4
$\begingroup$

In this question one of the comments said the question below should be in Worldbuilding.SE. From what I understand it is a place where writers go to ask questions. Still not sure really but it is not the place to go just to ask any question not found on topic anywhere else on SE. Correct me if I am wrong.

Is it ok to cross post and link a question that would do well in both technical SEs and creative and/or opinionated SEs like Worldbuilding or Skeptics.SE?

Could the question be migrated along with the answers, comments and votes not to loss integrity?

What may make a bad answer here maybe a great answer over there. I am interested in seeing the creative as well.

Is it possible to navigate space travel with no computer?

| |
$\endgroup$
  • $\begingroup$ Here is the Meta info on crossposting $\endgroup$ – user10509 Nov 22 '18 at 12:04
  • $\begingroup$ @JanDoggen Wow, the voting there has changed since I last looked. Interesting to know that Stack Exchange is now majority against cross-posting overall. $\endgroup$ – called2voyage♦ Nov 27 '18 at 20:24
4
$\begingroup$

I guess I was fairly called out there.

Regarding the specific question in place (which had a good reception from the community), It does ask a rather technical question, but it provided no context to the question. Why would spacecraft a design refrain from using computers? As an engineer in modern times there are quite a few specific situations in which an operator is indeed better than an automated process. But these are fading into past with the rise of autonomous cars and other embedded technology advancements. I'm not sure if OP shares this view, which is indeed opinion based.

Regarding WorldBuilding, the question placed is really interesting, even if the answers are not going to be used by engineers. And you know what kind of place these ideas are very much welcome? Science fiction. And WorldBuilding Stack Exchange is the place for that. It is indeed meant for writers, but anyone can participate. And many questions there place similar challenges: How could this and that be achieved, with X and Y kind or technology being unavailable. And great answers appear there.

As for cross-posting, there may be no need to cross-post the question, it received good attention on SpaceExploration. If OP is dissatisfied with the answers, then another question could be posted on WorldBuilding. I would suggest adding a mention and a link to the SE question and preferably some more details such as explaining why computers are not to be allowed, and what kind of scenario is being envisaged (are we talking 1920 rockets made just after the first airplanes? Are we thinking about a Fallout scenario where semiconductors are not available?). Note however, that in WB one should not really expect very technically correct answers, but rather very convincing answers as readers in general are always assumed to comply with Suspension of Disbelief at least up some level.

As for feature request, you may not have a profile on other SE sites, so it would be weird to have an answer in one site moved to another you never entered. Also, the question itself may have very different requirements in each site. For instance, in StackOverflow it may generally be considered noise to state that a question is homework, but in MathOverflow it may be seen as good practice to state it (though posting homework questions is usually controversial). So maybe it's best to simply link the related question and adapt it to the specific site requirements.

| |
$\endgroup$
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Emphasis on this: "As for cross-posting, there may be no need to cross-post the question, it received good attention on SpaceExploration." I would go so far as to say please do not cross-post. Make a new question on Worldbuilding tailored for that site, do not copy-paste the post from here. $\endgroup$ – called2voyage♦ Nov 19 '18 at 14:08
  • $\begingroup$ @called2voyage I will keep this in mind. $\endgroup$ – Muze Nov 27 '18 at 23:17
  • $\begingroup$ "Weird" or not, questions, along with their answers, can be and often are migrated to other SE sites where some of the posters might not have accounts. This is routine. $\endgroup$ – David Richerby Nov 29 '18 at 21:16
  • $\begingroup$ @DavidRicherby : Is this done via some kind of moderating tool? Are the posts moved together with the question or just the text of the question? Does this happen even if the asker (who should be the main stakeholder on the question) does not have an account on the target site? $\endgroup$ – Mefitico Nov 30 '18 at 19:00
  • $\begingroup$ @Mefitico I'm not a moderator on any site so I don't know the details of the interface. But, yes, it's something that the moderators do, the question and all its answers are moved and this happens regardless of whether the posters have accounts on the target site. It's possible that accounts are automatically created where required (e.g., if this question was moved to some other SE site, your answer would appear the name Mefitico, rather than userxxxxx). $\endgroup$ – David Richerby Dec 1 '18 at 13:51

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .