I've been to Burning Man several times and this article is spot on. No matter which year I go, there is always some new group "ruining" the event according to the "true" burners (and since BM is all about inclusivity, this group seems to grow exponentially). The first few years I came, the moaning was about "sparkle poanies", people in their 20s who came to party for a week with drugs, costumes, and glitter... without bringing a weeks worth of food or water and no tent or shade structure. This evolution is inevitable and it doesn't change the fact that there is no event like Burning Man on the planet. Standing in the middle of a dessert as a city as vibrant and alive as the Vegas strip pops up around you is an experience I'd recommend for anyone.
In my opinion, the only group that is on the path to actually "ruining" BM is the organization itself. From the rapid price hikes to the parking passes to general incompetence running infrastructure for such a large popup event to clashing egos, every time I talk to a current or former employee I get the sense that BM is run by children, half of whom want to run it like it's the 90s when the event was a tenth of the size it is today. The worst part has been the antagonism between the BM org and the BLM/local law enforcement. Every move the org makes seems to make life harder for attendees (although the cops seem to have stopped arresting for drugs, giving out heavy fines to recoup lawsuit costs instead, so I guess that's a plus).
In my opinion, the only group that is on the path to actually "ruining" BM is the organization itself. From the rapid price hikes to the parking passes to general incompetence running infrastructure for such a large popup event to clashing egos, every time I talk to a current or former employee I get the sense that BM is run by children, half of whom want to run it like it's the 90s when the event was a tenth of the size it is today. The worst part has been the antagonism between the BM org and the BLM/local law enforcement. Every move the org makes seems to make life harder for attendees (although the cops seem to have stopped arresting for drugs, giving out heavy fines to recoup lawsuit costs instead, so I guess that's a plus).