MathJax seems to be enabled on some sites and not others.
Whilst I appreciate that it's definitely more useful on some sites than others, there are times where one might want to use it basically anywhere.
Why take this option away from the writer?
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2@toolic and followers: not it's not a duplicate. The question is not asking for a list, it's clearly asking to enable MathJax on all sites. Please retract your flag/close vote.– Shadow Wizard Love ZeldaJan 11, 2023 at 18:36
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6@ShadowWizardChasingStars While I agree it's likely not a duplicate, the reason why it's likely not going to be enabled network wide is listed at the bottom of that question's answer: "MathJax increases page load times drastically, so it's only supported on sites that have demonstrated a serious need for it." Not voting to close, but, I can see the intent behind the relation.– SpevacusJan 11, 2023 at 18:37
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3This is not done for performance reasons (meta.stackoverflow.com/a/252283/347857 and meta.stackoverflow.com/a/356173/347857) and I don't think SE has changed their minds about this– Mad ScientistJan 11, 2023 at 18:38
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@toolic no, that question is a [support] question asking which sites have it enabled. This question is a [feature-request] to enable it on all sites.– Robert ColumbiaJan 11, 2023 at 18:38
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2@Spevacus that sounds like an answer. You should post it as an answer.– Robert ColumbiaJan 11, 2023 at 18:39
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Computing power and bandwidth has got drastically cheaper in the last 5 years... So has the ability to easily, and dynamically, load js libs as and when they're needed. No need to load it on pages that don't have any mathjax content– ScottishTapWaterJan 11, 2023 at 18:39
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3To allow asking and editing with MathJax, they must include the library.– Shadow Wizard Love ZeldaJan 11, 2023 at 18:48
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@ShadowWizardChasingStars - Do they? It could be loaded as someone types the $$... Sounds more like they don't want to spend the time engineering it than anything. Which is valid don't get me wrong, but let's not pretend that it's a massive insurmountable thing and you just have to take the performance hit– ScottishTapWaterJan 11, 2023 at 19:26
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Are you tallking about this mathjax.org?– convertJan 11, 2023 at 20:21
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This is definitely a duplicate. It is just a matter of finding it.– This_is_NOT_a_forumJan 12, 2023 at 0:09
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Related: LaTeX on Stack Overflow, LaTeX on Stack Overflow for dummies, Stack Overflow should have LaTeX syntax highlighting, and Selectively enable MathJax.– This_is_NOT_a_forumJan 12, 2023 at 0:18
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There are sites which, for a good reason, really don't want any low quality mathjax renderings tex.meta.stackexchange.com/a/1273/36296– samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyzJan 12, 2023 at 9:14
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@samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz - MathJax doesn't render Latex inside code-blocks does it?– ScottishTapWaterJan 13, 2023 at 15:08
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@ScottishTapWater Will you personally teach each and every user how code blocks work so that no mathjax is rendered? Being able to see the source is also only part of the problem. Users seeing a different result on the site than in their real documents would be much more confusing.– samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyzJan 13, 2023 at 15:13
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@samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz - If you can figure out mathjax, you can figure out codeblocks...– ScottishTapWaterJan 16, 2023 at 9:57
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1 Answer
As mentioned in the answer to Which Stack Exchange sites use MathJax, one of the main driving reasons this isn't enabled on all sites and is instead enabled only on sites that seriously need it is due to performance reasons.
MathJax increases page load times drastically, so it's only supported on sites that have demonstrated a serious need for it.
I highly suspect that this feature request will be declined with this as the stated reason.
If you're a frequent visitor/contributor to a particular site that you feel would greatly benefit from having MathJax enabled on it, you should start up a discussion question on that site's Meta site, specifically requesting that it be enabled on your site. Matter Modelling did this a couple years ago, though they had the benefit of being a brand new site and thus the stated needs of the site were quickly being defined, but the process is the same. If it has wide enough community support, have a moderator of your site tag it with status-review so it's on the community managers' radar, then simply wait for them to switch the site setting for you.
