Why are there ArcPy related and tagged questions on Stack Overflow?

Question

I was looking for an ArcPy related info on Google and it led me to a Stack Overflow (not GIS SE) question tagged with an ArcPy tag.

Wouldn't it be more logical to have all those questions transfered to GIS SE instead of leaving them on Stack Overflow (if it's possible) ?

The tag already suggests one should ask here on GIS SE, but I was wondering if leaving it as is on SO might not lead other people to post their questions on ArcPy at SO instead of GIS SE, thus loosing some efficiency, as ArcPy is 100% GIS related.

I suppose the subject may have already been raised.

See : https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/arcpy

ArcPy is a Python Site-Package developed by Esri for use with its ArcGIS platform at version 10.x and above. It offers a high-level implementation of Esri's ArcObjects programming library. The best place to ask about arcpy is the gis.stackexchange.com sister site.

Answer 1

Stack Overflow predates the GIS Stack Exchange and so various GIS tags were already in occasional use there before we launched.

I think all focused GIS questions should be asked on the GIS Stack Exchange and that anything ambiguous should be redirected as per Other places for help when off-topic (or not clearly on-topic) for GIS SE?

Whenever I notice a GIS question on Stack Overflow, or any site other than GIS SE, I try to add a comment along the lines of:

I think your question would be more on-topic at the GIS Stack Exchange where thousands of [e.g. ArcPy, PyQGIS, Leaflet, Shapely, ArcObjects, etc] questions have been asked and answered.

I often get comments back to say that they were not aware of GIS SE, and then I see the question re-asked here.

I do not answer GIS questions on Stack Overflow but that is where I frequently seek and find non-spatial coding answers, and occasionally I ask and answer non-spatial coding questions there too.

Wouldn't it be more logical to have all those questions transfered to GIS SE instead of leaving them on Stack Overflow (if it's possible) ?

Unfortunately, migration can only be performed during the first 60 days after a question is asked.

Answer 2

Why are there questions about ArcPy on StackOverflow? Because it's a Python package, and there are questions about many Python packages on StackOverflow.

There are tons of overlaps between different StackExchange sites. Sometimes it depends on the specifics of the question to know where to put it: is the question more about Esri, or more about Python? Is it a programming difficulty that happens to involve ArcPy, or a GIS difficulty that happens to involve coding? etc.

Answer 3

In the past I've flagged questions for moderator attention and suggested they be migrated but had little to no uptake on those suggestions so have stopped doing it.

I edited the arcpy tag on SO so that the phrase "The best place to ask about arcpy is the gis.stackexchange.com sister site" now appears above the fold. That might help.

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Update: Let's update the SO tag wiki. Community edit the section below. Put in a different section or answer if you want a markedly different approach. When we're happy we can copy to main site.

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Excerpt

ArcPy is a Python Site-Package developed by Esri for use with its ArcGIS platform at version 10.x and above. ArcPy questions are usually asked on the gis.stackexchange.com sister site.

Definition

ArcPy offers a high-level implementation of Esri's ArcObjects programming library. It is used for customizing mapping and geoprocessing solutions within the ArcGIS 10 platform. It can be accessed through the Python window of ArcMap, ArcGIS ModelBuilder as an imported script-tool, toolboxes written entirely in Python or externally through IDEs and command shells. Executing machines must have a valid installation of ArcGIS for Desktop or ArcGIS Engine to use the arcpy site package.

Ask about arcpy on GIS Stack Exchange to reach a focused community.

An arcpy hello world script:

import arcpy
arcpy.AddMessage("\n\tHello World!\n")
arcpy.GetMessages()

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