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I'm just wondering if the current sub-menu of options for questions i.e.: ...

link | edit | close (2) | flag

...might be a bit alarming to new users, who see their questions apparently about to be closed when in actual fact they're just being gently transported (as if held gracefully aloft on a beam of pure, luxuriant joy) to a more appropriate stack site.

In other words, I wonder whether it might be wise to split out the "normal" close votes with those that recommend migration in the sub-menu so that it reads:

link | edit | close | migrate (2) | flag

I realise that this would dilute the purity of the existing "one close link to rule them all" approach, but I'd personally say that migration is an odd fit in there anyway.

Then again, perhaps I'm just tremendously mentally ill.

UPDATE

I've also noticed an increasing trend where off-topic questions that are ripe for migration to one of the existing listed sites are simply tagged as off-topic (with no destination site specified). The propsed "migrate" link would potentially go some way to resolve this.

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    Interesting - it might also stop them from reposting the question on the target site.
    – ChrisF Mod
    Jan 24, 2011 at 11:02
  • @ChrisF - Yes, my thoughts are that it would make the process considerably more transparent. Whether that's worth the UI trade off is another factor. (I also suspect that it's probably only really an issue on a few of the sites.)
    – John Parker
    Jan 24, 2011 at 11:03
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    Perhaps the first vote to migrate should add a comment like the first vote to close as duplicate does.
    – ChrisF Mod
    Jan 24, 2011 at 11:05
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    @ChrisF That might be a neater solution. That said, the presence of the close (3) style messages may still cause alarm for those that aren't aware of how the system works.
    – John Parker
    Jan 24, 2011 at 11:07
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    Dumb question: Do new users even see that link, if they don't have close rights themselves?
    – Benjol
    Jan 24, 2011 at 13:04
  • @Benjol At 250 reputation, a user can vote on their own questions, which lets them see the count on those questions as well. So, brand fresh users won't be able to, but moderate activity will get you the opportunity soon enough.
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Jan 24, 2011 at 13:18
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    @ChrisF With the whole previous issue of "belongs on" comments, complemented by the fact that most any migration I see includes one or more comments that explain the migration, I'm not quite sure auto-comments are all that necessary. Even in some of the sites where people seem loathe to explain why they voted to close for any other reason, migration seems to always attract a notice.
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Jan 24, 2011 at 13:19
  • @Grace, ok, thanks. @middaparka, so what if one person votes to migrate, and another votes to close for another reason?
    – Benjol
    Jan 24, 2011 at 13:20
  • @Benjol Close votes would be shown as per normal alongside any migrate votes.
    – John Parker
    Jan 24, 2011 at 13:47
  • @Grace - If it were phrased right that problem might be avoided. I am, however, open to being persuaded otherwise.
    – ChrisF Mod
    Jan 24, 2011 at 13:56
  • @middaparka, headdesk, I didn't look at your proposition properly, sorry.
    – Benjol
    Jan 24, 2011 at 13:59
  • I've also noticed an increasing trend where off-topic questions that are ripe for migration to one of the existing listed sites are simply tagged as off-topic (with no destination site specified). I vaguely recall that it used to say where the close-votes thought it should go, but I definitely don’t see it now. Also, I recall at one point, hovering the cursor over the names of the close-voters would tell you which close-reason each person chose, but that too is gone now.
    – Synetech
    Jul 17, 2013 at 0:37

2 Answers 2

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I see a lot of questions that should be migrated just get closed.

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    I suspect the (understandably) limited choice of destination sites is partly the issue, but I think your point stands. That said, this question appears to have withered on the vine. :-(
    – John Parker
    Mar 19, 2013 at 23:09
  • @middaparka Another reason for that might be the inability (for new users only?) to do distinct flagging for closing versus migration. A have a new feature request question on that in case you think it is a valid concern (or if you just want to support it for the main reason I asked it -- to make flagging a migration-worthy question less confusing to flaggers!) meta.stackexchange.com/questions/189406/…
    – A.M.
    Jul 18, 2013 at 19:41
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If you're voting to migrate, you're implicitly saying that the question is off-topic. So it is a close vote. If a majority of close-voters think the question should be migrated, then it will be... But plenty of off-topic questions don't get migrated - the surest way to get your question on another site is just to post it there. Migration is already a courtesy for off-topic questions - we really don't want to make it too inviting!

I'm all about being nice to new users, but if you want to ease their minds then post a comment explaining how their question is off-topic, why you voted to close it, and where it might be more appropriate. This will also help other closers understand why they should perhaps also vote to migrate...

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  • I have to disagree. I still think that migration feels like a sufficiently different case than the other close votes and I don't think this will make things "too inviting" - it'll just make the process a lot more transparent for the end user. Thanks for your thoughts though. (This is the point of a discussion after all.) :-)
    – John Parker
    Jan 25, 2011 at 0:01

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