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Background

So you pull up a question and see that it obviously does not belong on UX.SE.

You try flag it by clicking off-topic and the last option you see is this:

This question belogns on another site in the Stack Exchange network

So you click that and then you are stuck with this:

belongs on meta.ux.stackexchange.com


Question

Why is meta.ux.stackexchange.com the only choice for migration?

For questions that are posted here at UX.SE, the two most common migrations I assume we will need are:

  • stackoverflow.com
  • graphicdesign.stackexchange.com

Why are they not available options for migrating a question to?

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  • 1
    Maybe it's a moderator only ability? I'm sure other communities wouldn't want our junk questions because someone who didn't know what they were doing moved them all there.
    – Mike
    Feb 7, 2014 at 19:56
  • Not according to meta.stackexchange.com/questions/10249/…. That's why there is a rep requirement, so that someone that is voting to move it should know better than to migrate something that doesn't belong. That said, my question is not who has the ability. My question is why don't we have a choice other than meta.ux.stackexchange.com. The answer might be that you have to have a certain rep before the other options show. That would fall in line with the link I just mentioned.
    – Code Maverick
    Feb 7, 2014 at 20:09
  • 2
    Possibly duplicate of More options for migration in close requests? Basically the problem is Graphic Design is the obvious choice but it's in Beta (IIRC, it's graduating soonish though?) and SO is initially obvious, but most code questions we get here wouldn't really be good for SO (not elaborated on enough). I wouldn't want the SO migration option to be a "throw them to the wolves" button
    – Ben Brocka
    Feb 10, 2014 at 14:08
  • 1
    @BenBrocka - You are definitely using the correct term when you say wolves with respect to SO, hahaha! Regardless, we still need the ability to vote on whether or not a migration needs to take place, right? We can't not do something for the fear of misuse, can we? I mean, with respect to unlocking site abilities, that's what the reputation requirements are there for, to allow only those who are experienced enough with the site to use them, right?
    – Code Maverick
    Feb 10, 2014 at 15:29
  • Yeah, though experitise on one site doesn't necessarily equate to understanding which migration target is appropriate; for a few sites (serverfault and Programmers) being on the SO migration list was more of a curse than blessing because people migrated bad questions. Personally I think most experienced people here are in a decent position to judge if something should go to GD. I'm not sure migrating to SO (via the prefilled list) is ever a good idea though. Code questions asked here are verrry rarely up to their standards.
    – Ben Brocka
    Feb 10, 2014 at 17:28
  • @BenBrocka - I've updated the question. See what you think about that possibility.
    – Code Maverick
    Feb 13, 2014 at 0:35
  • What's the question now? If you update a question, please update the question! (You might leave a footnote if the update completely invalidates an answer, but that's not the case here)
    – Andrew Leach
    Feb 18, 2014 at 14:10
  • @AndrewLeach - The question is underneath the section titled Updated Question. If you are referring to updating the title to the question, I can do that. Let me think on how to correctly word it.
    – Code Maverick
    Feb 18, 2014 at 15:28
  • What I meant was alter the question so that it is only the updated version. The "original version" is only relevant if there is an answer to it. If no-one's answered it, there's absolutely no reason to keep it at all (possibly only as a footnote, but even that seems pointless if it's not actually necessary).
    – Andrew Leach
    Feb 18, 2014 at 17:14
  • @AndrewLeach - I removed my update and the feature-request tag and will leave this question as a discussion. I posted my update as a new question tagged as a feature-request.
    – Code Maverick
    Feb 19, 2014 at 0:08

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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Every site in the .SE network have Three "custom closing" reasons, where migration may very well fit. In our community we have decided that migration isn't the priority here. It was decided with the question So, what exactly is off-topic for UX.StackExchange? posted in June last year.

The migration option is a strict moderator activity, which can be hard to find by some moderators at other sites. See How (not why) do I migrate a question to another site as a moderator? for reference :-)

Being a mod at SharePoint.SE i finally got help to notice what could be migrated, and how to do it. The dialogue looks the same here (except from the site itself).

enter image description here

Questions younger than 60 days have the little search box which makes it possible to search for any other .SE site and select that one. But migration should be handled with care. And if in doubt, don't migrate.

So what do we do? Personally I post a close vote as off topic, either by the options predefined, or write my own custom close reason. After that I flag for moderator attention with the simple words "Migrate to GD.SE?". When a mod see the flag, he (there are only he-mods here) uses the dialogue above to post an imediate close and migration request (if it's a valid flag).

And for this extra work, you finally end up with a Marshal badge :-)

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  • I think it's safer all around if only Moderators can do the migrating. Some questions - and by extension the question askers - would just get crucified if their question got migrated to unsuitable sites (stackoverflow in particular). Mods have the ability to talk to other mods on those sites so if we're not sure we can just ask them to see if it's a good fit. Most of the time it isn't. Especially stackoverflow - either the question is too broad, or even if it is vaguely suitable the OP may have been question-banned over there anyway and is looking for backdoors to post instead!
    – JonW Mod
    Feb 18, 2014 at 22:19
  • 1
    @BennySkogberg - I'm liking the Marshal badge notion =D
    – Code Maverick
    Feb 18, 2014 at 23:35
  • @BennySkogberg - I used this question/answer as a springboard to request a feature that would automate the process that you currently go through. Here is the feature request. Let me know what you think.
    – Code Maverick
    Feb 19, 2014 at 0:10
  • @JonW Yes, migration is a delicate topic, which needs to be handled with great care. Mods from different SE sites discussing a possible migration is a valid point, and I think we're good with mods execution based on flags they get. Let's keep it this way.
    – Benny Skogberg
    Feb 19, 2014 at 1:48

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