

Math Overflow (A StackExchange site for Maths) - swaroop
http://mathoverflow.net/
(via http://www.readwriteweb.com/readwritestart/2009/10/stackoverflow-shares-its-mojo.php)
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kurtosis
This is great but I must know: does stackexchange allow automatic rendering of
latex formulas like wordpress? If not then I think this one is going to have a
hard time taking off.

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swaroop
From <http://sbseminar.wordpress.com/2009/10/14/math-overflow/> :

> There’s currently no LaTeX support. Obviously, this is the top-priority
> feature. This definitely won’t be implemented until the Stack Exchange
> software is out of beta, but it will probably be implemented shortly
> thereafter. In the meantime, do your best. You’re welcome to type raw LaTeX,
> use basic html (e.g. &Omega; and x<sub>1</sub>), or whatever you would
> normally write in email.

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whye
This is a very neat idea, but the lack of support for latex, or any other way
to create mathematical expressions is a bit of a letdown.

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mr_dbr
[http://stackoverflow.com/questions/516406/latex-
equivalent-t...](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/516406/latex-equivalent-
to-google-chart-api) lists a bunch of possible options that would be rather
trivial to integrate (either a modified version of Markdown, or the editor)

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jackowayed
What is one's motivation to start a stackexchange site? Sure, you want to make
the obscure community you like better, but $130/mo is kind of a lot. Is there
any reasonable way to recoup the money?

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phsr
I've emailed FogCreek about this a few days ago, and they stated that Stack
Exchange is geared towards corporations currently, but they have been getting
a lot of emails about offering a lower cost versions for a more hobby centered
site (think photography). They do allow for custom HTML to be added into parts
of the site, so you could add ads to generate some revenue.

It's also worth noting that Stack Exchange is free during the beta period
(because they haven't implemented the code for fees, Joel had stated that in
one of the Stack Overflow podcasts)

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Quiark
* They do allow for custom HTML to be added into parts of the site*

But I suppose adding your own ads will be supported when it's out of beta?
Otherwise paying the price and having no way to generate revenue seems a
little useless...

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brg
Visiting for the first time I was sure to see more high school geometry and
first year calculus questions. I am delighted to see a much deeper discussion
taking place.

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mitko
For comparison with your competition look at

<http://www.mathlinks.ro/>

<http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/> (both sites point to the same forum)

They support LaTeX rendering and are already quite well known.

I wish you success. It will be cool to have something like HackerNews for math
only.

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carterschonwald
I'm inclined to think mathoverflow will be more researchy in character than
these other sites, which have a math competition tilt. (which means
mathoverflow has won me over)

Also, there are some pretty high powered math problem solvers who are active
on math overflow, eg reid barton:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reid_W._Barton> (one of the top performers in
the history of the putnam among other things)

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invisible
The odd thing is that they are paying for beta software (I assume) that has
features that link to incomplete pages. I don't get how that's acceptable to a
paying customer honestly.

See: <http://mathoverflow.net/issues>

Beyond that, this Math site is an awesome concept and exactly why they made
Stack Exchange.

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spolsky
stackexchange is free during beta.

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chrisbolt
Here's an idea: filterable categories for StackExchange, instead of a new site
every week.

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MicahWedemeyer
Allowing new sites with individual branding is how they make their $$

