Opinion-based content migration is completed

Today, the migration of posts from the opinion-based content (OBC) format to the Q&A format has been completed. Those posts now exist with the newer open-ended question (OEQ) tags in place.

A handful of posts were migrated over the course of the last few weeks as tests, which allowed us to resolve a few minor issues.

This SEDE query provides a list of all non-deleted migrated OBC posts. (Please note that this may not display the full list until after Sunday August 23.)

A few notes and reminders:

• Replies made directly to the OBC question remain as answers.
• Replies made to other replies have become comments on that top-level answer. If replies were nested more than one level deep, that parent-child structure is preserved in the comment thread.
  • The original nested reply is retained as a deleted answer and linked internally to the new comment. so that the source and migration history are not lost.
  • These migrated comments may be longer and contain more complex content than what is possible in a standard comment. The comments are not directly editable, though edits to the deleted answer will be reflected in the displayed comment.

As many have noted, the resulting Q&A structure may not feel correct in some cases. Some responses to the original question may now be presented as comments since they were nested. Some top-level responses to the original question remain as answers, but feel more akin to comments in the Q&A framework, or may seem unnecessary to keep around at all.

Two answers on the question How should I deal with my own OBC reply once it migrates and becomes a low quality answer? are helpful when considering how to handle these scenarios.

If you'd like to review your own posts following the migration, then Greg’s answer features a great way to discover and act on them.

If you see a migrated OEQ question with some non-answers/answers that should be comments/comments that should be answers, here's our recommended approach (quoting the answer from Spevacus):

• Answers that should be comments: Flag with a custom moderator flag asking for the answer to be converted to a comment. I recommend against voting to delete these and flagging instead so moderators can review without needing to undelete the answer first.
• Non-answers with no lasting value: Flag as "deleted for not answering the question" and, if possible for you, vote to delete.
• Migrated comments that should be answers: Post-migration, each nested reply from the OBC format will be migrated over both as a deleted answer as well as a comment that sources its content from that deleted answer. If you can see deleted answers, flag the answer with a custom flag for a moderator to undelete it and delete the migrated comment. If you can't see deleted content and see a migrated comment that deserves to be a full answer, flag the post that the comment is under with a custom flag asking a moderator to undelete the comment's source answer. Include a helpful explanation about how the source answer for the post-migration comment is deleted on the page and should be undeleted to ensure mods are fully aware of what you're asking for. Once done, the comment can be disposed of.

Flags for all of these situations are fairly easy to handle and we expect that the answer sets for these migrated questions should settle over time as curators notice issues, flag anomalies, and close questions that are ill-fitting for the site long-term. I spoke with the SO mods and they seem comfortable with the anticipated flag volume.

With this guidance and the SEDE query, it is tempting to see this as an urgent to-do list, but working through these over time may be a more optimal path. We encourage curators to also look ahead by reviewing and continuing to participate in the ongoing conversations that focus on tag definition, policy, and site scope. JNat’s recent roundup of these topics is a great place to jump in or resume those discussions as we work toward decisions.