On Wed, 9 Jun 1999, Ben Walker wrote:

I can see Ryouga having a hotmail account or indeeed any email so that he can
keep contact with people when he ends up all over the place.

And he has to have a computer with a modem, and a regular ISP to use it.
Unless you're going to give him phreaking skills, so he can use other
people's phone lines, but if you're going to tamper with his
characterization that badly, it's not a good sign.

A cel phone is out
of his price rande and pagers have limited range but you can always find a
library with a terminal.

Is this true in Japan?  All libraries with a terminal?  It might be, but I
don't know for sure, and I wouldn't make the dangerous assumption that
just because it's like that in America, it's like that in the rest of the
world. 

I can also see Nabiki, Kasumi and Akane on line (in
that order) Nabiki because she's an info=power believer. Kasumi because if Nabs
had a computer and Kasumi's home all day its a nice thing for her to do in her
spare time. and akane could have an account through school.

Assuming that you've decided to move the timeframe to the ninties...

Nabiki?  Perhaps, but the info she's interested in is rumors and dirty
secrets of her classmates.  So, unless she's found a website with The Top
10 Things that Daisuke Doesn't Want You To Know, it seems sort of silly.

Kasumi?  Akane?  I think you're reaching a little there.  As in the case
of Ryouga, nothing really precludes it, but again, if one needs to add
this particular character trait of computer literacy to ALL characters,
then I'd suggest that one seriously reexamine the group of characters that
is under consideration. 

I can aslo see Ukou
having a computer because damn near every small business has one, its
essential.

Not if your life has grown up around selling it, it's not.  A hand
calculator would do just fine if you're just selling it on the street, and
Ukyou sold Okonomiyaki from a yattai long before the internet was
garnering that much attention.  And don't tell me that there was a laptop
attached to the side of the yattai...

Mousse I can see as a programmer even, tie his hair back into a
ponytail and you've got it, glasses, tall and thin, kinda geeky, relatively
intelligent and logical (at least in relation to most of the nerima crew)

Relatively intelligent?  We have a different interpretation of Mousse, it
seems.  Since that's going to delve into the realm of a character debate,
though, I'll just stop right there.

trouble with women and subsists mostly on chineese food. yep basic programmer
profile. besides we've never seen Mousse's room he could have one, he could
even keep a laptop in his robes (or a Cray for that matter, it is Mousse)

Doesn't he sleep as a duck in a cage?  And would Cologne even allow him to
use the phone line?

Mousse using a computer?  Hmm...this puts me in the mindset for a spamfic.


				I've sent mail?!

	Anger!

	Mousse could not have been more angry.  He stormed from the
resturant, with a tangible aura of animosity towards prunes on sticks
clearly felt by anyone within a short distance from the robed boy.  More
than a few patrons of the Nekohauten glanced up from their lunch with
unease as he passed. 

	But Mousse did not notice this, as he exited the resturant he
called home.  His mind was too set upon the situation at hand.  His
darling Shampoo was still pursuing her misguided quest to gain Ranma as
her husband, and when Mousse had tried to intervene, Cologne had the
teremity to tap a pressure point that locked his muscles in place. 
Muttering "Might as well use what I have.", she then proceeded to use his
paralyzed form as a coatrack for the various patrons.  The smell of a
leather jacket from a biker still lingered.

	It was not this latest indignity that made him feel such anger,
though.  It was when Shampoo returned home, reporting that she had stolen
a kiss from Ranma, that he was able to break free from the Matriarch's
technique, using anger to fuel his will.  And it was that same anger that
demanded that he tell the old Amazon off, once and for all.  He would make
her see his anger, as he took Shampoo for his very own.

	Still, he knew what the result would be if he were to just shout
at Cologne, and he did not relish being locked in a cage for the rest of
the afternoon, nor did he particularly enjoy being humiliated in combat in
front of a crowd of resturant patrons.  A letter could convey the depths
of his emotions just as easily without risking the wrath of immediate
retrubution, so he walked off to Furinkan to compose his letter.

	Luckly for him, Hiroshi had forgotten to close his computer
account on one of Furinkan's systems when he left for the weekend,
allowing Mousse access to the programs stored on the computer.  He quickly
double clicked on the closest icon, and waited for the program to load. 

	Unfortunately, his inexperience with computers led him to believe
that the simple text field was that of a word processor, not an e-mail
client.  And even worse, his eyesight was not up to reading in such a dark
room.  Combined with the fact that Japanese was still a second language to
him, it was certain that he would have difficulty phrasing his thoughts,
and typing the correct letters. But he remained blissfully unaware of all
this, just as he remained unaware that the address AzuShtori@kawaii.com
was in the To: line of the header.

*I've been thinking about my relationship with you for a long time, and
I've come to a decision.*

[I've been thinking of me and you for a long time, and I've made a
decision]

*It's only a matter of time before cute Shampoo is mine!  I'll resist
letting you have my Shampoo.*

[I have cute shampoo.  I'll let you have my shampoo]

*If you try, I'll take that stick of yours and put it in a place where the
sun doesn't shine.  My skill is so great and my emotions so high that your
small stature will do nothing do dissuade me*

[I'd like to put a stick in your bodily oriface.  I have great skill, and 
my emotions are so large that your small stature won't dissuade me]

*I'll see you at the Nekohauten.  -Mousse*

[I'll see you at the Nekohauten.  -Mousse]

He moved the mouse pointer towards what he believed was the save button,
but instead was the butten for send.  And as he printed out a copy and
turned off the power, he felt joy in his heart, for he knew that soon, he
would hold his special someone.

fini

Notes:

This would have been continued, but I couldn't decide whether to have
Azusa name him 'Picard the Canard' and take him home, or to have her press
sexual harassment charges.  Anyone who wants to continue either choice is
more than welcome to; I wash my hands of it.

None of this means that I think Ranma.5 and e-mail believably works
without large silly assumptions. I still firmly believe that another
series would work better.

-Natsume Ranma Ranma
-------
The sardines weren't worth the trouble.  A few more shots, then 
Ryoga-san would overheat and explode.  Ducking around a corner, 
I managed to lose him as I entered the ramshackle residence of 
my Anime supplier.

One look at his face and I knew that I was betrayed.  "Tell me."
I insisted.  He refused, so I slammed him against the wall.
"Last chance.  Where can Ranma-Ranma find good fanfics?"
"Try Jason Liao." he whispered, before he slumped to the floor.
I heard the sounds of a door splintering as I left through the 
window, one step ahead of Tendo Heavy Industries...