One solution would be to publicize as much as possible names, aliases and photos of the buttmunches who scam attendees with the “Pay me, and I will see you have everything required for a fun stay” but skip out after they have collected payment. If it is well known that Jonny Rainbow will take your money and bail, abandoning you on the playa, he will be less likely to get big bucks from unknowing partiers. A close encounter or two with a 2x4 wouldn’t go amiss either.
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Reading through the linked BMBlog thread is highly recommended, since it includes comments from many of the people from the camp in question, some reposted comments from Jonny Moonshine, and other people giving their $.02. Many of the latter say that, well, it doesn’t matter if the “Gypsy Flower Power International” campers were ripped off, they are responsible for dealing with their own trash and that’s that. But I think that Golden Dragon’s comment sums it up well:
That a situation like that could even happen means that several failures took place, in succession: a failure to vet campmates, a failure of planning, a failure of execution, a failure of culture (this could only happen if a critical mass of people don’t care the way some of us choose to), and above all, a failure of leadership. Leaders could (and perhaps should) be held personally liable for the state of their portion of the playa. That’s the attitude I’ve always taken, and it’s inspired others to stay with me until Wednesday getting every last sequin.
Contrast that with Jonny Moonshine’s comments, which skew heavily toward passing the buck and legal threats.
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Bianca’s must be very disappointed at losing the title…
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Camps are each run according to their own methods. The problem here was a confluence of a bunch of foreign newbies who didn’t understand that they should practice radical self-reliance, coupled with a scam artist who created a condition for them to be screwed.
I’ve been in camps as small as 3 and as large as 25 people. We found that 25 people is about the max for dealing with stuff easily, and beyond that it requires industrial scale planning and facilities.
A camp full of a couple hundred people needs several dedicated people just to keep track of the trash, especially if the campers in general are unaware of the concept of picking up after yourself 110%. No matter what, every person should leave with a bag of trash, even if they have to carry it on their lap on the bus ride back to Reno.
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At the gym I frequent, people will leave thier wet towels wherever they drop them, even though they have to walk past the towel hamper on their way out of the locker room.
People are assholes.
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“For the first time”? They’ve been publishing MOOP Maps for awhile now.
Which, let’s face it, leaves no room for Navajo Tacos.
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When on tour in the eighties we’d call these ‘ground scores’ and good one could extend the tour a few extra stops. (Of course then you gotta get back from Buckeye lake or wherever)
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On the last burning man post someone said it perfectly.
The first rule of burning man is that you do not stop talking about burning man!
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Remember my snarky “INB4” comment at the top of the thread about people commenting without reading the article?
Maybe you should read the article.
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Arseholes are arseholes, people tend to be okay. Unfortunately, there tend to be a fair number of arseholes (feckin’ standard distribution curve) spoiling it for the rest of us 
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On your honor, do you promise to do your best for you country (by which we mean the land you encounter)? Cuz that’s really what all this is about. Try not to fuckup the places you go and people might enjoy them at least as much as you did before 
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Arkela, we will do our best (that’s what I think is great about the Scouting movement. It is about aspiring to do better, not about beating yourself up about failing).
I love that there is a small fly-in $100 burger culture and an airstrip designated but instead of adding works-for-fuel aviation nuts to the mix I think it mostly just adds to the 1%er dash in and circle the wagons pollution. Burning man sounds pretty cool and I have considered it every year around signup time but it seems so about money when it acts so against money, the attendees are culturally filtered by ability to buy a ticket even if the money is well spent.
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I’ve heard that when a fight breaks out at the Gathering of the Juggalos people surround the fighters and chant “Fa-mi-ly. Fa-mi-ly…” What if people at the Burning Man festival surrounded campers leaving trash behind and chanted “Oink. Oink. Oink…”? That shaming could be called “getting oinked” and then you would hear conversations like “Hey, Moon Blossom, I heard your camp got oinked last year!”
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When you see a camp piling up trash you don’t know if they’re consolidating it for a pickup or planning to leave it there. By the time it’s evident it’s too late for public shaming. OTOH, audible/visual disapproval of more individual violations like littering or hovering (or upperdecking…) does a better job of enculturation, albeit on a smaller scale.
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Wait… WTF!!!
Thanks for posting this. After reading about the trash, then reading comments left on the MOOP Map thing, I was kind of wondering what the attraction is to this event. Those photos show part of what must be great about this. Maybe someday…
Which is fine, except… the worst fights I’ve ever had have been with family!
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One of the things that always keeps surprising me: There is so much light to play with, out on the playa, that photography seems really easy. It’s kind of hard not to take an amazing snapshot out there! So looking at photo albums of the art is kind of like watching a trailer for a movie that has all the boring awkward parts omitted, and just the best stuff gets seen.
If you’re at all intimidated by the cost or the settings, I’d recommend checking out a local burn first. They are nearly as much fun as The Event in the Desert, yet they take a lot less money and preparation to attend. It’s where a lot of artists test their work for bugs and robustness before shipping it out to the playa.
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