Hi, JJ! Well, with a group as eclectic as Burners there is no one rule to sum up how to get involved. Different camps have different guidelines, and different total numbers they are looking for. But doing what you're doing -- checking in and asking -- is the right first step regardless.

It's not clear yet what our camp is doing this year, previous years we had regular practice sessions that we would ask newcomers to join in so everyone could meet one another. It's a good way to make sure they are really interested, and that everyone will get along. Until we get our act together on practices, you can often catch some of us at Citadel events and the SF peer rope practice. At the latter, if you ask the organizers they know the Arachnid folks well and can point us out to you.

You don't have to be part of a theme camp to go, of course! You can check out the Burning Man site's events calendar for interesting events to check out even if you're camped on your own. And there's also middle ground, like helping out on a couple of things a camp needs but keeping the rest of your time to yourself. Burning Man does have a fun and experimental crowd, and an active crew of kinksters among some of the camps. We've had a great time both teaching the curious and getting to use our own gear creatively. :)

JJ,

I'm running Arachne's Web this year. It's a new offshoot of camp Arachnid. If you are interested in joining us or finding out more just let me know and we can connect offline.

Rhea
Empress_rhea@dslextreme.com