Close not computer related questions on StackOverflow instead of migrating them to SuperUser

Question

Recently the SuperUser FAQ has been updated to be a little more strict on what questions should be asked

Super User is for computer enthusiasts and power users. If you have a question about …

• computer hardware
• computer software

and it is not about …

• videogames or consoles
• websites or web services like Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress
• cellphones or mobile devices, except smartphones such as iPhone that interface with your computer
• electronic devices or media players, except insofar as they interface with your computer

then you're in the right place to ask your question!

However, it would be useful if the StackOverflow users would also follow these guidelines. Thus I would request that questions that do not follow these guidelines should be closed on StackOverflow rather than being migrated to SuperUser and closed there.

This is specifically aimed at website related questions on Google services, Facebook, Twitter or Wordpress. Or iPhone/Android related questions, where they want something done on their phone rather than with their computer.

Examples:

• Google Reader
• Google Docs
• iPhone
• Twitter

Or just check this Google search for more examples...

PS: could someone run a check over how many migrated questions were closed on SuperUser?

Answer 1

I gotta agree with John here... Your objective is noble, but doomed.

Background: The pressing need for a SO dumping ground

For its first year of existence, Stack Overflow faced a constant battle between users who wanted a site dedicated to programming questions and users who liked the format and wanted to use the site for... any topic that interested them.

UserVoice, the blog, and Stack Overflow itself were filled with the anguished and often angry cries of users who had been slapped down, told that their questions about harddrives, games, office politics, and favorite peripherals weren't appropriately "programming related".

It got ugly. Really ugly. Much uglier than any discussions surrounding bits of text should ever get. When a group of users becomes so used to being called "fascists" that they actually petition the site for a badge recognizing this dubious distinction, that's too ugly. And as the site grew more and more popular, it just kept getting worse...

Super User: a light at the end of the tunnel

When Super User was announced, there was one criteria for the questions asked there:

If your question has to do with computers, it will be allowed there.

This was a welcome announcement for many. Even those of us who didn't plan on actually using the site, as it signed an end, at long last, to the tiring arguments, close wars, and bad-blood between users who wanted a programming site and users who wanted a "computer things" site. The ability to migrate questions meant that an off-topic question couldn't be easily re-opened on Stack Overflow, but could still be answered - a rare win-win for both camps.

A site about everything is a site about nothing: the ongoing Super User lock-down

Almost immediately, the original definition for Super User was challenged, as users of the new site attempted to come up with more specific criteria for questions. By the time the public beta opened, the definition had already changed to exclude questions relating to video games or consoles.

Still though, the rules for migration were simple: computer-related but not programming-related and not game-related? Move to Super User! And that's pretty much the only rules I and many other SO users bother to remember even now - although I do try to follow some of the discussion here on Meta, I wasn't really aware prior to reading this question that SU now has an entire bullet list of topics that shouldn't be asked!

Conclusion: The fresh paint on your barn wall is not my responsibility

Bad migrations will happen: because we aren't SU users, because we're not continually checking your FAQ for new taboos and because we're sick of fighting with people who just want answers to their computer-related questions. If you don't like it, I don't blame you - but posting a request here isn't going to accomplish much. Remember, SO was programming-specific from the very start, and still gets a never-ending stream of off-topic questions, many of which aren't even computer-related.

So you have your work cut out for you. John's suggestion for a special "migrated questions view" could work... if there were enough engaged 10K users on SU to actually make use of it. As-is, I suspect such questions will continue to be the responsibility of you and your fellow moderators.

Perhaps you could use a tool that would let you reject migrated questions...

Answer 2

Ironic that this post which is about inappropriately migrating questions from SO to SU, and was originally posted on meta-SO (and in my opinion belongs there), was itself inappropriately migrated from MSO to MSU.

After all, it is obvious that the purpose of the post was to inform SO users of the policy on SU relating to off-topic questions. Migrating this post to MSU where it is not seen by SO users is not helpful.

SU users who see the post here on MSU:

1. Already know the policy here on SU
2. Are not responsible for inappropriately migrating questions from SO to SU
3. Are not able to migrate from SO to SU
4. Are not in a position to affect migration policy on SO

Plus the attitude of some posts from some SO users is troubling... when they advocate that if they have a question posted on SO that is off-topic on SO, that they are justified in migrating it to SU (or any other site), regardless of whether it is also off-topic there, simply to get rid of the question.

It's like oh, we'll just dump our garbage in your back-yard and then it'll be your responsibility to figure out how you'll dispose of it... and btw, don't complain about it or tell us we shouldn't do it.

Answer 3

This is doomed to failure. Why should the majority of the SO community care what rules are made up on SU? They are just not interested in. But they want to help this guy who asked a non-programming question. They know, if they close it on SO he will not get any help. If they migrate it to SU the chance exists that his questions could be answered there.

You can bring up the argument of the junk yard again, but complaining about that will not solve the issue. I could imagine that a special moderator view (including 10k users) for migrated questions would make it easier to close these questions (if they are inappropriate for SU). If this does not already exist, it would be worth thinking about it.