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Most of my questions on Health Stack Exchange are unanswered. I therefore sometimes crosspost them on some other websites such as Quora or Reddit.

Am I allowed to indicate crosspost links in my questions on Stack Exchange?

Example: Python package that allows to train a CRF on two datasets

[…]

I have crossposted the question at:

I'll update this thread to reflect any interesting answer I may receive in one of these links.

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  • To be clear, 1) crossposting outside the SE network and 2) "Am I allowed...?" means "Is this ok and not forbidden by SE policy?* not the subjective "Do users think they're entitled to close-vote for crossposting outside the SE network?"
    – smci
    Commented Apr 10, 2020 at 22:03

2 Answers 2

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Sure, it's generally fine. There's no network-wide Stack Exchange rule that would prohibit this, and in particular, no rule against linking to other sites. (Individual sites may have such rules, but I don't know of any that do.) And honestly, given that you are asking the question elsewhere, most communities would probably rather have you mention that you did it than not.

However, you do need to be careful how you do your updates.

I'll update this thread to reflect any interesting answer I may receive in one of these links.

Specifically, if someone posts a good answer on another site and you want to "import" it to your question on Stack Exchange, make sure you post it as an answer. Do not edit it into your question. Also make sure you're not plagiarizing the other answer, which basically means you shouldn't copy it or quote it in its entirety; instead, use your own words to explain what the other answer says, and make sure to link to it. I'd also advise that you not "import" all the other answers you get on other sites. Just bring in the best one after some time has elapsed, and even then only if it's better than any of the answers you get on SE. It's bad etiquette to post a whole bunch of answers to your own question, and worse etiquette to engage in large-scale copying of external content.

Maybe you already knew most of that, in which case you're good. I just wanted to make sure it was clear. (Your usage of the word "thread" to refer to an SE question made me a little suspicious.)

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  • The use of the term "thread" is always an alarm bell for me too.
    – PolyGeo
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 23:05
  • @PolyGeo How would you call it? I couldn't say "I'll update this question" as I might add an answer instead. I couldn't say "page" either, since the answers for one question may span on several pages. The definition from the dictionary of a thread is "a group of linked messages posted on an Internet forum that share a common subject or theme" so it seems fine to me, keeping in mind that Stack Exchange has its own policy regarding the structure and the content of threads (i.e., QA format).
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 23:08
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    @FranckDernoncourt This is all getting into technicalities (since it usually doesn't prevent people from knowing what you mean), but a Stack Exchange site is not a forum and the content groupings therein are not threads. The closest thing to an equivalent we have is "question", which is sometimes informally used to refer to a question proper and its answers, but as you say, it's not a perfect equivalent. The wording for your situation would be e.g. "I'll add an answer..." but honestly, there is no need to mention that in the question at all and it's better to just omit it entirely.
    – David Z
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 23:16
  • @DavidZ sounds good
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 23:18
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    I use question, answer, post or Q&A, depending on the circumstances, just not thread because of its forum connotations.
    – PolyGeo
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 23:20
  • It's also implied that if you discovered the answer to your question yourself you will submit that answer to the community. Remember that SE websites are actually about answering questions not asking them.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 23:20
  • @PolyGeo: another option I sometimes use is "page"
    – user306255
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 23:23
  • @sumelic personally I would not use page but it is more neutral than thread.
    – PolyGeo
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 23:26
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As this answer says, there's no rule against it and it's useful to show us what work you've already done. Rather than just posting links and expecting readers to go there, though, apply the same principles we use for link-only answers: give us an idea of what's there. Did you get responses but they were unsatisfactory? Did you get nothing at all? (How long did you wait?) I'd much rather see a question that ends with something like this:

I asked this question on r/unicorns and the best answer I got was to feed them daisies, but that doesn't sound like it'll provide all the nutrients they need. I also asked on unicorn-lovers a week ago but got no responses at all, and on Quora where they told me to raise horses instead.

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