Question moved from stackoverflow closed as its offtopic

Question

I'm talking about this question where the OP has asked question about developer account.

The question was migrated here from Stackoverflow. Then it got closed being off topic in context of Android Enthusiasts.

Shouldn't the question have been migrated back to Stackoverflow? Or is it technically not possible?

Basically I think situation like this should be handled in a better way so that the question doesn't fall in no man's land.

Answer 1

The problem here is that question's topic doesn't have anywhere currently that it would belong within the StackExchange network.

For Android.SE, the relevant section of our FAQ is:

What kind of questions can I ask here?

• Using your Android device
• Using a particular app on your Android device
• Trying to solve an error or other issue in using your Android device What about other Android-related questions?

Please note the following topics are expressly off-topic here:

• Developing/programming for Android (please ask these questions on Stack Overflow)
• Marketing your Android app or doing market research
• Issues with the Android Market from the point of view of a developer or publisher

It's the last (of my quoted) bullet points that's important. This site is for users of Android, the question was about publishing an app in the Market, that's not a user topic.

Discussions on these parts of the FAQ are primarily here FAQ: “What kind of questions should I ask here?” and FAQ: “What kind of questions should I NOT ask here?”

As for StackOverflow, their FAQ says:

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of questions can I ask here?

Stack Overflow is for professional and enthusiast programmers, people who write code because they love it. We feel the best Stack Overflow questions have a bit of source code in them, but if your question generally covers …

• a specific programming problem
• a software algorithm
• software tools commonly used by programmers
• practical, answerable problems that are unique to the programming profession

This question isn't covered by any of those question types, so they're not going to accept the question if it's migrated back. Arguably they should never have migrated it here, but just closed it there, but not every mod knows the exact scope of every other site and mistakes are unfortunately made.

There is a proposal on the Are 51 site to create a StackExchange site dedicated to App Stores, if that proposal gets enough support, and the site is created, then that would be the natural home for this question.

Until that day, it appears that unfortunately there is currently no good home for the question.

Answer 2

GAThrawn's answer is spot-on, but I'd like to add a little more information.

• The Migration system is still finding its way. It's supposed to be a way to find a home for great questions that happen to be in the wrong place. It is, all too often, used as more of a dumping ground. A large part of the problem here is that the people on the "sending" site don't know enough about the "receiving" site to make an informed decision as to whether the question is really on-topic. So far, the best advice we have is "don't migrate crap".
• Moderators from different sites do work together, and we have sent questions "back" that were migrated here in error. It takes a bit of coordination, and is a pain in the neck, but it can be done. In this particular case it's definitely off-topic at Stack Overflow, so there was no point in sending it back. It's also not on-topic anywhere else, so there was no point in sending it back to be re-migrated. If the "App Store" proposal in Area 51 ever opens, it could be sent there, but who knows when that will happen.