Get OFF My Lawn!

[Kinetik V]

CO's original post nailed it.

I build a tight camp and I put up a trash fence. You come into that small space I will light your ass up and not feel any guilt for doing so. Not one fucking bit.

I don't tolerate leeches, rainbows, sparkleponies, drunks, fucktards, etc when they park their uninvited asses in my space. And I have reason for not trusting anyone...my Honda generator still has the sawzall cut marks on it where some bastard tried to use a cordless sawzall to unchain it from the back of my truck. They were quickly persuaded that such a move would be very unwise unless they liked flying horizontally in medical helicopters. And in 9 years of going, the crap CO talked about has always been a problem that keeps getting worse.

I'm all for being nice, 10 principles, etc but I will defend my privacy and my family's safety will not take a backseat to anyone, anywhere, regardless of if it's a hardwood floor under our bed or playa.

[wedeliver]

You know when you wake up and there is someone “just passing through” peeing on your tent and your pillow is soaking it up you tend to think twice about how open you want your space to be.

You think that's bad -- I was next to a porn camp in '96, and pee wasn't the problem.

I don't recall hearing you complain!

To the OP, don't feel bad, you don't learn anything unless something goes wrong. Next year will be better, your camp peremiter will be tighter and will work better. There are ways to make your space, your space, it just takes some effort. And as to the people that stumble into your areas, some of those folks are just plain lost, they have absolutly no idea where they are. I have seen them, I have helped them find there way home.

When I am at burning man I find some comfort in helping the homeless. Yes, there are homeless at bm.

Finally, as to those folks who seem bent on taking things, or damaging someones art, you suck!

[ygmir]

I had that issue, to a minor extent, and was getting frustrated, that "they'd" leave empty cans and cig butts on my Frankencamper step and bumper, seeing as it is such a nice flat surface to lay stuff you don't want any more on.

so, we put up a ladder horizontally, and bungee cords to make a "spider web" to block that pass through:
well, they took it as a "challenge course obstacle" and would wind and, contort their way through.......we decided to applaud the effort when it happened, if they could do it without falling or touching anything.....it became a game. And, the friendly intercourse it precipitated, stopped any garbage leaving and we made new friends, (some with scrapes and bruises from not making it through very well).

[The CO]

Well, ok.... Granted... but really, how many times has this happened and how many years are we talking? If you're talking once a year, you're lucky. quitcherbitchin. If you're talking like this happens 5 or 6 times a day every year then you're doing it wrong....

We are not doing it wrong. The fuckwits that don't understand personal space are doing it wrong.

2011: Playawaste Raiders had someone walk through camp, cut down a fence, and take a shit in their camp.
2010: M*A*S*H tries to stop someone from climbing over a fence. Instead of stopping, he damages the fence, trips over 4-8 guy wires the fence was there to stop people from tripping over, and falls into our evap pond. (This happens at least once every year. It's why we put up fencing within camp.)
2007: One of our campers wakes up in the middle of the night with an extra person in his tent. The extra person made an extra door (in a $700 tent) with a knife to get in.

Cut-thru people are a daily problem everywhere. This year in particular, the Hive camped a bunch of people between TC & themselves. Then they left no way for those people to get in and out of their camp. Those people began cutting through our camps. We made sure that they had a clear path next to the parking gulag to walk in and out of. There was even some discussion between Hive organizers and us, where we pointed out that we had left them a clear path, as well as the fact that poor planning on their part does not mean that their campers can use us a roadway.

Radical Inclusion does not give anyone the right to walk into my personal living space.

The only people that are inconvenienced by fences are the people that come into your camp to steal, damage, deficate or assault. Fuck those people.

[theCryptofishist]

Ah, there's the rub. It is not easy to walk through Playawaste Raiders (125'w x 100'd) or M*A*S*H (100'w x 100'd). You must cross clearly marked lines (sometimes called "fences", "walls", "caution tape", "barricade" or "my fucking tent what the fuck are you doing in it?") to get in from any side. When people make an effort to cut down a fence (or the side of your tent), and then get pissy with you for putting it in their way, they don't get a lot of credibility.

Well, ok.... Granted... but really, how many times has this happened and how many years are we talking? If you're talking once a year, you're lucky. quitcherbitchin. If you're talking like this happens 5 or 6 times a day every year then you're doing it wrong....

Easily five or six times a year. Easily several times a day...

[Bob]

Crikey. Time to invest in more shigawire, plasteel and hunter-seekers.

[Turnip]

I'd just like to apologize for the crazy rude bitch that went batshit insane on me when I pulled up alongside her camp and politely asked "Hey, is there room to park here and set up our camp?" And while some members or her camp politely came out and explained to us that No, there wasn't room as the open space was waiting for morning and more campmates to set up in, she felt it necessary to come out and start screaming, waving her finger around and blaming us for knocking down her rope fence (a good 6 feet from our vehicle's path) and actually running up to our bus door and sticking her arm and offensive finger waving inside verbally berating us. Beforehand I had even offered to help her fix her "fence" and she completely ignored me, preferring to continue fuming like a 12 year old. The last she got from us was another apology and a recommendation to cool her shit, closing our bus door on her mid tirade. I have NO idea why she chose to handle the situation the way she did. But that bitch needed some fucking valium, I swear to god.

[illy dilly]

OK Fucko, Number 1) I didn't walk through ANYONE'S camp, period. Number 2)I had a $2000 sound system and DJ equipment in my camp and it was free for anyone to walk through. Do you know why I didn't worry about it? Because I am not a fucking moron and I put locks on my valuable shit.

You calling me a hippie and chastising me about thievery is completely uncalled for. I would never, ever steal anything from anyone. I work my ass off to go to the burn, since 1997 mind you. I rely on myself.

I'll bet that you were about to call me another disparaging thing like, "Newbie" or "Virgin". You see when you ASSUME things, you make an ASS out of U and ME. You just made a complete ass out of yourself. Take your Terminal City and shove it up your ass, I haven't stepped foot into that camp since 2008, fucktard.

Changoloco, where do you camp every year?
I will make it a point to stumble through your camp, probably through some access to the back of your camp, then when I get stuck in a dead end, I will go ahead and keep walking.

But you want radical inclusion right? So please include me in walking where ever I want in your camp.

Yes you put locks on your DJ gear, but would you really be ok, with my drunk tripping rolling ass stumbling around up there, even if it is locked up?
You talk about privacy, ok. Do you close your tent/RV at night when you sleep? Or are you ok with me letting my self in and coming and cuddling you for a while? Trust me, I'm nice and hairy and fun to cuddle. Since you don't camp in the Mojave Desert, you must be ok with zero privacy.

People spend time and money setting up camps, putting out decorations, and when someone cuts a corner through your camp, it is likely to damage the camp.

_______________________________________-
Edited:
OK I reread everything this Changoloco has writen in this thread and realize this must be some stupid ass sock troll puppet what ever. Only a sock puppet troll could be this stupid. And now, I realize that this sock puppet troll has got my got. Dope

[JStep]

Well, ok.... Granted... but really, how many times has this happened and how many years are we talking? If you're talking once a year, you're lucky. quitcherbitchin. If you're talking like this happens 5 or 6 times a day every year then you're doing it wrong....

We are not doing it wrong. The fuckwits that don't understand personal space are doing it wrong.

2011: Playawaste Raiders had someone walk through camp, cut down a fence, and take a shit in their camp.
2010: M*A*S*H tries to stop someone from climbing over a fence. Instead of stopping, he damages the fence, trips over 4-8 guy wires the fence was there to stop people from tripping over, and falls into our evap pond. (This happens at least once every year. It's why we put up fencing within camp.)
2007: One of our campers wakes up in the middle of the night with an extra person in his tent. The extra person made an extra door (in a $700 tent) with a knife to get in.

Cut-thru people are a daily problem everywhere. This year in particular, the Hive camped a bunch of people between TC & themselves. Then they left no way for those people to get in and out of their camp. Those people began cutting through our camps. We made sure that they had a clear path next to the parking gulag to walk in and out of. There was even some discussion between Hive organizers and us, where we pointed out that we had left them a clear path, as well as the fact that poor planning on their part does not mean that their campers can use us a roadway.

Radical Inclusion does not give anyone the right to walk into my personal living space.

The only people that are inconvenienced by fences are the people that come into your camp to steal, damage, deficate or assault. Fuck those people.

Again, granted, but I thought we were talking about people cutting through your wide open spaces because you made it convenient to do so, not people on a mission to blatantly steal shit. People who want to steal shit will find a way to do it if they are determined enough. That's not the same thing as having a camp with so much space that groups of people can continuosly ride their bikes through it. My bad, guess I misinterpreted the OP. Does the bigger fonnt make me more or less correct here? Smile! Just having a conversation...

[illy dilly]

Again, granted, but I thought we were talking about people cutting through your wide open spaces because you made it convenient to do so, not people on a mission to blatantly steal shit. People who want to steal shit will find a way to do it if they are determined enough. That's not the same thing as having a camp with so much space that groups of people can continuosly ride their bikes through it. My bad, guess I misinterpreted the OP.[/size] Does the bigger fonnt make me more or less correct here? Smile! Just having a conversation...

I do not believe that we are talking about people blatently planning to steal. Like you said, there is no way to stop that.

I think we are talking about people, cutting through that 4 feet behind your shade structure and your dome tent. Or people, cutting the extra 5 feet off the corner so they can make a nice sweeping turn instead of riding out into the intersection.

The larger font just makes me want to argue with you more

[JStep]

Again, granted, but I thought we were talking about people cutting through your wide open spaces because you made it convenient to do so, not people on a mission to blatantly steal shit. People who want to steal shit will find a way to do it if they are determined enough. That's not the same thing as having a camp with so much space that groups of people can continuosly ride their bikes through it. My bad, guess I misinterpreted the OP.[/size] Does the bigger fonnt make me more or less correct here? Smile! Just having a conversation...

I do not believe that we are talking about people blatently planning to steal. Like you said, there is no way to stop that.

I think we are talking about people, cutting through that 4 feet behind your shade structure and your dome tent. Or people, cutting the extra 5 feet off the corner so they can make a nice sweeping turn instead of riding out into the intersection.

The larger font just makes me want to argue with you more

Well yeah, that's what I was getting at. Maybe cause we camped "way out" on Initiation ... I don't know but we had no problems. Our camp had a yurt, a school bus with trailer, a carport, a van and 2 camo nets on a corner lot. We had no issues, but I don't think we made it convenient to cut through and definitely didn't take up more space than we needed to. I guess I'm just lucky, lol.

[unjonharley]

\
It's the third basic step for man and beast.

1 Food

2 Shelter

3 Safety of the food and shelter.

Now Get Off "My" Lawn

[polyresin]

I see both sides here as well. If they are really causing a problem, the best solution is to rearrange vehicles (in my experience). We ended up with a lot of extra space in our theme camp allottment this year, so we sort of carved out a shortcut for passers-by between Divorce and Engagement. Neighbors really enjoyed it and it actually ended up being pretty convenient for us as well, as we were camped in the very middle of a block.

At the corner of 3&D this year, the literal corner, there was an empty space on a camp lot that I continually cut through on my bike. Nothing was in that space and it seemed that we weren't causing any trouble by cutting across. If somebody had asked me to stop, I would have.

As much as some people might think you were surly for claiming your space (which I can understand actually, assuming you weren't really using the space), it wasn't right for the people to fight you if they were asked politely to respect your space.

I have to say that I lean towards sharing, though. Just something to think about I suppose.

[changoloco]

OK Fucko, Number 1) I didn't walk through ANYONE'S camp, period. Number 2)I had a $2000 sound system and DJ equipment in my camp and it was free for anyone to walk through. Do you know why I didn't worry about it? Because I am not a fucking moron and I put locks on my valuable shit.

You calling me a hippie and chastising me about thievery is completely uncalled for. I would never, ever steal anything from anyone. I work my ass off to go to the burn, since 1997 mind you. I rely on myself.

I'll bet that you were about to call me another disparaging thing like, "Newbie" or "Virgin". You see when you ASSUME things, you make an ASS out of U and ME. You just made a complete ass out of yourself. Take your Terminal City and shove it up your ass, I haven't stepped foot into that camp since 2008, fucktard.

Changoloco, where do you camp every year?
I will make it a point to stumble through your camp, probably through some access to the back of your camp, then when I get stuck in a dead end, I will go ahead and keep walking.

But you want radical inclusion right? So please include me in walking where ever I want in your camp.

Yes you put locks on your DJ gear, but would you really be ok, with my drunk tripping rolling ass stumbling around up there, even if it is locked up?
You talk about privacy, ok. Do you close your tent/RV at night when you sleep? Or are you ok with me letting my self in and coming and cuddling you for a while? Trust me, I'm nice and hairy and fun to cuddle. Since you don't camp in the Mojave Desert, you must be ok with zero privacy.

People spend time and money setting up camps, putting out decorations, and when someone cuts a corner through your camp, it is likely to damage the camp.

_______________________________________-
Edited:
OK I reread everything this Changoloco has writen in this thread and realize this must be some stupid ass sock troll puppet what ever. Only a sock puppet troll could be this stupid. And now, I realize that this sock puppet troll has got my got. Dope

You are more than welcome to walk anywhere that you would like in my camp. If you private message me next year, I will tell you where I am camping. I love that you tried to play the stupid card. I am far from stupid my friend. I am just not a fan of whiners that try to control the every move of people around them. If your drunk ass wants to walk around my DJ gear, have at it. All of my gear is in ATA cases with locks on them and further locked to my RV. Like I said, if you are concerned, lock your shit up. Yes, I do lock my RV and guess what, genius. You won't find me crying on here about people going into my RV. Why? BECAUSE THEY CAN"T FUCKING GET INTO IT. But, hey, good luck with that controlling every move that people make at the burn thing. You could tire yourself eternally trying to control their actions or *NEWSFLASH* lock everything down that you don't want people fucking with. The latter seems like the easier solution to me. But, if you like crying about trifling shit on an internet message board, please continue and see how far that gets you. FYI, the authorities ie; BLM, does not view common camp area as private property.

[Aya]

Wonderful feedback on both ends, I guess what my main trouble was that they dismissed any type of fellowship, we met many wonderful people around us and all it took was a friendly smile, chat, a hug or handshake the offending group would have possibly had free run through the camp to get to theirs but they didn't even try to get know us, therefore we couldn't trust them at all.

[Zulegoona]

Changoloco: When you have an RV even a tiny trailer you have a home people can’t just walk through, you have a safe place to put things out of temptations way. Somebody peeing on the side of the RV may be a bit annoying but it doesn’t mean you’ll have to do without some of the little comforts you prepared for yourself. When you have a vehicle you don’t have to worry about someone kicking over your water or damaging the only shelter you have beyond usability. I can see why a person cutting through your camp is no big deal. And as nice as it can be having a friendly neighbor passing through a few times a day saying hi stopping for a drink or bringing some brownies by can be, It’s more irritating to have your living space used by surly non-commutative people who pretend you aren’t sitting there as a shortcut to the port-o-potties.
Yes Burning Man is about the community but that also implies a mutual respect and desire to be a good neighbor to the people in the community. I fully believe in having an open and inviting camp and I can understand when you got to go you got to go but not on my tent thank you please don’t be offended if I string a rope along the back of my camp as a reminder MKay,….. but then I suppose I don’t need to worry about you can you can always go in your RV.

[C.f.M.]

Our camp was pretty clearly marked off as far as where shortcuts were. Aya is being rather kind in her description of the people who were trying to cut through (and why? to save five steps of road walking but add 30 of dodging...10+ tents all smushed together?).

We're talking an actual wood and metal fence, not just ropes or some vague line of "is this art or not or..."

We're certainly not against strangers walking up to say hello, or mistakenly crossing through camp. That's not at all what Aya is referring to.

[Irreverent Moniker]

We had both sides of the trespasser problem. We had people that just pushed through our living area (like, stepping over the coffee table between our two couches as everyone was sitting and hanging out) without saying a word and we had randoms that plopped down and hung out. We're now good friends with a few of the randoms that stayed and hung out, and had a good time with the others (including an animated debate about polyamory and societal expectations with the "Teds").

I have no problem if you come back and hang out with us, we'll grab you a beer and give you some food. It's the ones who just push through without acknowledging that they're in your camp that annoy me.

[trilobyte]

Sorry to hear about all the unfortunate experiences. We were lucky this year - maybe because we were tight on space and maybe just because of our structure design, we didn't have anybody using our camp as their personal alleyway. We had visits from neighbors, sure, but they were visits from people who said hello and waved back and we were happy to see. We did have some people coming over from Distrikt (not people from the camp, but people who were partying there) who felt they'd get a better cell phone signal from our airship tower, but when we asked them to take their calls elsewhere they left without any arguments or incident.

Sure, I can understand if someone's camped on the next street and they're cutting through, but to me that person should stay to the outskirts and avoid going through or into anybody's structures or personal space. Of the many things Burning Man is and ought to be about, one of them (in my opinion) is respecting other people and their space and their belongings.

[C.f.M.]

Sorry to hear about all the unfortunate experiences. We were lucky this year - maybe because we were tight on space and maybe just because of our structure design, we didn't have anybody using our camp as their personal alleyway. We had visits from neighbors, sure, but they were visits from people who said hello and waved back and we were happy to see. We did have some people coming over from Distrikt (not people from the camp, but people who were partying there) who felt they'd get a better cell phone signal from our airship tower, but when we asked them to take their calls elsewhere they left without any arguments or incident.

Sure, I can understand if someone's camped on the next street and they're cutting through, but to me that person should stay to the outskirts and avoid going through or into anybody's structures or personal space. Of the many things Burning Man is and ought to be about, one of them (in my opinion) is respecting other people and their space and their belongings.

I just quoted you so that I could tell you how much I love my "of course you should" necklace.

"your camp peremiter will be tighter and will work better"

Yeah...I really don't see how a "perimeter" consisting of a fence taller than I am, in spots, made of rebarred steel posts, aluminum roofing slats and other trash bits extending down two streets could get much tighter....like it's been said, the fence wasn't the problem.

The assholes were.

[illy dilly]

Again, granted, but I thought we were talking about people cutting through your wide open spaces because you made it convenient to do so, not people on a mission to blatantly steal shit. People who want to steal shit will find a way to do it if they are determined enough. That's not the same thing as having a camp with so much space that groups of people can continuosly ride their bikes through it. My bad, guess I misinterpreted the OP.[/size] Does the bigger fonnt make me more or less correct here? Smile! Just having a conversation...

I do not believe that we are talking about people blatently planning to steal. Like you said, there is no way to stop that.

I think we are talking about people, cutting through that 4 feet behind your shade structure and your dome tent. Or people, cutting the extra 5 feet off the corner so they can make a nice sweeping turn instead of riding out into the intersection.

The larger font just makes me want to argue with you more

Well yeah, that's what I was getting at. Maybe cause we camped "way out" on Initiation ... I don't know but we had no problems. Our camp had a yurt, a school bus with trailer, a carport, a van and 2 camo nets on a corner lot. We had no issues, but I don't think we made it convenient to cut through and definitely didn't take up more space than we needed to. I guess I'm just lucky, lol.

We were on a corner lot as well. But on 3:30 and G.
We had a little Gnome Garden set up out front, as a sorta art installation. We made it inconienent for people to cut through by putting up a "little white picket fence". It was actually a couple of 50' rolls of 1" slat snow fence painted white. Had we not put up the snow fence, then lit the snow fence at night, it would have been simple for folks to cut through (aka cutting the corner) and a lot of our gnomes/lawn art would have likely been smashed.
We also used a bit of the snow fence to keep people from wandering into the back of our camp and cutting through. Keeping wonderers out, will help keep honest people honest. People that are going to steal from you are going to steal from you. But, by keeping a drunk honest person from walking by your liq stash will keep them from making a bad decision that might be convenient and seem like a good idea when intoxicated.

SO back to the original OP's post about using fencing to keep people out of areas, go for it! But don't section off a huge piece of land, just because because you don't want to hear your neighbors bumpen nasties in the night.

[CapSmashy]

As the defacto mayor (i did the paperwork) of the camp referred to by the OP, we had areas clearly defined and the bulk of the issues we encountered have been covered by other Raiders and our neighboring village camps.

As I mentioned in the previous thread pertaining to fences, I will gladly shit out rainbows, unicorns and fluffy bunny rabbits and bestow prizes upon all who enter our public areas. That changes dramatically when someone crosses the boundaries of public and private spaces. As mentioned in this thread, most of the time, all it took was asking nicely to not cut through our living room and the problem was solved. When we were met by an angry" fuck you" and the veiled threat of" we know where you live" the game changes. Fortunately, all that happened was some zip ties getting cut and having to clean up someone's shit they left in their wake.

Yes, after this year we are stepping up our perimeter security. The means we utilized this year have served us well up until this year, but obviously the self entitled assholes have discovered Burning Man in significantly larger numbers so plans will have to be revamped for a more secure area. Oh, one thing not mentioned by my campers was the evening several interlopers were discovered planted in our camp's mutant vehicle doing lines of coke. A passing leo witnessing this activity could have made for a very unpleasant experience for all of us until it all got sorted out.

[Bay Bridge Sue]

What can I say??? I agree with Smashy, because we've also BTDT.

IF people are respectful of our private space in camp, I got no problem with strangers coming on thru. I've met some awesome burners on "walkabout" and that's cool - usually they get a shot of Vodka or an unexpected PBR and I get to hear their stories. Some even become friends.

it's when you get the yahoo assholes that think because it''s Burning Man they have the right to fuck up your shit, or go where they have no business (like in a tent trying to break into a locked strong box or a vehicle that ain't theirs) I go Neanderthal Queen Bitch on them. (And yes I have...) And I have (and have had) no problem detaining someone for a convenient curbside trash pickup by our buds in the BLM, who seem happy to oblige. It's because of them we have a strong perimeter system for our camp, set paths of ingress/egress, and will stop someone outside the public areas of our camp. Period.

Like the CO We've had people try stupid in my camp. We've changed our borders to discourage walkthrus, and so far it seems to work. We use the shit out of caution tape and whatnot, and if they ignore it and get hurt, well, they hopefully read their ticket. Because while I don't mind walkthrus (like I said, I've met some cool folk on walkabuot) we DO have some overtly hazardous areas, and also some overtly blatant "you best not get caught here" areas, like inside a vehicle, tent, or personal space.

And yes... we just maybe might set up booby traps that if you're that stupid, well... lets just say it's now part of your burning man experience. We tell you to stay away; if you choose to ignore the warnong, well again... hope you read your ticket.

Bottom line is this - if you want a rainbow gathering, this ain't it. This is a city of 50,000 people, and you get all kinds here. Including those who actually do take care of their shit and their biz. You want to ignore someone's no trespassing signs, then you get what you deserve - and it ain't gonna be applause from the others who have been here far longer than you.

(Side note - even my friends in Gerlach noticed that the burners are not like they were even 5, let alone 10 years ago. If burners still acted like burners, they wouldn't have mentioned it to us.)

[illy dilly]

I will gladly shit out rainbows, unicorns and fluffy bunny rabbits and bestow prizes upon all who enter our public areas. That changes dramatically when someone crosses the boundaries of public and private spaces.

+10
Amen!

[voiceinthedarkness]

Experienced burners:

I really don't want to open up the original line of hate and discontent this thread caused, but I don't particularly care to put up with snark for asking for advice when there's already a loosely connected thread, so I'm using this thread seeking advice about camp security.

In a nutshell, I plan on a small single-vehicle camp out in the suburbs. My daughter indicates she'd like to build a solar oven and bake fresh shortbread for gifting; I'm also thinking a well-designed solar oven would be great for slow-cooked ribs or some such. However, I'm not a fan of ad hoc wealth re-distribution by people who think it's acceptable to help themselves without asking.

In the interest of managing expectations, is there a high probability we'd come back after a volunteer shift or an event and find our gifts have somehow wandered off?

[moonrise]

Seems it'd be best if you lock up your valuables in your vehicle when not at your camp. Including the oven. If you ask a neighbor to watch your stuff, it probably isn't the right thing to do because they probably have enough on their hands as well. I wouldn't leave anything out, including your water jugs (if at all possible) when not in your camp. Tarping things can help and a spare crappy tent could be used for funky things & odd low value stuff. Interlopers will hopefully think someone is in the junk tent!

I happen to know chango (he's not a troll,lol) and have met several others in this thread. Seems the style of camp may be the issue here. Terminal City is built up really really niiiice and chango's camp is probably a bunch of RV's and tents loosely gathered (with a main shade bla bla). Not sure why they blew up on eachother, probably just the interent thing.

As far as people cutting through tents with knives or whatever, stealing and crapping in a camp, unreal! I have no words

One thing for sure, I'll be sure to knock and introduce my mellow self diligently (I always do anyway). wow ^^

I did leave chairs, cans of gas and a few other things out and no problems. Most of that stuff was under a tarp and I was on the end of a loose informal bar camp.
I think we had great neighbors and I did LOCK UP the good stuff in my truck (and trailer) when I wasn't there.

You might want to make a small solar oven, so you can lock it in the car.

[MyDearFriend]

I walked along A St through Terminal City a few dozen times last year, hoping to find a friendly face, so, I know what you all looked like from the street. And while I personally would not waste my time in BRC trying to visit where I am not welcomed, I can see where a certain type of mind would see those fences as a real challenge.

I dunno though maybe it's the price you pay for camping so close to the Esplanade?

I was at 3:30 & F and never had any boundary issues I couldn't solve with a polite inquiry.

[trilobyte]

@voiceinthedarkness - I should hope you would be fine. Unless you set up your solar oven along your camp's frontage or in some way that led passers-by to think it was some sort of 'help yourself' setup, you shouldn't have any trouble.

[Drawingablank]

Experienced burners:

I really don't want to open up the original line of hate and discontent this thread caused, but I don't particularly care to put up with snark for asking for advice when there's already a loosely connected thread, so I'm using this thread seeking advice about camp security.

In a nutshell, I plan on a small single-vehicle camp out in the suburbs. My daughter indicates she'd like to build a solar oven and bake fresh shortbread for gifting; I'm also thinking a well-designed solar oven would be great for slow-cooked ribs or some such. However, I'm not a fan of ad hoc wealth re-distribution by people who think it's acceptable to help themselves without asking.

In the interest of managing expectations, is there a high probability we'd come back after a volunteer shift or an event and find our gifts have somehow wandered off?

Last year we were out in the burbs - H and 5:45 Being from an urban area my normal paranoia prevailed and we locked up everything except our cooler which was in a tent and out of sight. Someone kept sneaking into camp and absconding with bottles of cold water from the cooler - we never figured out who but they took all but 3 bottles out of 2 cases. Thankfully they didn't steal our beer or booze and we had most of the water in suitcases in the vehicle (with plenty to spare had they actually asked instead of stolen).

Our neighbors left everything in their camp wide open under their shade structure - stoves, food, coolers, etc.. The only thing they lost all week was a bicycle on the first night - taken from under their shade structure.

The point is, there is no way to anticipate theft so if you want to retain it - lock it up.

[Playa Status]

You people are a prime example why a utopia could never work. Burning man can not.last longer than a week. Enjoy playa land while you Can!