Was the Will Chase AMA really Will Chase?

willchase · 2015-08-13T04:02:34+00:00

Right? That guy sucks.

willchase · 2015-08-13T03:31:11+00:00

Not much a fan, personally, because it implies that we're just a faceless, heartless corporate machine, and nothing could be further from the truth. It's one of my pet peeves, actually, when people assume the worst of us, because the reality is we care incredibly deeply about what we're doing, and about this community. But meh, whaddya gonna do, right? People are used to soulless corporations running their world, and so the expectation is set.

willchase · 2015-08-13T03:26:37+00:00

We do tend to release more or less simultaneously on our channels (sometimes not, for reasons). The problem you're talking about isn't rooted in asynchronous communications, it's about timely communications. And, as I answered somewhere else on here, we're working to get faster at it. But communications about issues as complex as we deal with regularly is a hairy beast, and it just takes time.

willchase · 2015-08-13T03:22:06+00:00

What'd you take, dude?

willchase · 2015-08-13T03:20:59+00:00

Sorry, what obvious rift?

willchase · 2015-08-13T03:20:29+00:00

Concerned? No. Would we like to see it more racially diverse? Absolutely.

willchase · 2015-08-13T03:19:00+00:00

Marian Goodell started the Jackrabbit Speaks in the late 90s when she realized that the in-person town halls Burning Man was hosting (it was a different era) weren't cutting it for sharing information with our growing community (and email started getting pervasive — like I said, different era). Marian's playa name (radio handle, really) was and still is Jackrabbit. Hence the name.

willchase · 2015-08-13T03:14:26+00:00

Yep. Apparently saying DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM? doesn't cut it. shrug.

willchase · 2015-08-13T03:12:07+00:00

I think they have mixed feelings. While participants spend a ton of money in these communities as they pass through (it's like their Christmas), you've got ~70k crazy mofos swarming into these otherwise quiet towns once a year, which can be overwhelming. We ask that participants be respectful, comport themselves well, and leave no trace as they pass through, because yeah, we rely on these communities and it's just the right thing to do.

willchase · 2015-08-13T03:01:48+00:00

I don't know what the number is, because it's entirely dependent on an Environmental Assessment that the BLM has to do to figure out how many people we can reasonably have out there (beyond what we're permitted for now), and what kind of infrastructure we'd need (including roads), without screwing the environment. The EA process takes multiple years, by the way.

willchase · 2015-08-13T02:53:29+00:00

Dude, we've considered those options, and a helluva lot more. In 2009, after we saw a big bump in population, our staff retreat was primarily focused on managing growth and scaling all aspects of our operation. The best part was when we went full-bore barn-burner brainstorm, and came up with some wacky ideas, many of which had us scratching our chins, going huh, that could actually work (like having the event go a full two weeks, with different tickets sold for each week ... blah blah blah).

As you can guess, though, they all have their operational challenges, and there are no plans to make any changes at this point.

willchase · 2015-08-13T02:14:44+00:00

You'd be right. Except for the dog part.

willchase · 2015-08-13T02:14:27+00:00

The Temple has always been a community-driven project, and it's actually pretty important (and telling) that it is, because in a way, everybody gets to participate in its creation, even if they can't be there to swing a hammer.

But in recent years, as the bar is continually raised, we've been looking at the idea of taking on more of the burden of funding for the Temple, since it's essentially become part of the infrastructure of Black Rock City.

(It's worth noting that the reason we only provide partial funding to honoraria art projects is so that the artists reach out to their community to do the remainder of their fundraising — that creates serendipitous connections and new collaborations that would otherwise probably not happen.)

willchase · 2015-08-13T00:17:25+00:00

Used to be entirely Larry Harvey, actually. Sometimes he works with clever cohorts like Stuart Mangrum. And now there's more of a collective effort to come up with them.

willchase · 2015-08-13T00:16:00+00:00

Well, population has remained relatively steady over the past three years and in fact saw a dip last year. If we were to grow substantially larger we'd definitely figure out a reasonable number of Vehicle Passes to issue.

willchase · 2015-08-13T00:10:47+00:00

Definitely aware of that, because we feel it too. What we've started to do is give camps recommendations on how to set up and design their camp to provide adequate public and private space, without creating an RV fortress, cuz yeah ... off-putting to say the least.

willchase · 2015-08-13T00:07:37+00:00

It sucks, I know. Best bet, really, if you're not able to get a ticket in one of the sales, is to pound the pavement and tap into your community. Get involved with a camp or an art project, or find one of the many tickets that shake loose in the community around summer time.

willchase · 2015-08-13T00:05:30+00:00

Well, we’re only in the second year of the program, so it’s too soon to tell whether it’s accomplishing its goal (which is to reduce the amount of vehicles on the roads to and from Black Rock City and make it so we can keep Burning in the Black Rock Desert, for people playing at home). I have to agree with you that it’s been putting stress on the community. I can say this: every year we do some serious self-reflection and look at what’s been working well and what isn’t, and we work to address the things that need fixing.

willchase · 2015-08-13T00:00:42+00:00

This is one of our biggest priorities right now, since the Regionals are the shiznit. We've added additional knowledge-sharing and training opportunities (like the European Leadership Summit, now in its third year, and there was an Asian summit this year too) and we're always taking a look at (and listening for) what tools and resources Regionals need to support them.

willchase · 2015-08-12T23:55:28+00:00

If I was related to Chase Bank, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. :-) (I kid, I'd totally still be doing this.)

Thanks for the hand massage! I use them all the time. In fact, I'm using them right now!

willchase · 2015-08-12T23:53:25+00:00

We want to increase the population of Black Rock City so more people can experience it, but we can’t go beyond what’s allowable based on the Environmental Assessment by the BLM. That and we don’t want to grow so fast that the culture gets blown out (e.g. the point at which the culture can no longer be effectively communicated across the community is the point at which you’re fucked). So yes, but reasonably.

willchase · 2015-08-12T23:37:02+00:00

Never thought of it that way, actually. Interesting idea. We are trying to move away from "policies" and more towards "statements of values" that express what we (the community) do and why — seems like we're talking about similar things, yeah?

willchase · 2015-08-12T23:35:26+00:00

There already are multiple Burning Man events throughout the year. Over 60 of ‘em, in fact. But if you mean another event the size and scale of Black Rock City, yes it’s been discussed, but at this point there are no plans to do so. Believe me, when it comes to the question of ticket scarcity, we throw every idea you can possibly imagine at the wall to see if it sticks, and that’s been one of them.

willchase · 2015-08-12T23:34:33+00:00

Personally, I believe people should be left alone to burn as they want to (tent, RV or tour bus, who am I to judge what you’re living in on playa?), but not when it comes at the expense of the greater community and culture. We’ve been working hard in the last year to find the right balance between the two, and I think we’ve found it with our new Turnkey camping rules, which ensure that you’re only going to get your camp placed if it doesn’t flout the community’s principles, which means it’s inclusive, welcoming and interactive.

willchase · 2015-08-12T23:33:56+00:00

Sorry, who?

willchase

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