View Poll Results: Should we add LaTeX support to the forum?

Voters
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  • Yes

    7 38.89%
  • No

    9 50.00%
  • I don't know what LaTeX is, but Yes!

    2 11.11%

Thread: LaTeX

  1. #16
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    > It doesn't need much if any changes to the board

    actually that was just pure speculation.

  2. #17
    Banned master5001's Avatar
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    Agreed. As Daved pointed out though, it seems like a rather low priority addition to the site. Nevertheless when people start up with new ideas some of the old bugs miraculously start getting fixed up. Which really would be a miracle in this case because the server has so many users, threads and posts, its volatile to start tempting fate.

  3. #18
    Devil's Advocate SlyMaelstrom's Avatar
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    I am generally not a fan of adding hacks to a forum unless extremely necessary. They almost always lead to more vulnerabilities and a greater risk for the forum getting hacked (as it has in the past). How much would we be using LaTeX in this forum that it's worth the risk of making the board less secure?
    Sent from my iPad®

  4. #19
    Banned master5001's Avatar
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    Jesus, Mr. Wet Blanket, you make everything sound like such a bummer. Its not a terribly important thing. Its just something that is very handy to have in those instances where it might be helpful. Such as explaining an equation.

  5. #20
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    Can anybody point out a thread where using Latex or Unicode would have been really useful?

  6. #21
    Devil's Advocate SlyMaelstrom's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by robwhit View Post
    Can anybody point out a thread where using Latex or Unicode would have been really useful?
    I couldn't... but I'm not exactly Rainman with the posts on this forum ("Definitely thread #21452... definitely").

    I personally would rank the need for a LaTeX hack on a programming forum lower than average. I mean... most of us know how to program here... in one or more of the languages specific to the forum. Most mathematical concepts can be explained through code more clearly to a broader audience than I think LaTeX even could.

    I'm not against LaTeX... it serves a good purpose in the right audience but I think on this forum it wouldn't amount to anything more than a fashion accessory.

    Excuse my bluntness and pessimism.
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  7. #22
    Banned master5001's Avatar
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    108311 Definitely 108311....

    I should have worded the No more ambiguously too... just like the "What is LaTeX"

  8. #23
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    Lol... Moderator, can you change "No" to "No, I have no problem with LaTeX"

    Thanks in advance.

    -Matt

  9. #24
    Lurking whiteflags's Avatar
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    And the last example of a math question was likely this and that was almost two months ago. Nobody seemed confused by the answer. I will now wait for master5001 to find the most obscure and ugly thread just to spite me in jest.

    If we discussed math more often, then my answer is a resounding maybe, but we don't. This isn't the most off the wall suggestion either, so I'm gonna thank him for trying.

    Seems like everything that could have been said, has been said, though.

  10. #25
    Devil's Advocate SlyMaelstrom's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by master5001 View Post
    Lol... Moderator, can you change "No" to "No, I have no problem with LaTeX"
    I suppose that would help any reader who's attention span is too short to read the thread beyond the poll itself. Maybe we should also change "Yes" to "Yes... security, schm-ecurity! I want fancy symbols!"
    Last edited by SlyMaelstrom; 10-20-2008 at 07:53 PM.
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  11. #26
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    Lol! That sounds like a fair trade.

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by citizen View Post
    And the last example of a math question was likely this and that was almost two months ago. Nobody seemed confused by the answer. I will now wait for master5001 to find the most obscure and ugly thread just to spite me in jest.

    If we discussed math more often, then my answer is a resounding maybe, but we don't. This isn't the most off the wall suggestion either, so I'm gonna thank him for trying.

    Seems like everything that could have been said, has been said, though.
    Just you wait and see what I can dig up when I don't have class in a few minutes. Mark my words it will be good. In fact, I can promise you one whether I find it in the dregs of a 7 year old thread OR I have to write it myself.

  13. #28
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    >> I have to write it myself.

    Wouldn't that kinda be cheating since it was non-existent prior to the creation of this poll.

  14. #29
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    I vote NO!
    ... oops. I wanted to say, yes.
    Damn democracy!
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  15. #30
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    >> If we discussed math more often, then my answer is a resounding maybe, but we don't. This isn't the most off the wall suggestion either, so I'm gonna thank him for trying. <<

    That was a precious gem you dug up there, Citizen.

    Well I came up dry searching through all 102,694 posts currently on the boards... I mean nothing that really seems to truly demand it. Did it ever occur to anyone that perhaps we don't do a lot of mathematical discussion because we completely lack LaTeX and therefore can't?

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