It must be immersive in that the experience is outer worldly, transcending, and utterly absorbing. This means people should be dancing. A rave should be interactive in that it is conducive to meeting others, in that the atmosphere is one of tolerance. In my experience it is very difficult to achieve immersion and interactivity in a rave. But trying to create immersion and interactivity provides the most innovative and challenging part of putting on a rave.
Creativity is absolutely necessary.
Unfortunately, it is also the area which is usually least attended to. I think that this is the area which a small rave has a much greater advantage than some of the more commercial raves. Many commercial raves can assemble equipment and DJs into one environment, but they completely ignore the vibe. If a good vibe occurs, it is more by luck than their conscious planning. Well, I hope this has been of help to my fellow raves.