Below is a letter from Bman on theme camps. I will try to forward them to camp mates via E-mail, but will also try to post them here as they come.
If you are not on the camp email list, send your address to Email (at) Contraptionists.Com.

Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2004 22:56:52 -0700
From: Daniel Weller
To: Daniel Weller
Subject: BM2004: Greetings from MOONDOG

Greetings & Salutations Dear Burning Folk!

For those of you who haven't met me before, my name is Dan Weller (aka "MOONDOG") and I'm a member of the Theme Camp placement team.

At this year's event, I'll be working with all registered theme camps located between 7:00 and 8:30. You are receiving this email because you are listed as the coordinator for a theme camp located in this part of Black Rock City 2003.

This email contains information which is VITAL for all theme camp coordinators so please take a few minutes to read it -- doing so will save both of us a *lot* of time on the playa!

This information is also important for the FIRST PERSON from your camp who ARRIVES on the playa (SO if you are not going to be that person, please forward it to them and make sure they read it!)

The Theme Camp Placement Team's job is to reserve space for your theme camp and keep that space empty until you arrive. When you do show up, we'll help you find your camp location and make sure you know where your camp boundaries are. We will be awake and placing camps between 10AM and midnight (or so) every day starting way, way before you'll ever get there. ;)

When you arrive, you should TELL THE GREETERS that you are a REGISTERED THEME CAMP and that ** MOONDOG ** is your contact person. The Greeters will use their radios to call me and then they will send you to an appropriate location near your camp. I will meet you at that location and escort you to your exact camp location and show you your camp boundaries. (Note that we only "place" the first group of arrivals for each camp so as your campers trickle in after the first person arrives, they will need to go find you on their own using the approximate addresses you have already been given.)

** PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE NOTE: The theme camp SIZES given in on the ** web site are >>> APPROXIMATE <<<. We have the difficult job ** of mapping square camps into a round city and like most ** square peg / round hole, kinda problems something has to give. ** In this case, its the edges of your camp and, while we try to make ** your camp sizes accurate +/- 10 feet or so, sometimes things don't ** work out the way we (or you) would like them to. As with most ** things on the playa: please be FLEXIBLE & we'll do our best.

If you arrive too late at night and find out that placement has already stopped, then you should find a temporary camping spot for the night and then go to PLAYA INFO in Center Camp the next morning. They will contact me on the radio and arrange for us to meet for placement.

It is REQUIRED that you be "placed" by me (or another member of the Theme Camp Placement team) before you start unloading and begin building your camp. This is because we have over 500 reserved camp locations and only the Theme Camp team members know where they all go and what their boundaries are.

** WE ARE THE ONLY ONES who know your exact camp location and ** boundaries -- the Greeters DON'T, the Rangers DON'T, and ** the DPW DON'T so you must talk to us before you unload anything. ** Needless to say, if you ignore this advice you will be required ** to move anything that ends up in some other camp's space.

That's the warning. Now for the reward: Until you arrive I will devote my diligent and tireless efforts towards protecting your theme camp site from those people who would otherwise like to "share" ;) your camping space. You can expect to arrive and find your space empty and waiting just for *you*. (And, as always, the cost for this service is one cold beer or equivalent intoxicant to be claimed sometime during the event... :) :) :)

For those of you whom I have met in years past, I'm looking forward to seeing you again -- and for the rest, I'll look forward to meeting you when you arrive!

Drive Safe, y'all, and See Ya Soon!

MOONDOG

p.s. I'm leaving for the playa on Tuesday, August 24th, so make sure you email me before then if you have any questions. Please also include your name and camp name in any emails because I don't yet have all your email address memorized... :)