organization gathered photographers, videographers, artists, event leaders, legal experts, technologists and just plain good thinkers to explore the ramifications of the digital revolution. Are Burning Man’s policies and procedures still up to the task of protecting privacy, preventing commercialization while still  nurturing the creative image-making process?

The discussions were heartfelt, impassioned, informed and on the whole amazingly constructive.
Much more work remains to be done, and a team of people, including the communications department and legal team, are charged with turning the talk into action items.

Here is some of what was said, plus, if you’ll forgive the intrusion, a little of what I think:

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Burning Man departments will be recruiting volunteers at Burning Man’s Annual Spring Volunteer Recruitment Town Meeting and Pot Luck:

April 2nd at the Swedish American Hall above Cafe DuNord, 2174 Market Street (at 15th Street) from noon to 3 pm.

Swedish American Hall Website

Swedish American Hall Location Map

Plan your bus trip to the Volunteer Recruitment/Town Meeting.

This is an indoor event, no outside BBQ as in the past, but you are encouraged to support your burner community by donating a pot-luck dish, snacks, or drinks to share.

Limited metered street parking. Please use SF Muni (and BART) access via the historic Muni F line.

This just in:
Tickets for sale at Town Meeting: Do you have your Burning Man ticket yet?! If not the Town Meeting is the place to get yours. Tickets will be on sale throughout the town meeting. CASH SALES ONLY! Please come prepared – we will not be able to accept any other forms of payment at this venue.

Join the over 3,000 volunteers who make Burning Man happen: here’s what we’re looking for:

Airport: Construction, decorating, painting, miscellaneous general labor. Construction and setup. Customs Agents to run the Airport gate and box office Airplane Parking Lot Attendants; performance artists.

ARTery: Meet, greet and register artists, help with our daily art tours, assist with the placement of art using GPS.

Black Rock Rangers: Dirt Rangers:  Qualifications: A great sense of humor; Patience, patience, and more patience; Generosity and sympathy; An easy-going attitude; Creative problem-solving abilities; Mediation skills; At least one year attendance at the Burning Man event. Echelon Rangers: Description/skillset needed: Folks with good organizational skills, patience, computer usage skills.

Box Office: If working in our super cool, air conditioned location by the front gate, and being the first person to say hello to participants as they arrive on the playa sounds like fun to you, join the box office team! Our shifts are short and sweet, our job important and fun, and we would love to have you join us!

Center Camp Café: Lighting:  lighting designers, electricians. Décor: artists, creative-thinkers, sewers, glue-gunners, carpenters, metal-welders, painters, fabricators, and furniture-movers. Performance:: a few rockin’ people to help pull together some great performances. Sound:  stage building & wiring for sound, work sound board, manage stage.

Lamplighters: Lighting the major boulevards of BRC every night, without fail. We welcome virgin and seasoned burners alike. You don’t have to camp in our village to Lamplight. One thing is certain though.  We can’t do it without YOU.

Greeters: First Contact between participants and the denizens of Black Rock City. Armed with wit, wisdom and infectious exuberance, the Greeters take advantage of this opportunity by becoming skilled information providers conducting helpful, on-the-fly workshops to carloads of people.

Department of Public Works (DPW): Clean Up MOOPers, Electricians, Plumbers, Carpenters, Riggers, Welders, Certified propane and liquid fuel transporters and handlers, 2-way Radio Operators/Dispatch Operators.

DMV: Bureaucrats are HOT! Join the DMV hotties and help license the vehicles that populate the playa with beautiful and interesting mobile art.

Earth Guardians: Communicate Leave No Trace (LNT) principles and practices to theme camps and artists and the larger Burning Man community, participate in Black Rock desert restoration and education activities.

Emergency Services Department (ESD): Fire Fighters, Medical Professionals, EMS Professionals, Mental Health Professionals, Dispatchers, Communications Technicians, Logistics Managers, Emergency Managers.

Exodus: Instead of spending time sitting in line trying to get off the playa, volunteer with Exodus and help make others trip out more pleasant. Come to our table and see how you can get involved with thisfun crew.

Gate Staff and Perimeter: directing traffic, tearing tickets, vehicle searches, perimeter patrols for fence crashers outside our city.

Playa Info: Oracles:  Helping people by answering questions while relaxing in the shade. Directory: Theme and personal camp registration. Inputting data to update the new arrivals and locations of personal campsites. Helping people find their friends, family, lovers or theme.

Recycle Camp: Carpenters, experienced domes builders, collecting, crushing and bagging the cans and “Recycle Camp Evangelicals”.

Technology and Web Teams: Network engineers, system administrators, python programmers, Zope/Plone developers, HTML coders, CSS wizards, database jockeys, web scripters, graphic designers, information architects, project managers, writers, content editors, image jockeys, and and user experience gurus.

This is your opportunity to meet the behind-the-scenes superstars who make Burning Man happen, and to become one yourself! As you may know, Burning Man is a volunteer-driven event, with over 3,000 participants pitching in to make the event happen.

Meet the project managers and volunteer coordinators who bring it all together. Ask questions and sign up to learn more, or to jump right in! From building our city with the DPW on the Black Rock Desert playa, riding the “edge of chaos” with the Rangers, greeting new arrivals, supporting art at the Artery, to SF office and technical help, lamp lighting, fielding questions at Playa Info, or erasing any trace after the event, there are many opportunities to fully participate in the Burning Man project. It’s a great way to meet people, and to feel more connected to the “burner” community. This meeting is open to the public. Check it out!

Learn more about volunteering for Burning Man.

Visit the Town Meeting Archive for photos and/or audio of past town hall meetings. To stay up to date other Burning Man events, make sure to join the Jack Rabbit Speaks Internet newsletter for happenings and news leading up to the big event.

Many thanks to everyone who sent comments to feedback(at)burningman(dot)com! We have received over 100 responses from participants. The Board Members, Senior Staff, various other production staff members and volunteers have read these emails and forwarded many to the appropriate Departments. We are in the planning stages for 2005 and are considering the great suggestions.

Because of the overwhelming number of responses, we cannot reply directly to everyone. Depending on the nature of the feedback, some participants may receive a direct response. Because, many comments touched upon similar issues, we are able to address these issues generally below.

DMV Registration
Many folks commented on the DMV registration process and related safety issues. First, the organization would like to apologize for any inconvenience that participants experienced this year. Second, please rest assured that the DMV registration process will begin earlier and the DMV department will be modified to reflect the needs of the mutant vehicle community and all other participants in 2005.

Acculturation of Newcomers
Yes, there were a large number of newcomers in 2004. As a result the event experienced some serious challenges, such as trash in the porta-potties, and some reported a dilution of the sense of community experienced by seasoned Burners. Some people perceived less evidence of unique self-expression, such as large scale art and costumes. We are in the process of discussing the numerous solutions that many of you proposed. We are considering many changes in an attempt to acculturate newcomers in 2005 and we will be asking for your support. In the meantime it is important to remember that we were all newcomers to Black Rock City once. It takes time to learn how to be a responsible participant at Burning Man. If many of this year’s newcomers return in 2005, they will come as veterans with a year’s worth of planning and inspiration under their belts.

Art
Several participants perceived less art on the playa this year. Inclement weather prevented some artists from completing their work and there were a few no-shows. Burning Man has already begun to address this issue. A proposal for more funding by our organization is in the works for 2005. Stay tuned.

Fall Town Meeting
It is our feeling that the annual Fall Town Meeting is no longer meeting its intended purpose. Accordingly, we received several emails with suggestions on how to reinvent this forum. Before discussing this further, a background of this meeting is given below.

Initially in 1997, Burning Man created the Fall Town Meeting to address some heavy issues that the organization was facing. In 1998 the same forum was used as a very successful way of exchanging ideas and recruiting volunteers. Out of it, the Spring Town meeting was created as a volunteer recruitment event and the fall Town Meeting was reserved for discussion and feedback. The Spring meeting has flourished, but the Fall meeting has served only a smaller group of Bay Area participants.

Burning Man staff decided it was time to reexamine the purpose and format of the Fall Town Meeting. The following issues surfaced:

1. The core Burning Man community is no longer restricted to the Bay Area; but rather, is global.
2. Many of the same basic questions and concerns are raised at the Fall Town Meeting repeatedly every year, so it yields little in the way of new information.

In order to address these issues, we solicited feedback from participants. After reviewing the suggestions, we have decided that the Fall Town Meeting is no longer automatically warranted each year. The need for this meeting will be evaluated on an annual basis. Should the meeting be held, it will be done in a way to involve the community as broadly as possible. This could likely include pre-event outreach as to the purpose, and a webcast or teleconference for remote participation.

In lieu of the meeting, the Burning Man organization has set up several feedback mechanisms for all participants to utilize in expressing ideas and feedback. The first of these is the feedback(at)burningman(dot)com email. This year the feedback email address remained active until December 31, 2004. Next year the feedback email will go live immediately after Burning Man 2005, and stay active through December 1, 2005.

Additionally, next year there will be a “Feedback on 2005″ topic on the Eplaya (Burning Man’s BBS) where participants can not only provide feedback, but also, have a dialogue with staff and other participants.

Furthermore, Burning Man staff members are interested in meeting with participants and hearing their thoughts in person during their increasing number of trips to meet with Regional groups year round. We are currently working with Regional groups and will continue to do so to set up meetings with participants when Board or Senior Staff members travel. If you would like to find out more about our regional groups please visit http://regionals.burningman.com.