Community Guidelines

These guidelines were developed based on community input and best practices from existing bbs' such as ePlaya. It is the goal of these guidelines to help foster a strong, supportive community.

Philosophy

  • The Playa Info Directory exists to support the Burning Man community. In order to do so, it must support the interests of ongoing Playa Info Directory community members who may have a variety of interests that they bring to this forum that may be only peripheral to the actual Burning Man event. This also includes those Burning Man community members who only briefly interact online, and those who are joining the community and wish to gain an understanding of it.
  • Everyone is capable of contributing positively to the community, and a variety of viewpoints are both expected and encouraged.

Expected Behavior

  • Before posting messages, take some time to read the forums and get a sense of how people interact. Coming on like a bull in a china shop will not win friends — respecting the ongoing flow of conversation will.
  • There are different areas for different purposes within the Playa Info Directory. Please respect their intended use, and keep on topic, especially when creating new threads, e.g., do not post political discussions in the Newbie area, etc.
  • "Cross-posting" — the act of posting the same message across multiple threads — is unwelcome
  • Personal attacks are unwelcome.
  • Illegal activities are unwelcome.
  • The Playa Info Directory is a no-commerce zone. Recommending a good deal you found is acceptable, gifting is always encouraged. Advertising items or services for sale or trade will not be tolerated.
  • Contributions should be intelligible and add value to the discussion. Before jumping into a discussion, be sure to read the messages posted and reply in context.
  • Your words are a reflection on you. They are how you will be judged by others. Be careful in how you present yourself. Once you have committed your words, you will have to stand by them and coexist in the community, as they cannot be edited or deleted.
  • We encourage you to represent yourself as you are known in everyday life and on the playa. Being yourself on the Playa Info Directory goes a long way to building lasting, trusting relationships. Multiple identities are discouraged.
  • Remember that there is a thinking, feeling human behind every username. Always.

Consequences

It is the goal of the administrators to exercise the powers set forth here in a fair and even-handed manner. In most situations, efforts to mediate the issues surrounding complaints will be attempted before action is taken against violators.

Upon investigation of a complaint, or personal observation of violation of the expected behaviors, administrators may take any of the following actions:

  • Topics or threads that are inappropriate for a certain discussion area may be moved or redirected to a more appropriate folder.
  • Personal attacks via username, topic or thread may result in the immediate deactivation of the account. User will be notified via email of the action.
  • "Cross-posting" may result in freezing repeated threads with a message notifying users to continue in one appropriate thread. The original cross-posting user will be notified of the action via email and reminded of the community guidelines against cross-posting.
  • Topics or threads intended for commercial gain may result in immediate deletion of same.
  • Multiple violations will result in the revocation of thread creation and/or posting privileges.
  • Continued or extreme violations will result in account deactivation.

Privacy rights

  • Your words are your own. However, this is a public forum, and anyone — law enforcement, the media, your mother — may read them and act on the information they contain.
  • Information collected during registration, but not authorized for dissemination, will only be used by the administrators of the Playa Info Directory if necessary to administer the board, and will not be used for any other purposes by Black Rock City, LLC or disseminated to any other organizations.
  • Burning Man will not honor requests to delete Content nor deactivate user accounts solely upon complaint by other Playa Info Directory users. In response to requests for enforcement action by users, the admins will investigate such accusations and determine whether the Playa Info Directory Terms of Service and Guidelines have been violated before taking action.

Modifications

These policies are subject to revision in order to allow maximum possible freedom of expression while protecting individuals' immediate experience. Should changes occur which affect the potential privacy of your information, you will be notified and allowed to remove such information before the changes take effect. Modifications to these policies will be posted in the Announcements thread.