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I first became aware of Burning Man in the late 90's. It sounded interesting, but a lot of people said it wasn't worth going to anymore because all the new peop

I first became aware of Burning Man in the late 90's. It sounded interesting, but a lot of people said it wasn't worth going to anymore because all the new people had ruined it and it was nothing like it used to be. The argument doesn't seem to have changed much since then - "it's gone downhill over the last few years and is nothing like it was 8-9 years ago when I first went." It wouldn't surprise me if in 2026 people are talking about how terrible Burning Man has become and how it's nothing like the wonderful Burning Man of 2016.

Paul-ish 10y ago
That doesn't make them wrong though. It may truly be mostly different people every 10 years.
cloudjacker 10y ago
turn down for what? because you're 38 and reminiscing about how unappealing burning is compared to when you were 25
marssaxman 10y ago
I also first heard about Burning Man in the mid '90s, but didn't actually attend until 2001. I was worried that I was going to be seeing the decrepit, watered-down remnants of something that had once been wild and wonderful. Well... I'm here to tell you that it has certainly changed over the last fifteen years, but it is still wild and it is still wonderful. I think that this pattern exists in part because you can't really have the same mind-blowing experience twice. You can keep going back to the playa, and the event will keep offering you new experiences and even some surprises, but you do get accustomed to it. I suspect that many people claiming it is not as good as it used to be are failing to distinguish their reaction to the novelty of the experience from the nature of the event itself. It is very common for people to go every year for 3-5 years, then move on - not because Burning Man has gone downhill somehow, but because they have gotten all they need out of it and are now ready to spend their summers doing something else.

Paul-ish 10y ago

That doesn't make them wrong though. It may truly be mostly different people every 10 years.

cloudjacker 10y ago

turn down for what? because you're 38 and reminiscing about how unappealing burning is compared to when you were 25

marssaxman 10y ago

I also first heard about Burning Man in the mid '90s, but didn't actually attend until 2001. I was worried that I was going to be seeing the decrepit, watered-down remnants of something that had once been wild and wonderful. Well... I'm here to tell you that it has certainly changed over the last fifteen years, but it is still wild and it is still wonderful. I think that this pattern exists in part because you can't really have the same mind-blowing experience twice. You can keep going back to the playa, and the event will keep offering you new experiences and even some surprises, but you do get accustomed to it. I suspect that many people claiming it is not as good as it used to be are failing to distinguish their reaction to the novelty of the experience from the nature of the event itself. It is very common for people to go every year for 3-5 years, then move on - not because Burning Man has gone downhill somehow, but because they have gotten all they need out of it and are now ready to spend their summers doing something else.