Terms to Know

BM:Acronynm for Burning Man
Black Rock City (BRC):The temporary city on the playa of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, where BM takes place. It is 90 miles north-northeast of Reno.
Burner:A Burning Man participant.
MiPL:Meet in Portland. The social group I’ve been active with for the last 3-1/2 years. I went to BM with a MiPL contingent.
MiPLer:A person who is involved in Meet in Portland.
MOOP:Matter Out Of Place. Litter on the playa. There is a “Leave No Trace” policy which means everything you bring in, you must bring out, including grey water you can’t evaporate in time.
Playa:A dry lakebed. More specifically in this case, the large, dusty, uninhabitable desert where BM occurs. The word is used in a couple of different ways. It is used to describe things gotten from the elements there, ex. Playa hair. And it is used to explained the big, open area in the middle of BRC.
Playa Name:A pseudonym by which a burner goes around at the playa.
Tourist/Spectator:Pejorative term used to refer to people who come to Burning Man as spectators rather than participate in the event, often arriving not long before the actual burning of the man.
Virgin:First time BM attendee.