A new website for the burner community
 

For the last three months, the better part of my life has been spent developing, integrating, designing and tweaking a new website for the burner community. Finally, I am ready to publicly announce it.

It is a place where you can connect.

Share.

Participate.

Where there are no spectators.

Wouldn't be great if there was an easy to remember domain name? One that spoke to the community? A mantra that really made it all seem to click?

Something like: http://NoSpectators.com ?

NoSpectators.com is all about connecting, sharing and participating. In short, it is about not being a spectator. My hope is that it will become the central meeting place for people to gather, interact, discuss issues and participate in the greater burner community.

Virtually everything is interactive. Take a poll, or comment on a news story. Post an event, or start a vibrant discussion in the forums. Start your own journal/blog, or jump into the chatroom to chill. Post a link to your favorite burner website, or add your photos to the gallery. There will also be static content as well. It will offer tangible benefits that I think are needed in one centralized location.

There are no membership fees or ads (I'm paying for all of this, software, domain name, forum, webserver, etc., out of my own pocket). Unless you guys drain me of personal resources that need to be used for rent or food, the site will remain ad-free indefinitely. The site will not be censored. Topics that might be too controversial or politically subversive for the front page of other sites will find their home here. Commentary is directly related to the articles on the main site, so you can make your voice heard. The site can be searched, so you can find items that are of particular interest to you. The forum is the best software I could find. It offers numerous options and configurations. Popular posts can be kept visible and sorted for easy location. Posts can be rated by participants, and you can be notified when there are responses to threads that you subscribe to. And anyone can participate by submitting articles, posts, journals, photos, links and events.

And when I say anyone, I mean anyone. Your opinions don't have to concur with mine. Hell, I've even set up a section of the forum where radicals, trolls and flamers can feel at home. One of the sections of NoSpectators.com will be about politics and this will allow anyone to have a soapbox, whether I agree with your ideologies or not. There will be other sections that cover news, events, etc. My hope is that everyone contributes to the community, and this site will hopefully facilitate that.

You may ask why I am putting so much blood, sweat and tears into this. Well, this is my way of participating, my way of giving back to the community. Given my lack of mechanical skills, organizational leadership or artistic ability, it is unlikely that I'll ever build an art vehicle, run a theme camp or create Art on the playa. So, this is my humble way of gifting the other fifty-one weeks of the year.

Which brings up the question of your participation. How much do you want to be involved? Write an article now and then, or a regular column? Post in the forum? Or just use this as another outlet for your thoughts, your inspirations? Please let me know if you are interested in any or all of the above.

If you know anyone that would like to get involved, please share the site with your burner friends, family and loved ones. Everyone is invited, except for spectators of course! :)

I have to say I am really excited about this. I realize that NoSpectators.com may fail and no one will utilize the site. But something inside of me says that it could become something of real value to the burner community as a whole.

Burn brightly!

Lecter
http://NoSpectators.com