Burning Life

Coming September 27 through October 5, 2008

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It's Time to Build Burning Life 2008!

How do you get involved? Use the Burning Life '08 Volunteer Signup Form But before you start filling this out, you may want to take note of the volunteer positions listed in the "What Needs Doing & How To Play" section below. You will be able to apply for specific volunteer positions from those lists by using this form.

What is Burning Life?

Burning Life was first held in 2003 when the grid was still in it's infancy, and this is it's 6th year running. Burning Life is the Second Life version of the real life Art, Fire and Community festival known globally as Burning Man. Both Burning Man and Second Life began in San Francisco, California, USA, (on planet Earth). But they have a lot more in common than their birthplace.

In 1999, an innovative man made a long trek from San Francisco to the sun-baked playa of an enormous, flat, dry lake bed in the Nevada high desert. He went to attend the renowned Burning Man festival where, for one week each year, 50,000 people build art, camps and communities and celebrate being who they really are. This man came back with new ideas for the virtual world he was planning; ideas about the nature of reality, creativity, identity and community. He worked some of these ideas into the very fabric of "Linden World" which eventually became what you and I know as Second Life. That man was Philip Linden.

What happens at Burning Man is something phenomenal. This real world city built by its citizens has roads, street signs, an FAA-approved airport, a power grid, a hospital, huge public plazas, street lights, processions, rituals and spectacles. It has fabulous fashions, ridiculous situations and artworks so raw they are dangerous.

BUT - It's all temporary. At the end of that week, every last last speck of what was brought there is taken away again, Leaving No Trace of the city that was just there. When the winter rains come, even the footprints vanish. Til next year....

Because Burning Life is a mirror in spirit of a real life event, albeit with the unique and creative twists only Second Life can offer, we follow suit. Together, we will build a city, and we voluntarily accept many of the same restrictions that Nature imposes on the real thing. We do this to see how creative we can be with the same palette of materials and to revel in the beauty of simplicity. We use the same blank, desert landscape, and many of the things we build are naked or primitive in structure, easily revealing to the casual viewer how they were constructed. Just pretend that you're bringing everything you need with you in your car or truck and you're going camping. Extreme Camping. Really Extreme Camping.

The other thing you need to know up front is this: Both Burning Life and Burning Man are completely non-commercial. There is no buying or selling in this city...no sponsorships, no logos, no advertising, but acts of unconditional gift-giving that play a large part in Burning culture. It's all about about the radical inclusion of participants, it means welcome and respect — with no prerequisites for participation. It's all about us and what we have made for each other to enjoy.

Burning Life is a Linden-Sponsored, Resident-Created Event.

Upcoming Episodes:

• More history and Philosophy
• A few words from Philip Linden
• How to get a camp site at Burning Life '08

Stay Tuned!
Dusty Linden

What Needs Doing & How To Play

Burning Life '08 Volunteer Positions

Browse all volunteer positions

Browse by Department:

• Administration
• Art Department
• Burning Man Regional Group
• Communications
• Community
• Dispatch
• DMV- Department of Mutant Vehicles
• DPW- Department of Public Works
• DPW Coders
• Rangers
• Performance

Browse by Major Skill Set:

• Building- Expert
• Scripter- Expert
• Textures- Expert

(Performers: there will be a separate place for you to indicate your desire to participate, coming up soon.)

Next Steps

Coming up soon:

• Watch this article for Sim Opening information
• How to apply for a reserved camp space to build on at Burning Life '08
• How to grab a first-come-first-served camp space to build on at Burning Life '08
• How to apply for space to create art at Burning Life '08
• How to submit a proposal to build the Temple

Other Links

• Resident Resources Website (vburn.org)
• Official SL Forum for Burning Life
• Burning Life History
• Burning Life Flickr Group
• BurningMan Image Gallery
• Burning Man on the Wiki
• Ten Principles Of Burning Man
• Unofficial SL Burning Life Festival Commentary (BurningLife.com)

Zero Drama Tolerance

If you are thinking of volunteering to work on the pre-event set-up, read this: The Burning Life Production Team will be a no-drama zone. It's goal-oriented, get-'er-done work, all accomplished behind the scenes. While it's very fun and satisfying, it is no place for a big ego or someone who needs to be the center of attention or in control. It's collaborative. "Team" is a big word around here; be prepared to work with others and be good at reaching a goal, even if the road to it is not the one you might have chosen if working alone! We're all about "get 'er done, lighten up, and have fun".