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The news that MathJax CDN shutting down on April 30, 2017 was recently brought to my attention. I have updated ChatJax to use the alternate server given in the MathJax post. It seems to work well, but if StackExchange is going to host a local copy to use with the sites that support MathJax, I will update ChatJax to use that server instead.

Have any SE developers seen this news, and if so, what are the SE plans for continued support of MathJax?

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    $\begingroup$ Stackoverflow devs were naturally the first to hear from us at MathJax on this matter. $\endgroup$
    – Peter Krautzberger
    Apr 1, 2017 at 17:22
  • $\begingroup$ Would you mind posting this (instead or in addition) on the main meta? By now quite a number of SE sites use MathJax, and this is thus more widely important issue. $\endgroup$
    – quid Mod
    Apr 1, 2017 at 17:23
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    $\begingroup$ @quid: I have reposted this here. $\endgroup$
    – robjohn Mod
    Apr 1, 2017 at 18:00

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We are aware of the shutdown. We are looking at alternatives including self hosting and cdnjs. I'm sad to see this wonderful service provided the MathJax Consortium cannot be maintained by CloudFlare at a reduced rate.

UPDATE: I have switched MathJax over to using cdnjs.cloudflare.com here on meta for testing, like so:

If $f(x) = e^{-x^2}$, then $f'(x) = -2x \, e^{-x^2}$ and $$\int_{0}^{\infty} f(x) \, dx = \frac{1}{2}\sqrt{\pi}.$$

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  • $\begingroup$ I agree! One would think that with the benefit MathJax provides to the online scientific community, the kharma alone would be worth it, not to mention the good will generated toward CloudFlare. $\endgroup$
    – robjohn Mod
    Apr 4, 2017 at 8:20
  • $\begingroup$ What does "reduced rate" mean here? As far as I know, the cdnjs.com is free. $\endgroup$
    – Mark McClure
    Apr 4, 2017 at 16:42
  • $\begingroup$ @Mark, apparently CloudFlare is raising its rates, which the MathJax consortium can no longer afford. $\endgroup$
    – J. M. ain't a mathematician
    Apr 4, 2017 at 16:49
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    $\begingroup$ @robjohn What fraction of the MathJax-using community was aware that it was hosted by CloudFlare? From a practical perspective, actions don't generate goodwill if people never hear about it. $\endgroup$
    – E.P.
    Apr 4, 2017 at 17:00
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    $\begingroup$ I have also updated the ChatJax bookmarklets to use the same CDN. $\endgroup$
    – robjohn Mod
    Apr 11, 2017 at 15:52
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    $\begingroup$ As a user of NoScript, I have to point out that enabling MathJax now seems to require whitelisting cdnjs.cloudflare.com which is way too broad for my taste. $\endgroup$
    – ccorn
    Apr 13, 2017 at 12:36

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