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With the beta of WebDesign.stackechange.com in the works now, is it desirable to flag questions for migration??

I'm hesitant for a couple reasons:

  • Many questions may fit here as well as at WD.SE, but some may lean more towards web design specifically (example: How to export a gradient overlay to CSS3 styles (in Photoshop CC)? ) Question is perfectly on-topic here. But it would also be on-topic at wd.se.
  • WD.se is beta... we aren't. So, questions on a graduated site may be more valuable.

If a question would normally be flagged for migration, for example a code-based question, would it be okay to suggest WD.SE if appropriate -- as opposed to something like StackOverflow or UX.se if you think the question would better fit WD.se??

Obviously the moderators determine what is or is not migrated and where to, but I was curious.

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Update

Well, the site didn't make it out of private beta. So that's an easy way to answer this question :)


Original Post

Right now: no. We literally can't, migration into private betas is blocked by the migration system.

If Web Design makes it to public beta: maybe, but probably only if the question is closed as off topic on Graphic design. This is explained in a Stack Exchange blog post from a couple years ago: Respect the community – your own, and others’.

Here's the relevant bit:

Respecting your own community

As members of a community, your first loyalty should be to that community. When evaluating a question, you shouldn’t be looking to push it off on some other site; instead, ask if it could be appropriate and on-topic for you, the experts who the author decided to ask. Be a bit jealous of your site – don’t blithely turn askers away simply because their question could be asked somewhere else. Don’t hit them over the head with your scope, help them tailor their question to fit into it – and if that means your site’s scope overlaps a bit with another site’s, so be it.

Obviously, there are questions you’ll have to turn away, either because their only connection to your site is via the audience (“How do I make bread as a programmer?”), because it’s completely off-topic (“How do I cook a fish in a dishwasher?” obviously belongs on Cooking, not Home Improvement) or because they’re simply not useful or constructive. But that should be your last resort. Close questions with an eye toward improvement and re-opening, not driving users away.

The other thing to keep in mind here is to not migrate crummy questions. If it's just a straight-up no effort post, it's not worth migrating. For smaller sites I will typically get in touch with the community or mods on the receiving site and confirm the migrating with them beforehand.

Respecting other communities The migration tool was created to help those unfortunate users who asked good questions on the wrong site. Do

your best to remember this, whether as a user (flagging or voting to close) or as a moderator (responding to flags).

  • Don’t migrate poorly-asked or non-constructive questions. Just close them. If you want to help the asker out by recommending a site where their question would be on-topic, go ahead – but also recommend they read that site’s FAQ first!

So in short: yes, if it's a quality question that is consider off-topic on our site but within the scope of Web Design.

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    Good info. I absolutely mean to respect both communities. But was curious overall. Thanks!
    – Scott
    Sep 29, 2014 at 15:29
  • I second the "in short" summary. We absolutely should migrate quality, appropriate questions after WD gets out of private beta. Sep 29, 2014 at 16:14
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I'm going to say no.

Until WebDesign gets better defined from its core user base and at least out of Private Beta, I think it is a mistake to migrate questions there.

If a question is on Topic Here then we shouldn't migrate it at all. If its not on topic here but on topic as StackOverflow, CodeReview, UX, Webmasters, or any other established site then that's where it should be migrated.

As has been exhausted in chat and meta discussions the WebDesign exchange has a lot of concerns with its definition and purpose at this point. Until some of those kinks have been worked out, maybe when it goes public beta, I don't think migration there should be done.

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    yeah :) Kind of my inclinations, but I thought a discussion may be warranted. I didn't mean TODAY. But just in general, and obviously assuming the site goes to public beta.
    – Scott
    Sep 29, 2014 at 14:51

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