Should we have MathJax support on Academia?
I think it would be useful if questions about math in academic writing are common here.
I just asked this question and there it would have been nice (but not necessary).
Should we have MathJax support on Academia?
I think it would be useful if questions about math in academic writing are common here.
I just asked this question and there it would have been nice (but not necessary).
I believe Stack Exchange's position on MathJax support is on an "as needed" basis. First we have to demonstrate that there is a substantial need for it. Then we can make an argument to ask for it. Without a substantial number of questions actually requiring it, it's unlikely to go through. (You could generate a PNG of the LaTeX code and upload that instead, for instance.)
No, we should not have Mathjax.
There are several reasons why not, but the nub is that it's unnecessary. This isn't a site for maths questions.
It adds bloat to the page. And it really messes up formatting when you innocently put the dollar symbol twice on one line. So you end up having to explain to people that they should escape the dollar symbol with a prefixed backslash every time they want to display a dollar.
Wanting to display a dollar symbol does happen now and again. Whereas displaying an equation is incredibly rare here. Making it easier to display equations is only going to encourage off-topic questions. Adding an arcane barrier to the sane display of dollar symbols is only going to annoy posters.
If we do get some incredibly freaky circumstance where a formatted equation is essential to a question, then just stick an image of the equation in. Most mathjax & latex renderers allow you to capture the equation as an image. The equation isn't going to be any use to search engines anyway.
$
does.