UI suggests that "better fit elsewhere" is a valid reason for closure

Question

The criteria for migrating a question are:

1. The question is off-topic on the current site.
2. The question is high-quality.
3. The question is on-topic for the target site.

Or, as stated in the FAQ,

• Don't migrate for the sake of migration. We only migrate questions because they are off-topic on the original site. It is perfectly possible for a question to be on-topic on multiple sites, but that is not a reason to migrate it elsewhere. As a general rule, if someone asks a question here, and it's on-topic here, it should stay here.

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However, the UI doesn't make requirement 1 clear. The sequence goes…

1. Click "close" or "flag".

   The dialog asks,

   ◉ Why should this question be closed?

   or

   ◉ I am flagging this question because …
   ◉ it should be closed for another reason…

2. Click "off-topic".

   One of the options is:

   ◉ This question belongs on another site in the Stack Exchange network

The UI does not require an off-topic reason to be specified — in fact, it prevents you from specifying an off-topic reason if you want to suggest a migration. Thus, the UI improperly suggests that "better fit elsewhere" is a valid reason for closing/migrating.

Answer 1

This has been a big problem on some sites -- questions that are on-topic here are perceived as a better fit somewhere else, so people propose migration. But questions should only be migrated if they don't belong on the original site.

So let's do it in two steps. First a question must be closed as off-topic, and only then does a migration option become possible. I'm not sure what the UI for that should look like; here are a few possibilities, in (approximate) ascending order of difficulty to implement:

• No special UI; people can flag for a moderator to migrate. Almost all migration attempts I see as a moderator come via flags, though I'm not a moderator on the really big sites and maybe it's different there. This is easiest to implement (all that's required is to remove the migration close path and give moderators a migrate option), but is least visible to users. It also requires moderator action.

• Add a "vote to migrate" link to the closure notice. Clicking this link takes you to the "migrate" part of the current off-topic dialogue, where you can choose a site. For bonus points, make it easier to see what's welcome on the target site. If there are migration votes, show a number as with close/reopen/delete votes. This is more work but is more discoverable.

• Add a review queue for questions closed as off-topic that offers a "migrate" option. I think this probably isn't the way to go, but I'm including it for completeness.

I favor the second option, but even the first would be better than the status quo.

Where I've said "closed", also include "on hold". There's no reason to make an asker wait five days.

Finally, there's an argument to be made for disabling migration entirely, but that's a much bigger and more-controversial change. So long as we have migration, let's make it work better.

Answer 2

I propose to change the workflow so that a closure reason is required after suggesting migration. Namely,

1. Click "close" or "flag".

2. Click "off-topic".

   The dialog looks just like it does today, with one of the choices being

   ◉ This question belongs on another site in the Stack Exchange network

3. Choose a migration target site.

   The dialog looks just like it does today. (I'd add emphasis that it needs to be a high-quality question.)

4. Specify a closure reason.

   Flagging > Closing > Off-Topic > Migration > Closure Reason

   Why is this question off-topic for insert current site name here?

   ◎ Standard reason A
   ◎ Standard reason B
   ◎ Other (add a comment explaining what is wrong)

   ---

   Vote to migrate Cancel

   The migration flag is cancelled unless a closure reason is given.

One disadvantage of this proposal is that the thought process is a bit backwards: normally, one would classify a question as off-topic before suggesting migration.

Answer 3

I propose to change the workflow so that migration options are presented after choosing a closure reason.

2. Click "off-topic".

   Choose a standard reason for closure, or enter a custom reason.

3. Click Vote to Close.

   The UI would ask:

   Flagging > Closing > Off-Topic > Migration

   Would this be considered a high-quality question that is on-topic on another site?

   ◉ No, the question should simply be closed.
   ◎ belongs on Stack Overflow
                     _{Q&A for professional and enthusiast programmers}
   ◎ belongs on Super User
                     _{Q&A for computer enthusiasts and power users}

One disadvantage of this proposal is that the common case (simple closure without migration) requires an extra click to dismiss the migration dialog.