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I have found a lot of related questions to this topic including, What is migration and how does it work?, and a similar one: Why are some questions getting closed as off-topic instead of migrated?

What I have read so far seems mostly to apply to questions that are in the process of being closed. I would like to know if there is something that can be done about questions with the following criteria:

  • Already closed as off-topic
  • Good question with at least one good answer (judging by up-votes)
  • There is a site that would be a good fit for the question

I have a classic example of this question on Stack Overflow: how do I substitute one colour for another, in every object, of an eps file? [closed]. It is clearly a popular question, with a good answer, and in my opinion at least, would be a perfect fit for the Graphic Design site. So, can we add a feature to allow it to be moved there, while preserving the upvotes and the answer? I have seen one point in the flowchart that questions that already have good answers should be migrated with caution. But again, it seemed to refer to questions not yet closed.

One disadvantage I see of keeping it in Stack Overflow is that, for example, if you search "how do I substitute one colour for another" on Graphic Design you won't find the SO answer (although there's another answer there that links to Stack Overflow) but if you search for it on Stack Overflow, you will find it. Of course, search engines will show it regardless of the site.

Just seems like an easy fix, if there was a way to migrate it while keeping it intact, and would better benefit both communities, in my opinion. This would also allow newer and potentially more up-to-date answers, without duplicating the question.

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    From the FAQ on migration: When can a question be migrated, and who can migrate it? Only questions which are less than 60 days old can be migrated; this rule also applies to moderators. The example you link is closer to 60 years old, then to 60 days old, so it clearly violates that constraint.
    – Luuklag
    Commented Aug 5, 2021 at 11:38
  • Thanks, searched for it, but can't find this FAQ. Anyway, if that is the case, then my request is that this is reconsidered, based on the example above.
    – Nagev
    Commented Aug 5, 2021 at 11:41
  • If that is the case you should edit your question to reflect that @nagev, or write a new one.
    – Luuklag
    Commented Aug 5, 2021 at 11:53
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    Perhaps a push-pull model for migration would be useful for you: meta.stackexchange.com/a/186461/215590
    – PolyGeo
    Commented Aug 5, 2021 at 11:53
  • 'So, can it be moved there' well, sure, but who would be responsible for moving it? If, for example, I moved it, who would take the flak if the question is downvoted/closed/deleted on the target site? Should be me in that example...
    – Martin James
    Commented Aug 5, 2021 at 11:54
  • Changed to make it clear that this is a feature request. Thank you.
    – Nagev
    Commented Aug 5, 2021 at 11:59
  • @Nagev you still don't explicitly state what should be changed.
    – Luuklag
    Commented Aug 5, 2021 at 13:01
  • I've updated it with the suggested changes. Thank you.
    – Nagev
    Commented Aug 5, 2021 at 14:35
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    Editing Questions to improve them (e.g. clarification, adding information, etc.) is encouraged. However, changing a Question a different question, which invalidates one or more answers, is against policy, even if the question you actually asked isn't the one you intended to ask. Your edit here did invalidate an answer. Users with edit privileges should proactively revert such changes. I've reverted your edit. You are encouraged to ask a new Question, perhaps linking this one for additional context. We want to help, but your new/additional issue needs to be a new Question.
    – Makyen
    Commented Aug 5, 2021 at 15:14
  • Apologies, that was not my intention. I was simply trying to clarify the suggested feature request. Thank you for the revert.
    – Nagev
    Commented Aug 5, 2021 at 15:40
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    Interesting because I ran into another closed GD question on SO that would have been perfectly suitable for our site. However, closed 9 months ago so too old, also.
    – curious
    Commented Aug 5, 2021 at 16:12
  • I think it is a good idea. I agree.
    – imida k
    Commented Aug 9, 2021 at 11:15

1 Answer 1

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Can good closed off-topic questions be moved to a suitable site (feature request)?

Yes, they can. That's literally what the existing migration system (whose FAQ you've already found) is for. If a question is closed as off-topic, it could, technically be moved to a more suitable site.

I would like to know if there is something that can be done about questions with the following criteria:

  • Already closed as off-topic
  • Good question with at least one good answer (judging by up-votes)
  • There is a site that would be a good fit for the question

There's a thing on Stack Exchange called 'default migration paths'. If there is no default migration path (which is very common), all community members can do is vote to close as off-topic. Since migration to any site that isn't a default migration path requires a moderator, it doesn't really matter that the question is already closed as off-topic. Moderators will reopen it and migrate the question away, which will also 'close' it again on the site where it is off-topic.

As for getting a question to the 'right' site, there are options:

  • Delete the post once you realize it's off-topic on one site (it doesn't have to be fully closed), and once you've found the correct site, re-post your question (with edits, if necessary) on the correct site. This is by far the quickest way to handle these things: Just do them yourself.

  • You can flag for moderator attention and ask them to migrate your question. This is perhaps the best option when your question is answered and the answer is upvoted: You can then no longer self-delete the question.

    Don't be surprised if your flag is declined, this probably means the moderator asked moderators on the other site if your question was good enough for them, and there probably was something in either your question or the answer it has that isn't suitable on the 'new' site.

  • In case of your example, which is too old to migrate, all you can do is re-post the question (perhaps as community wiki, see this comment) on the correct site. It sadly doesn't take the answer with it, but that's life. Re-posting has some benefits, like the question being attributed to someone that does have an account on Graphics.SE, and will get the notifications for the post.

    You could leave a comment with a link to the 'new' question under the answer, and perhaps the answerer would be willing to copy their answer to your new question... if after a long while they haven't done so and there have been no good answers from the community on Graphic Design either, you could also considering self-answering, with proper attribution to the original answer, of course.

There's plenty of options to get content this old to a suitable site still, and I don't think there's a need for a new feature besides the existing migration system here.

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    Or if you reposted it, and want to copy that original answer over as well, post a Community Wiki post that quotes the original post using proper attribution to the original. Doing this without CW is usually frowned upon as it then looks like you are trying to "profit" off the work of somebody else.
    – Luuklag
    Commented Aug 5, 2021 at 12:26
  • @Luuklag good point, that's also always an option!
    – Tinkeringbell Mod
    Commented Aug 5, 2021 at 12:26

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