Ravimail FAQ (Rev. 7/02)

--Frequently Asked Questions--

"What in the city of Downey is ravimail?"

On June 18, 1997, tired, frustrated, and downright full of jokes about friends, colleagues, and teachers at Downey High School, I decided to sit down and write a massmail which would explain all of this to that perenially adored person--the common man. (No offense to anyone here...).

"So how did it start?"

I wrote that massmail and blindly sent it to all the people I knew. Mike Marco, the insane, crazy man (almost as crazy as me) that he is, decided to name it "Ravimail," and even wrote a definition for it, worthy of the OED (too bad I don't have that definition). Then Matt came, and as he boasted and bragged about earlier, he really did rule the joint, innovating and creating new sections, and we garnered a loyal following of between 0 and 1000 (using Cramm's renowned method of estimation) loyal followers.

"So then what?"

Matt Marco, then (and still) a major honcho at ravimail, planned an inauspicious meeting of the ravimail group at Wilderness Park. It rained. It poured. I succesfully succeeded in dropping my sausage, followed by my plate of chips, followed by my cup of pepsi, all within 3 minutes, successively. Stuff happens.

"So what happened to ravimail during a nearly 18 month respite?"

Well, most of the old members became college students, moved out, and were no longer interested, or were too busy reading other email to even read the subject line of ravimails. Either that, or I lost their email address when I switched from AOL to Juno (the evilest email provider). And then, the summer haze (read "laze") caused me to forget (read "forgo") writing down their email addresses, or at least copying and pasting, using the beloved clipboard.

Take your pick (life's full of choices!). Make it a great day or...

"Who has written Ravimails before?"

Matt Marco, Mike Marco, Peter Kim, Ryan O'Connell, and myself have often been considered members of the "Big Five" of Ravimail.  Matt Marco has written the most number of Ravimails, at 165 over his 4-1/2 year career with Ravimail.  Mike Marco wrote for less than a year before he went Supernova, while Peter Kim is credited for increasing the frequency of Ravimail, but also adding some non-original elements during the first era of Ravimail.  I (Ravi) have written 47 ravimails, as of June 29th, 2002.

But several other people, including Melanie Freeman, Helen Lu, and Andy, whose last name I can't think of right now, have written Ravimails.  In all, there have been about a dozen people who have written at least 1 ravimail. 

"How many Ravimails have been written en totale?"

Close to 400, since June 18th, 1997.

"How do you write a Ravimail?"

Traditionally, Ravimail has had the following main sections, although every Ravimail offers artistic and poetic license to the utmost degree:

1)  An informal or formal intro                                                                                                                      

2)  Channel Spaz Newz Bitz--a News section with news pertinent to the world, to that branch of the Ravimail clan, to the Ravimail writer, or to no one.

3)  An aggregate collection of stories, poems, humorous lyrics, "Mastercheese Theatres," Top-10 lists, and errata that comprise the bulk of the Ravimail.

4)  Private Messages Made Public--The name explains it all.  Any message the Ravimail writer wishes to deliver in public to a specific individual is referenced here.

5)  Quotes--These may be embarrassing or funny, both or neither.  It's up to the writer.

6)  Conclusion--The conclusion is usually replete with elaborate postscript signoff messages, detailed signature lines, and other gangsta taggings.

A few sample Ravimails may be found on the Ravimails page.

"So why do you have this FAQ?"

I have this FAQ because there are new recipients of ravimail this time around, and people are always asking questions.

"How does the Ravimail 'numbering system' work?"

For example, let's say you were reading Ravimail #30.  This would be the 30th ravimail I have sent since June 18, 1997, my last day in Ms. Hanson's class in 10th grade, if that is of any worth. I can't think of what gemstone it falls under (i know it's not ruby or emerald). If anyone knows what the 30th anniversary gemstone is, please email/IM me.

"What's the sense of wasting 12 hours to write a ravimail?"

My, feisty one, you are chock full of questions.

"So how come I haven't seen a ravimail for 3 months? You lazy son-..."

Like I have been hammering into many a numb skull, Ravimail is sent out on a purely erratic basis timewise. As a general rule, I send one for every two *official* days of vacation. That means since I have about 24 days off from UCLA, I should send around 10 (hah! yeah right...I'll probably send 4).

"Can I write Ravimails, too?"

You sure can!  I'm always looking for new writers, or even someone to be guest-featured in any section of the latest Ravimail.  Just let me know you're interested. 

"Okay, I'm tired of the FAQ"

So am I!

There are 2 ways to receive Ravimails:

1) Know Ravi

2) IM Ravi at RMenghani, email me, or call me.