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This is a general question, but I have an illustrative example. The question isn't about the example; the example is just an illustration.

When closing questions as being off-topic, migration to CodeReview isn't an option. The only way I know of to get a question migrated to CodeReview is to flag it.

I have done this in the past, with mixed success. What are the parameters that guide whether or not a request to migrate to CR will be approved or rejected?

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11163638/is-this-code-elegant-or-hack was asked on Stack Overflow. Someone commented that, "A better place for this would be codereview.stackexchange.com" and that comment was upvoted several times. The OP even agreed, so I voted to close and flagged it to be moved.

Does that question meet the guidelines for moderators to move a question as a result of a flag? What are the guidelines?

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  • Related: CR and SO overlap, Where is the line between CR and SO? (part 2)
    – BoltClock's a Unicorn
    Jun 22, 2012 at 21:43
  • So are you suggesting that if my flag gets declined, we should re-open the question (assuming it doesn't suck)?
    – John Dibling
    Jun 22, 2012 at 21:46
  • @JohnDibling No. Your flag getting declined means the question doesn't belong on CR, that doesn't mean it somehow belongs on SO.
    – yannis
    Jun 22, 2012 at 21:47
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    @YannisRizos: OK, but the question fundamentally was "what do you think of my code?" Is that off-topic for CR?
    – John Dibling
    Jun 22, 2012 at 21:48
  • @JohnDibling I'm guessing it's on topic for CR, but I find it absolutely pointless to ask for a review of three lines of code.
    – yannis
    Jun 22, 2012 at 21:51
  • I dont find it worthless. I wish more programmers would ask "does my code suck?" If they did, maybe I wouldnt have to endure so much sucky code.
    – John Dibling
    Jun 22, 2012 at 22:14
  • Didn't say worthless. He could have given us a bit more code to go on with...
    – yannis
    Jun 22, 2012 at 22:20
  • @Yannis - you missed the point of my question. It wasnt about those 3 lines of code, it was about style that I find great, while some hate it. And to demonstrate if 3 lines are enough. So those 3 lines are EXAMPLE, it could have been any other 3 lines that are written using similar "dense STL" :) style.
    – NoSenseEtAl
    Jun 23, 2012 at 14:08
  • @NoSenseEtAl Actually I didn't miss the point of your question, I know exactly what your question is about. Now stop worrying about style, elegance, personal preferences, and start worrying about readability, re-usability, performance. In a professional environment, if you're wasting your time debating elegance, you're doing it wrong. Three lines of code is not a code review, is a waste of time, any professional developer should be able to read your three lines, whichever way you write them (well, unless you get creative).
    – yannis
    Jun 23, 2012 at 14:30
  • @NoSenseEtAl (cont...) if your colleagues hate your style, gather them in a room, find the style that all of you hate less (there'll never be a style all of you will love), make a convention out of it, and stick to it.
    – yannis
    Jun 23, 2012 at 14:32
  • BTW it is not my style, it is a code I found in a code base and me and colleague had a disagreement if it is hack or not.
    – NoSenseEtAl
    Jun 23, 2012 at 15:16

2 Answers 2

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Guidelines for migration to Code Review:

  1. The question must be off topic for SO,
  2. The question must be new,
  3. The question must include code,
  4. The code must be working,
  5. The overall quality of the question should be good, as with all migrations.

If all of the above are true, you have good chances the question will be migrated. However keep in mind that Code Review is a low traffic site, and their mods may take some time to respond to the migration request.

Next time you see a migration comment, heavily upvoted or not, please flag it for removal, they are absolutely pointless, if you feel a question should be migrated and can't vote to migrate, then flag, no point in commenting. OP cross posted the question in question, unwittingly making a giant mess.

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  • SO closed it because it was OT there but on topic elsewhere. Doest this just orphan legitimate, worthwhile posts?
    – John Dibling
    Jun 22, 2012 at 22:12
  • @JohnDibling No. SO closed it because it's off topic for SO. If there is another Stack Exchange site for it or not, that's irrelevant. Some questions simply don't belong.
    – yannis
    Jun 22, 2012 at 22:17
  • If its irrelevant then why present a list of alternate sites in the first place? Im not trying to pick a fight here, Im trying to get it.
    – John Dibling
    Jun 22, 2012 at 22:21
  • @JohnDibling It's irrelevant to whether the question should be closed on SO. If a question is off topic, it should be closed, regardless of whether we have an alternative site for it or not. If we do, great! I get a feeling from your question that you wouldn't have voted to close if you didn't think there was an alternative site for the question...
    – yannis
    Jun 22, 2012 at 22:28
  • Yes, you're right. I think it's a good question that should have a home on the SE platform somewhere. I think it's important because as I mentioned before, I wish more programmers would be more self-critical of the code they write. SO seems to pride itself in being the source for difficult programming questions to get authoritative answers. If that's so, doesn't that make SO a resource to make the next generation of programmers better than the last? Are we not an opinion leader of sorts on the subject of good code?
    – John Dibling
    Jun 22, 2012 at 22:40
  • @John I'm not disagreeing with you, necessarily. Code Review is my second favourite SE site, and the question in question seems to be suitable for it. But in general, we can't discuss whether a question belongs on SO based on whether it has a home elsewhere. Some questions simply don't belong anywhere. Also keep in mind that it's not up to the SO crowd to decide if the question is suitable for another site, that's completely up to the other site's community. We can decide if it belongs on SO, and perhaps point elsewhere (via flags, please, no comments), but that's about it.
    – yannis
    Jun 22, 2012 at 22:43
  • @John (cont...) Smaller sites are suffering from crap migrations from SO, we can't treat them like toilet bowls. In this case you seem to genuinely think the question is a good one, and that's great. I don't really like it (not saying it's crap though), but who cares, the CR crowd (via their mods) accepted the question and all it's good.
    – yannis
    Jun 22, 2012 at 22:49
  • Yes, I agree. I very rarely ask to migrate stuff away from SO, especially to PSE and to a lesser degree to CR. Usually I just send in a flurry of close votes.
    – John Dibling
    Jun 22, 2012 at 22:50
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These are my own criteria for migrating questions to other SE sites.

  1. Is the question unlikely to be answered on Stack Overflow?
  2. Is the question high enough quality to make it worth migrating to the other site.

So basically, our community (Stack Overflow) would have to reject or ignore the question, AND the target site would have to want the question on their site. If it falls in the gray area where site topics overlap I usually won't migrate.

The question you linked to looks highly subjective, so I wouldn't be sure Code Review would want it. My understanding is that CR is for posting code that you want active help improving, not just a thumbs-up or thumbs-down opinion on.

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  • I dont get it. Isnt that what SO is for? Shouldnt CR be for code reviews?
    – John Dibling
    Jun 22, 2012 at 22:09
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    @JohnDibling No, SO is for getting your code to work to begin with. CR is for improving working code. Also, I think a code review is a little more involved than just settling an argument between co-workers by giving a yes/no answer.
    – Bill the Lizard
    Jun 22, 2012 at 22:20

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