starship-design: direct signals

[Steve VanDevender <stevev@efn.org>]

Mike writes:
 > In a few of the recent messages we have heard the term "direct
 > signal".  I am assuming that this implies a method of sending
 > a signal faster than light, but the allusion is defeated by
 > what I currently understand about the properties of light.  Is
 > it speculation or is there a way of letting our neighbors hear
 > us quicker than a radio message?  Thank you.

As it says in the list information, any sort of proposed use of
FTL effects will be subject to "intense scrutiny", by which we
tend to mean intense skepticism.  I don't know why you think
"direct signal" implies FTL; I'm pretty sure it just means
light or radio signals.