Talk:Faster than light travel

Why is this a candidate for speedy deletion?

Hi. Are you User:Hackwrench, and did you forget to log in? You edited Faster than light travel; the question you put in should not be in an article. Consider using the Reference desk instead for fact finders. JRM 00:14, 2005 Mar 30 (UTC)

Yes. Why doesn't it belong in an article? It doesn't seem to me to be a question with a simple answer, and that answer should go here.

But a question is not an encyclopedia article, that's the problem. Wikipedia is not a question-and-answer service. An article named Faster than light travel should describe what faster than light travel is, otherwise it's of no use to our readers. We use talk pages (like these) to discuss things that are missing or unclear about articles, and things like the reference desk to ask questions not directly related to the article content, but that we want answers to nonetheless.

I have made this article a redirect to faster-than-light. Maybe you'll also find some of the answers you're looking for there. If not, as I said, the reference desk is your best bet. We have lots of volunteers eager to answer just such a question. JRM 00:30, 2005 Mar 30 (UTC)

But articles have to begin somewhere. What better than with a question? Without the question, It might not occur to the more capable among us that there's even a article to write.

Does anybody know How many articles are languishing on the Talk Pages as questions?

But articles have to begin somewhere. What better than with a question?

How about with a perfect stub article? That might not be as tickling as a question, but it sure is of more use to other people. What good is it to start a Jane Doe article by putting in "Who is Jane Doe?" Even your question, which is arguably more interesting, hardly provides a very compelling starting point to other readers if it were answered.

Without the question, It might not occur to the more capable among us that there's even a article to write.

That's why we have links, and why we encourage people to search for existing articles before starting a new one. Would you not agree that the answer to your question is better off integrated in faster-than-light or general relativity?

On top of that: the more capable among us, if they found this question at the reference desk, might notice whether it's answered in the article (or indeed whether it should be—not everything anyone can ask can be answered in an encyclopedia article, no matter how comprehensive), and this in turn may encourage others to improve it.

Does anybody know How many articles are languishing on the Talk Pages as questions?

My guess? Very few indeed. That said, there may be plenty of information missing from existing articles. Once you have the answer, see if it's a missing piece of knowledge that should be put in, or applied reasoning better obtained by asking experts. JRM 01:02, 2005 Mar 30 (UTC)