How about this:
if you click on a link to a non-existing page, the same thing happens as if you type a non-existing article URL into your browser, i.e. you get a page that says "(there is currently no text in this page)". (Of course we want to change that text to a friendlier one, see below.) Then if you click on Edit, the edit box shows up, with the initial text set to '''ArticleTitle''' in the main name space, and left empty in other namespaces.
That doesn't seem to take much longer for power users: they have to do one additional click, but save the removing of the initial message that's currently necessary. In the best of all possible worlds, we could even have a user option that brings you directly to the empty edit box, bypassing the message. It also requires a conscious decision on the part of newbies to start editing; they can never end up with an edit box by mistake anymore.
For the message, I suggest:
This article doesn't exist yet. To write an encyclopedia article about this topic, hit "Edit this page" and type away. Alternatively, use your browser's "Back" button.
in the main name space (note the word "encyclopedia" to clue in people who don't know where they are) and
This page doesn't exist yet. To create it, hit "Edit this page" and type away. Alternatively, use your browser's "Back" button.
in other name spaces.
Axel
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