In this question some feedback made me wonder,

what matters more in an answer, truth or presentation style?

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    $\begingroup$ Your answer added nothing new compare the previous one, appart from your personal opinion on the subject and some general highlights on the subject. What value does it add to the previous answers ? $\endgroup$ – Antzi Dec 23 '15 at 14:42

On a site like Space Exploration, it is often not so black and white that an answer is true/false. The issues we deal with are complicated and broad in scope, and sometimes we are dealing with situations where we don't even have all the data yet. All of these could be said to apply to the question you answered.

Because this is often the case here, we usually expect an answer to be presented in a format that properly explains itself--otherwise it can be difficult to determine what exactly the answer is, much less whether or not it is true.

We often expect an answer to use references or explain their reasoning. We expect an answer to be structured so that the portion that actually answers the original post is made clear. Most importantly, we don't expect anyone to get it all right on the first shot, but we do expect them to work with the community (through comments, etc.) to refine the answer. That's what we have these tools for.

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    $\begingroup$ Thanks, did my edit move in the right direction? how would you advise I move it further? currently looking for old references, but that edit likely won't happen today. $\endgroup$ – hellyale Dec 23 '15 at 14:22

First of all, I welcome that you are wanting to improve your presentation, that is fantastic!

The truth is arguably more important than presentation style, but when it's difficult to figure out the truth, that is difficult. Stack Exchange encourages the editing of sub-par answers, either by the user or others, when they contain truth that is beneficial. Many times my answers have been edited in such a way that improved the quality of the answer. Especially when English is an issue, this frequently occurs.

As to your specific answer, it is difficult to find anything of value. A few specific points:

  1. Keep the answers clean, especially the first paragraph or two. Your leading paragraph (Contained below) starts out with a statement that is a restatement of the question without any real interest. It has speculation. And where did manned come from? SpaceX is at least a year away, possibly 2. The kind of information here might be an eventual follow on.
  2. Avoid statements with lots of jargon, but don't mean much. "They are on the cutting edge of space research, and have contracts from NASA to fulfill." The first part of that, while true, doesn't really mean anything. The second part doesn't matter to the question one bit (What do NASA contracts have to do with reusable rockets?)
  3. The old English Composition essay approach of starting a paragraph saying what you are going to say, then say it, then tell them what you said is a good approach in general. A quick summery of your answer in the first and last paragraphs, with a more detailed explanation in between, is always helpful.
  4. Avoid saying the same things that others have said. Having an idea or two that someone else said is okay. Having nothing original in your answer compared to others isn't.
  5. Avoid baseless speculation "I have no doubt a stage 1 will be reused before end of 2016."
  6. It is okay to have some wild, but still somewhat supported, statements, but keep them towards the end of your answer.
  7. Try to either use facts, or use facts to speculate information that isn't commonly available. Use external references when you can. They aren't exactly required to use in every answer, but they make things better.

Well, they can launch 11 satellites at a time while maintaining and reusing resources of old rockets first stages. Determining how to make a manned returning rocket of the same style seems like a logical next step, but the time frames on that are not known to me.

I know this might seem a bit harsh, but I'm writing this up not to be critical, but to help you join our community. The very fact that you took the time to post this in meta shows that you care about this community, and we are always excited to have new people join us. I look forward to your next answer, or seeing this one improved!

  • $\begingroup$ Thank you for your feedback, the only thing I really disagree with is the end of point 2. What do NASA contracts have to do with reusable rockets? I'd argue that they are completely related and have a ton to do with each other. But I digress. I plan on editing the answer again in the next day or two and will keep this in mind when asking or answering Qs on this stack. $\endgroup$ – hellyale Dec 23 '15 at 15:48
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    $\begingroup$ You could make that case, but it doesn't have anything to do with the landed first stage booster (Unless they decided to use the booster for a NASA contract). And if that was what you intended to say, then you should have included it, with references. $\endgroup$ – PearsonArtPhoto Dec 23 '15 at 15:51

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