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I see a post on site A that I want to migrate to site B (where site B is not on the list of eligible sites for migration when closing a question as off topic, or I don't have enough reputation to vote-to-close yet).

What are guidelines should I follow before flagging that post for migration?

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  • @casperOne I don't think the qualifier you just added should be there. I would think that the guidelines mentioned here should apply even to those voting to close for sites on the top migration list.
    – Servy
    Oct 18, 2012 at 16:43
  • @Servy The whole answer is geared towards moderator flags. I'm fine with removing the qualifier, if the answer is changed appropriately.
    – casperOne
    Oct 18, 2012 at 16:50
  • What about this proposed FAQ? FAQ: Migrations
    – ale
    Oct 18, 2012 at 18:32
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    The main FAQ regarding this subject, What is migration and how does it work?, has been significantly expanded since this was asked, and now covers this comprehensively.
    – Sonic the Anonymous Hedgehog
    Jun 15, 2019 at 9:25

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There are some guidelines we want you to follow when flagging a post for Migration:

  1. It needs to be off topic for the source site, and it must be on topic for the target site. If a question is on topic for the source site, then it generally should not be moved.

  2. It must be a high quality post. If you would vote to close the post on the source site (with the exception of off topic), then it more than likely be closed for the same reason on the destination site. We don't migrate crap.

  3. The post should be recent. Depending on the destination, migrating the post could have a number of negative impacts such as the OP not being registered on the destination site, the OP losing rep on the source site and more. Note that in the case where the question has no answers, this does not always apply.

  4. The post should not have an accepted answer or a lot of answers. Either one is usually an indication that the problem's been solved; so migrating it won't really allow for new or better answers.

Please keep these guidelines in mind when flagging posts for migration. If too many of your flags are declined, your flag weight will drop and your flags will become meaningless.

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    Hi George, while I sort of agree with not migrating old stuff, I agree for different reasons. However, I don't agree with the logic that it's all about the OP. The point of questions and answers is to not just help the OP, but also the hundreds or thousands of future visitors that will come across that post in Google searches. Also, just because an answer has an accepted answer doesn't mean you or I couldn't come along and write something better. I'd suggest focusing on the fact that old questions moved to a new site might feel awkward on the new site, like someone dumped their trash there:)
    – jmort253
    Oct 13, 2012 at 1:21
  • @jmort253 These guidelines are what we've come to see for consensus among mods.
    – George Stocker
    Oct 13, 2012 at 1:21
  • @GeorgeStocker With regards to "It would fit better there" I guess that's covered by point 3? How do you suggest we handle such a situation then? Just a comment to the OP that a possibly better alternative is available? An image processing question which would fit DSP but is not off topic for SO comes to mind.
    – Bart
    Oct 13, 2012 at 5:48
  • @Bart If the question doesn't already have an accepted answer (and there are crickets, meaning no one's really answering the question), then by all means, flag it for migration. The bad thing about saying to the OP "Hey, ask this over there." is that they will do just that, normally duplicating the post on another SE site, which is a no-no.
    – George Stocker
    Oct 14, 2012 at 1:12
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    You should note that it has to be off topic for the source site. If it's on topic for the source site, there's absolutely no reason to migrate it out of the blue even if it's on topic for the destination site. If it's not off topic for the source site, migration shouldn't even be considered
    – casperOne
    Oct 18, 2012 at 16:34
  • The third requirement is a weak point I think since "recent" sounds very vague and subjective. Either define this requirement precisely (in terms of months or years) or just delete it.
    – Wildcat
    Oct 20, 2012 at 20:30
  • @kemiisto No. If it were as simple as a period of time, we could just write an algorithm and not even worry about any of this. The point is, it's not as simple as it.
    – George Stocker
    Oct 20, 2012 at 23:07

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