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I have noticed that many Software Recommendations questions are still being posted on SuperUser. When I see them, I flag them for migration. Unfortunately, the SE system still does not provide Software Recommendations SE as a migration destination in the flagging UI. As a result, I have to flag them for moderator attention. I include a clear note that the questions are on-topic in this SE.

Some of the SuperUser moderators refuse to migrate the questions to Software Recommendations, even when the question is properly flagged.

For example, I recently flagged this SuperUser question for migration to Software Recommendations, and my flag was declined by the SuperUser moderators. The specific feedback left for me was: "declined - a moderator reviewed your flag, but found no evidence to support it".

What can be done to educate SuperUser moderators and correct mistakes such as this one?

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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At least until the elections, I'm also a SR.SE moderator, and I rejected many of those migration requests. One of the aspects of the recommendations sites is the pretty exacting quality standards as laid out in the various meta posts on the subject.

Were these questions migrated by another mod on SU, I'd have rejected them and have had a quiet word with them not to do so.

There was no mistake, and unless a question meets the standards of SR I shall continue to be disinclined to.

Questions for migration should be of a standard that would be at least passable here.

To address some of the issues in RockPaperLizard's comments, these are what I consider the minimal criteria for migration, though not all of these may need to be fufilled.

While for most sites its "don't migrate crap" on SR its "does it meet the quality standards for the site"

If not, can it be trivially fixed

And if so, (or even if not) will the OP take ownership of the question to make the changes. This often translates to the OP being the one who requests the migration, but I'd settle for knowing they'd come here, fix up their question, and actually select the correct answer.

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  • Full ack, that's how I'd do it. Everything can be improved at any time, but basic rules must be matched from the start. (+1)
    – Izzy Mod
    Dec 6, 2015 at 11:13
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Questions like the example provided are off topic on SuperUser, but on-topic on Software Recommendations SE.

It would be best to encourage SuperUser moderators to migrate good questions (those meeting our requirements) to Software Recommendations SE and close the poor ones on SuperUser. If a question is closed on SuperUser, a comment can be left stating that the question, if improved, would be welcomed on this SE. A link to our requirements can be included.

When mods refuse to close poor Software Recommendations questions on SuperUser, while simultaneously refusing to migrate them to this SE, many people naturally get confused as to where to post their questions and answers. The number of Software Recommendations questions asked and answered on SuperUser provides direct evidence of this.

When questions show significant effort, meet our basic requirements, but are not perfect, they can still be migrated here. One of us can quickly edit the question or add valuable comments so the question's author can fill in any useful details (such as the operating system). This has been the standard practice that we use for questions asked on this SE that show effort, but need some simple improvements.

I have donated many hours of my time contributing to this process.

If the author does not improve the question to completely satisfy every one of our strict requirements, we can then vote to close the question here. If we immediately voted to close every question that did not perfectly meet all our requirements, we would be voting to close a majority of the questions submitted. By being flexible, without compromising our standards, we can be welcoming and maintain high quality content.

I believe this practice provides the most welcoming experience for all SE users, and best accomplishes the goal of our visitors: to learn the answers to questions and provide valuable information to help other people.

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  • "If the author does not improve the question to satisfy our requirements" – I fully agree with Journeyman here: to at least basically satisfy our requirements is a pre-condition to migration. It can be improved after migration, but the basics need to be met before. Otherwise the correct approach is to close it there and point here, with strong emphasis on our quality guidelines – so OP can re-post it matching them.
    – Izzy Mod
    Dec 6, 2015 at 11:11
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    @Izzy Right. The question should basically satisfy our requirements before migration, otherwise close it on the SE where it is off-topic (and point here if the OP wants to improve it and post here). That's what I tried to convey in paragraph 2... did my words betray me?
    – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket Mod
    Dec 6, 2015 at 11:18
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    And as an SR mod, I felt they didn't, and were they migrated to SR from somewhere other than SE, I'd reject them. I merely felt it made sense not to move a question that was not really up to standards here, rather than, perhaps, moving it, then possibly closing it again.
    – Journeyman Geek
    Dec 6, 2015 at 11:19
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    @JourneymanGeek Perhaps we are saying the same thing using different words. I think, however, if a question shows effort and is on the borderline, it is better to migrate it instead of closing it. This way, the person is not alienated and this site can grow and develop. We don't want junk here, and we should be consistent with our standards. If we allow some flexibility with what is posted here (and give new visitors proper guidance), we can allow that same flexibility with migrations. No more or less. Consistency is the key, with the goal being high-quality questions and answers.
    – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket Mod
    Dec 6, 2015 at 11:26
  • I'm being entirely consistant here. I ask myself one very simple question - were I a normal user on superuser, and SR was a migration target, would I migrate? The answer in most of these cases is no. If someone wanted to post comments suggesting on improvements pre migration, and I could be assured the OP took ownership of these questions, I'd be more inclined to accept a migration. I'm being entirely consistant.
    – Journeyman Geek
    Dec 6, 2015 at 11:29
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    No need for defensiveness, I am speaking in general terms, and not about any specific people. If Software Recommendations questions are off-topic on other sites, and they are of low quality it is best to close them there and provide a pointer to this SE and our requirements. Neither of those actions have been consistently happening. If questions do meet the requirements to not be closed on this SE, they are worthy of migration.
    – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket Mod
    Dec 6, 2015 at 11:44
  • @RockPaperLizard "did my words betray me?" – looks like; missed a comment like "(those meeting our requirements)" ;) // "it is better to migrate it instead of closing it" – I object. A friendly comment serves much better in cases where the Q does not meet our requirements. To my experience, only few feel "alienated" that way.
    – Izzy Mod
    Dec 6, 2015 at 12:12
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    @Izzy We are in agreement: A friendly comment when the Q does not meet our requirements... that's what we've been doing for months.
    – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket Mod
    Dec 6, 2015 at 12:17
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    @Izzy I clarified "good" to specify "those meeting our requirements". I thought that was self-explanatory, but I was mistaken. My apologies. :-)
    – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket Mod
    Dec 6, 2015 at 12:20

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