Admin Notices

Safety

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In the wake of Orlando, many of us are just stunned. It is probably more surprising that something as bad as that did not happen before. Every week it seems we are hearing about some horrible tragedy with guns in the world, but Orlando hit close to home for all of us. Queers have been targets for years by zealots.

In recent weeks we have been talking to BMorg about safety on the playa and in the Queer parts of the city and how it is important. That reason exploded this week. Believe it or not: many BMorg leaders and community participants have this misshapen view that Burning Man is all hippies and hugs which is not true.

Safety everywhere is a real issue. Listen to our older members of the community; to those who grew up in rural, scary places, to those who could not come out of the closet. Gay marriage was not the golden rainbow bridge that made us all equal. The things we did to survive in a hostile world in a country where all people were never really equal.

When the BMorg asked us if the flood of 7:30 Sector requests was queer camps we figure out the answer was no. Camps want the 7:30 sector because of alleged reasons such as better weather, streets in good condition, energy and more entertainment. While queer camps coalesced for safety, we hear BMorg uttering the dull roar of breaking it up again. We can’t have that. Now more than ever we need to safety and security of a united community.

Does that exclude non-queer community members? Not at all. We are a radically inclusive community but we have not always felt that inclusivity. Many see themselves and have experienced clear and defined marginalism. Our strength is in our perseverance and our chosen family and our community pride.

NOTE: BMorg Placement has not said they are breaking up the area typically known as the Gayborhood. But they are talking about making two distinct spaces in future events. This year it looks like we are going to see a Rainbow Road scenario and many of us are excited for that. But as Placement is taking on new leadership this year we need to be vigilant that the dialog of integrating queer camps through the city simply does not happen to dissolute the magic we bring as an attraction year after year.

URGENT: Changes to the Gayborhood

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Placement @ Burning Man wants to hear from the community about the role of the Gayborhood. We need feedback from the community NOW as we are meeting with the BMorg on June 1st. Please complete this Survey Monkey post right away and give us your feedback. [link here to survey – UPDATED]

Some of the collective leaders of queer camps are being asked to communicate with Placement @ Burning Man about the logistics and purpose of The Gayborhood. The Gayborhood has become a huge presence. Now Burning Man is asking us questions about HOW to manage requests to camp in the 7:30 sector and HOW to fit the concept of the Gayborhood into their current policies.

Toaster reached out to some of the most active leaders he knew about creating a survey so we can come to the meeting better prepared with data. What we have surmised from the Queer Burner Leadership Summit discussions is that there are clear and compelling reasons for the gayborhoods that have appeared on playa.

Did you know there are 2 annual Gayborhoods? One is the Gayborhood usually falling in the 7:30 sector most people seem familiar with. Another is the 4:30 and J self placed camps like Burner Buddies and Nacho Daddies that have made that area their own space. In 2010 there was also a Gay Ghetto. (Yes, they called it that) It appeared over on the entire block of 3:00 & C. A group of campers independently made that happen.

[link here to survey – UPDATED] 

Safe Place: You will see reference to the term “safe place” in the questionnaire. This is not the same things as the project “Safe Place.” Some camps are going to be implementing a project called Safe Place for people under duress to retreat to while at the burn where they can be safe from predators or the effects of “too much.” A meeting about “Safe Place” the project will occur on June 8th if you would like to learn more. [Facebook Event]

The HIVE mind behind the survey includes: Toaster (Sun Guardians / Queer Burners Admin) Foxy (Beaverton / Ranger Torchwood) Cyndi Vee & Ariel (Gender Blender) Terry Grossman (Gaylactic Village / Time to Burn) John Pacheco (GlamCocks) Russ Smith (AstroPups) Ed Edmond (Burner Buddies) and there were others included in the discussion who may or may not have added but were included in the conversation: Yogen Kushi (GlamCocks) Jered Floyd (HIVE Boston) Micheal Cooper (Comfort & Joy) Brian Busta (Comfort & Joy) and Zach Bunker (BloAsis)

 

701 5000 100/day 10% …numbers baby

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Queer Burners is meant to be a collaboration. It’s here as a canvas for participants to add to it. Recently someone asked me if this was a one man show and I ‘say’ : “NO” but with few acceptations I am the only one posting articles. As we float into 2016 – 8 years after starting this project – it is really time for this site to either take flight or go away.

As a resource many people have seemed pleased with it. With great anticipation, Cody from Glamcocks might start a series of articles about acculturation. I seriously want more people to dive in and write more about their area of expertise. It’s not always clear as to what those are for some people and we need diversity. Diversity and inclusion is really important.

It is exciting to see 701 people signed up on the site. About 10% of those are completely inactive and about the same number come back to the site a lot and actually sign in. The cool thing is that we are still seeing (even in this off season) about an average of 100 visitors a day. People are watching and paying attention.

With the combination of our regional Facebook pages as well as the main ones (all linked on the Queerdo’s Regional Page) we are reaching on average 5000 people with our posts and information. Some automatically populates to our @queer_burner twitter and to the Page. Our mailing list (linked at the bottom) has about the same number of people on our membership.

Today is Christmas Day and with this post I wish you all a Happy Holiday season.

Web Site Updates

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There have been a lot of changes to the web site and there is still more editing to happen. A lot of information has been consolidated that was getting kinda old and some of the more current topics made more clear. With Spring Break and other cool things happening on the horizon it’s time to get those ducks in order.

The fund raising campaign was successful in that it gave me (Toaster) enough money to help out with some of the web site upgrades. While they cost a little more than we got in, it will all balance out in the end.

Spring Break is the major news item as ticket sales launch later this week from the web site. All access will be made from the site for ticket sales. There will be limited sales (if any) from the front gate. We expect to sell out.

2015 Fund Rising

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The campaign launched in January 2015 hoping to raise money for Queer Burners was a major flop. It was setup to set some flag stones into place to help finance a revamp of the web site and make the upcoming Spring Break event more accessible to people. Either way, it seems we are still able to achieve goals.

We raised $160 according to IndieGogo but it is likely because we did not achieve the desired goal that half of those donations will never make it to the site. As you can see, if you are visiting the site, many updates and edits have already been made with the little fortune we have had. Lemons… meet lemonade.

QB Network Numbers

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One of our claims is an audience of 5000 on our network. While many have opted in and signed up in one form or another many are accessing the free resources on the web site on a daily basis. That number is a wide reaching number based on the engagement of our social networking and web site numbers.

Web Stats provided by Buddy Press plugin

Above are stats provided by software on the site / Below is from Google Analytics. See how they compare.

Web Site Analytics from Google

While it is not clear which is more reliable for data, they are showing very similar algorithms happening. It’s clear there is a lot of activity and people are seeking out information we have on the site. 1400+ sessions in the last 30 days and 1200 visitors with 80% being unique and new as far as software tracking can determine.

Social Networking Links

  • Queer Burners [dot] Com Web Site : 600 Members
  • Queer Burners Facebook Page : Link : 2009 Followers
  • Queer Burners Facebook Group : Link :  1373 Followers
  • Bay Area Queer Burners : Link : 591 Followers
  • SoCal Queer Burners  : Link : 111 Followers
  • Atlanta Queer Burners : Link : 40  Followers
  • Las Vegas Queer Burners : Link : 25 Followers
  • Europe Queer Burners : Link : 3 Followers (newest board)
  • Quire (Queer Burner Leadership Network : Link : 97 Followers
  • Twitter @queer_burners : Link : 650 Followers
  • MailChimp Mailing List : 583 Recipients

3rd Party Queer Burner Boards

  • NYC Queer Burners : Link : 284 Followers
  • DC – MA- VA Brothers of the Man : Link : 27 Followers

What are they looking for?

An overwhelming number of people coming to the site are looking for Queer Camp and networking information for their planned expedition to Burning Man in 2015. They are looking at:

  • Pictures from previous burn years (mostly 2014 right now) : Link
  • Queer Camps on the 2015 List : Link

There is a clear sense they are looking for more and are not exploring some of the more interactive features on the site like the Groups and Forums. If we can get the site to allow a more robust social networking feed, better than what the RSS page offers, then I think on these accounts the site will be more than just a spot to check of static information.

The 2015 Fund Raising Campaign

The first goal of the campaign is to improve the site. We can do that by paying someone to help or having someone in the community volunteer. This is a Buddypress driven site and if worked more like a Facebook feed then it would make the project a lot happier:

  • cleaner feed on what is now called the RSS Page
  • Greater personalization of the profiles
  • Easier to communicate between members
  • Better way to share projects and events

Then we will focus on the Queer Burner Leadership Summit for the late Spring and/or a structured campout for Queer Burners.

Launched!!!! A Campaign…

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indiegogo_square_logo_color_print_black_vWell, there ya go. Our fund raising campaign for 2015 launched this morning and we are asking burners all over the place to help us out. The goals is to make this project more but setting the bar higher and creating new means of developing community.

Relative nature of the Gayborhood and the people in it.
Relative nature of the Gayborhood
and the people in it.

We are not looking to segregate our LGBTQ++ participants, but help make the world we walk in and network through a little stronger. By upgrading the web site (the small potatoes) and making the Leadership Summit stronger, then a camp out for Queer Burners, it is a way of massing and further forging our community.

Another important factor by Toaster and some of the other Admins is the security and safety of the Gayborhood. How this manifests is still in the air, but the ultimate pass/fail this year is going to be who steps up. Who steps up to make this project a success. Who steps up to make a better stronger project?

Toaster: I am willing to foster and stand behind someone/people willing to work for the goodness of the community with the mindfulness of LGBTQ issues; which the Borg is not. When it comes to issues around Women and Queers in the community the Borg has a history of turning a blind eye until 2013-2014 when somehow along the way they started paying attention. Nothing changed much, but this project has hopefully been an answer to that on some levels.

What’s up with Queer Burners?

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We are gearing up for some new changes and also trying to make the site more dynamic and interactive for the 2015 season moving forward. We are so excited about the Carnival of Mirrors theme and what Burning Man has predicted with the upcoming event. The new Midway… if it is anything like the Souk from 2014 …wow.

How things happen?

We are looking for people to invest in a few ways: 1. Fund Raising which is starting mid January and ending March 30th that will provide us funds for the following 3 things: improve the web site, prepare and set the Leadership Summit for 2015, and then create a meetup for Queer Burners, 2. Get more people writing on the site, 3. …and finally give more people the tools to engage each other and promote and create an unbelievable kinetic energy for the upcoming season.

IndiGogo

The fund raising campaign will begin in mid January and we are looking for up to $4000.

It is time to take the project up to another level. This has been a strictly grass roots level project managed by a single person with occasional help from committed leaders in various regions elsewhere geographically.

  1. Upgrade the web site with more user friendly features and a better social networking strata; upgrade software, upgrade hosting, buy and install applications to make it more independent and user focused. About $500.
  2. Originate a Queer Burner Campout on private land that we can get campers to and from easily so we can get maximum attendance; deposit for land, insurance, a fund to help artists and performers, and just enough to get started as the rest and a bank will be created by charging a fee for the event. About $2500.
  3. Create a more intense and focused Leadership Summit for 2015 with  sound principles that will fulfill and help camp, project and community leaders with LGBTQ++ (all inclusive) in our community forge ahead strong. Provide programs that might require outside speakers. About $1000.

While more details will appear below, above are the bullets of what this funding is requesting. The goal is to provide a strong resource for LGBTQ burners that stands on its own since it is a project that is not associated with or connected to Burning Man, LLC or the Burning Man Project TM; this is a project created for the community and strength of the Gayborhood* that is not for profit and not a private entity.

Coming Together in Hard Times

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There have been a lot of high profile deaths in the Burning Man community and when we see people grieving it is hard to know where to take those feelings. The death of a regional community member has an impact. It can be devastating.

Please know you are not alone!

There are Black Rock City Rangers in every community and a special section of them called Green Dot who have special training when it comes to issues of the heart and mind.

Green Dots are Rangers who help participants through situations that have a strong emotional, psychic, or internal component. Green Dots are first and foremost patient listeners who seek to hold space for participants undergoing inner transformation or experiencing internal distress.

Whatever the case, you might need something closer to home. Maybe just a voice. We have friends all around and do not be afraid to use them. Here are some more resources:

Suicide Hotline 1-800-273-8255

or 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)