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Suppose that I had asked about the fundaments/rudiments of a topic on ELL, but in order to seek a deeper understanding or delve into the simple matter, could the same question be reposted on ELU (with disclosure of the previous post on ELL?) ?

Conversely, suppose that answers to a question on ELU proved overly complex for an English learner. For want of a simpler explanation, could the same question be reposted on ELL (with disclosure of the previous post on ELU?) ?

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    Yes, I think you can and no one could aride exception to this
    – Elberich Schneider
    Oct 30, 2014 at 19:15
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    I can see your rationale behind this request. It's a reasonable one: ELL for the basics; ELU for in depth. Trouble is that sometimes ELL answers contain more depth and detail than the ones on ELU. Some answers on ELU are extremely scant, shoddy and low in quality. It can be frustrating. ELL has that core of users who will 90% of the time answer posts, especially if they spot a wrong answer being upvoted. They're a sort of quality police.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Oct 31, 2014 at 7:36
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    Well, if you ask me, these two should be merged to one page sometime. Since basic learners will soon turn to advanced learners, and ask more advanced questions. I always wondered, why not keep all in one site instead of that pointless splitting of things. And JUST AS YOU SAID, sometimes ELL answers contain more depth and detail than the ones on ELU. How close to the truth! But that's just my 2c.
    – syntaxerror
    Nov 3, 2014 at 22:51
  • strongly related: Can I ask here a question that I have already asked on English Language Learners?
    – Mari-Lou A
    Nov 9, 2014 at 6:06

1 Answer 1

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In general, cross-posting is prohibited on the StackExchange network.

Which means if you're seeking, fundamentally, a single answer, you should choose the best venue to get that answer, and ask only there.

That said, if you want to ask a fundamentally different but related question, and you believed that new question would be better placed on a different site, with reference to the earlier question for context, that would be just fine.

The key distinction is you must ask a new question, seeking a fundamentally different answer.

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  • @Up, see, here, where I can support my rationale, I posted as an answer! :D
    – Dan Bron
    Oct 30, 2014 at 13:59
  • Thank you again! Did you intend to link somewhere in your comment, since you wrote 'here'?
    – user50720
    Oct 30, 2014 at 14:08
  • @Up, no, I meant "here, on this particular question, where I have a normative link to back up my stance".
    – Dan Bron
    Oct 30, 2014 at 15:23
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    Nothing in the question you link to says cross-posting is prohibited by site rules. It's just that the highest-voted answer there says you shouldn't simply post your question to multiple SE sites when you only want one answer. This OP has already seen the set of answers of one "type", and now he wants the other type. It's a very different situation, quite apart from the fact that because ELL is still in beta, it's not so easy for users to cooperatively migrate a question if we feel the other site could add a usefully different perspective.
    – FumbleFingers
    Nov 3, 2014 at 3:19
  • @FumbleFingers, You raise a couple good points. Let me address them in reverse: that ELL is in beta is a temporary situation, so it's not material to our position on x-posting in the long run (and therefore that fact didn't make an appearance in my answer). The most-upvoted answer to questions of policy on MSE represents the will of the community, and save for a specific rule in the help center, there is no higher authority to appeal. I agree that if OP has a fundamentally different but related question, he is welcome to ask it here or on ELL.
    – Dan Bron
    Nov 3, 2014 at 11:47
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    Depending heavily on the question, there is cross posting between Math.Stackexchange.com and mathoverflow.net.
    – Ali Caglayan
    Nov 6, 2014 at 22:18

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