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I flagged this question: Android : how to identify where the shortcut is pointing at?

In my flag I put "belongs on android.stackexchange.com" As I was instructed to do here

My flag was marked as helpful but the question was never migrated. It has since received 5 close votes with reason Off Topic. But since close voters do not have android.stackexchange.com as an option the question was closed as off topic after 5 votes.

This question seems perfectly valid for android.stackexchange.com but instead of getting moved there it was simply closed and the OP was downvoted 5 times (which I understand since it is off topic for SO, but had it been moved I think he would not have received (m)any down votes, and might have gotten an answer).

My question is: Why was this not migrated? and if it is/was not a good migration candidate why was my flag marked as helpful?

EDIT: If this question is not a good fit for ASE either can someone please explain to me why? As I sincerely believe this question fits on ASE, and if I am incorrect in that I'd like to know so that I can correct my behaviour in the future.

EDIT2:

Android Enthusiasts - Stack Exchange is for enthusiasts, power users, and regular people who use the Android operating system.

If your question generally covers...

Using your Android device Using a particular app on your Android device

Trying to solve an error or other issue in using your Android device then this is the right place to ask.

Basically, what problem (with your Android device) are you trying to solve?

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  • It could be that the SO mods asked the Android mods and they said "no thanks". The mod signalled your flag as helpful because the post was off-topic after all.
    – Martijn Pieters
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 14:20
  • A migrated question can be refused on the receiving end. In such case, the close reason on the original site is updated to be simply "off-topic". Maybe that's what happened.
    – Gnoupi
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 14:22
  • @MartijnPieters If it was not a good migration candidate I would expect my flag not to be marked as helpful since the "correct" course of action would've been vote to close and not flag for migration. If it turns out that it is not a good migration candidate I'd like to know that so that I can take the correct action in the future.
    – FoamyGuy
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 14:22
  • @Gnoupi if that were the case would it still show the 5 downvoters? If that had happened I would've expected it to show closed as off topic but not by the full 5 people yet. I would expect 1-4 users + a mod.
    – FoamyGuy
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 14:25
  • Frankly, migration should be the exception rather than the rule. Good: "This is an awesome question. Too bad it's in the wrong place." Bad: "Ugh. What crap. And it's off-topic too. Let's foist it off on a different audience."
    – ale
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 16:32
  • @TartLevee I will (and have down below) grant that the question could've used a bit of cleanup to make the English used more proper(which I should've done prior to flagging it, that is my bad.). However I do not feel this question was "crap" and I was/am genuinely interested in the content of the question, and the (potential) answer. Can you tell me any specific reasons why you feel this question is "crap"?
    – FoamyGuy
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 16:48
  • I am not commenting on this particular question, but the state of migrations in general. Compared to an awful lot of what gets tossed over the fence to Android, this is a decent question. (Conversely, the Stack Overflow community should be grateful for all of the...less than ideal questions we're not migrating. We get an awful lot of Android development questions over there.)
    – ale
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 17:06

2 Answers 2

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It looks like your flag was automatically marked as 'helpful' by Community when the question was closed. I'm pretty sure any moderator would have done the same. I might have migrated it if I'd caught it early, but given the downvotes and that it's already closed, I'm reluctant. I think your comment asking the OP to ask on Android Enthusiasts is more appropriate in cases like this. (I'd probably recommend that they search first, but that's just splitting hairs.)

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There's more to it than being a valid question for Android. Just as we don't polish turds, we also don't migrate turds*. Just go straight to flushing.

We set the bar higher for migration than we would for allowing the question if asked on the correct site to begin with, in order to prevent dumping. Due to past problems with dumping, people have been encouraged to err on the side of closing in place rather than migrating if they're not certain. If after reading the question you don't think, "wow, that's a good question", then it's probably not worth sending to anyone else. This one is nothing special and can be asked by someone else on the correct site if they're so inclined, hopefully in a more polished form.

Also, when you do decide to migrate something, clean it up first just like you would if we were keeping it here.

*I use the word "turd" here because it's one of Jeff's catchy mantras. This question isn't terrible but it's nothing special either.

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  • 3
    I really do not believe it to be a poor question. Instead of simply dismissing it as a "turd" Can you please explain to me why you consider it poor so that I can have a better chance to take the correct action in the future?
    – FoamyGuy
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 14:33
  • @Tim Not knowing what's on-topic for your migration target, I can only say that it could certainly use some editing into shape before migrating. It certainly could use some polish and migrating it in this shape does not feel right to me.
    – Bart
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 14:35
  • @Bart that is fair I can agree that the English could be brushed up a bit(though I do feel that it is not bad enough as to be not understandable. And I do not feel that that alone makes this question a "turd"). And I've edited my question to include the relevant bit of the ASE faq.
    – FoamyGuy
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 14:41
  • Yeah, that question is borderline. I don't think it's crap, but it's not an amazing question that I'd rush to migrate either. Also, I'd have to check to make sure I wasn't just creating a duplicate by migrating, so just closing and directing the OP to the correct site is the right play.
    – Bill the Lizard
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 14:41
  • @bemace Ok, I get that, and I will adjust my future actions accordingly. But for the record I find it impolite and unproductive to refer to it as a "turd" especially given that you have granted that it "isn't awful". Really even if you did find it to be awful referring to questions that way seems counter productive to the whole idea of the Summer of love
    – FoamyGuy
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 14:47
  • @bemace at your edit: I should've cleaned it up and I will definitely do that in the future before flagging for migration. Thank you for clarifying.
    – FoamyGuy
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 14:52

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