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A new rule has been implemented to prevent Google from indexing threads with zero replies, aiming to enhance the quality of content shown in search results. A list of 500 such threads, primarily homework help requests, has been compiled, and community members are encouraged to respond to these threads to make them indexable again. Concerns were raised about the age of many threads, with suggestions to delete those older than a year without responses to focus on more relevant content. The discussion also touched on the potential for using tags to improve thread categorization and indexing. Overall, the initiative seeks to boost engagement and attract new members by revitalizing older threads with helpful replies.
  • #101
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  • #102
Astronuc said:
That's what I had in mind.
Yeah linking to a relevant Insight is a good idea and easy!
 
  • #103
@Greg Bernhardt
Just curious. How many unanswered threads are there now?
 
  • #106
I posted replies to two more threads. It's slim pickings, though ##~\dots##
 
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  • #107
kuruman said:
It's slim pickings, though
That's a good thing.
 
  • #108
And I checked two posts that had been answered by someone else :oldbiggrin:
 
  • #111
I did my first one today, hurray.

I would be happy to try to do some of the Matlab ones, but I haven't done it in a while and I don't have access to Matlab so can't play around to remember how it all fits together.
 
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  • #112
I did one too :-)
 
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  • #113
I looked at the links on your spreadsheet. I am willing to help.

Edit - I've done 2 so far :smile:
 
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  • #114
Hi @Greg Bernhardt

Something is awry with the links in your spreadsheet. I did some, earlier today. Now when I click one, it goes to a completely different question.

For example: row 51 Jet Fire Calculations. The link in the spreadsheet is: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/.440899 but this points to something completely different.

I was able to do a search and find this -
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/jet-fire-calculations.282233/
I was hoping maybe the rows got shifted or something, but I cannot find 282233 in your spreadsheet.

David Scott
 
  • #115
scottdave said:
Something is awry with the links in your spreadsheet. I did some, earlier today. Now when I click one, it goes to a completely different question.
Someone did what I did awhile back and sorted the table on column E. I restored a version from earlier today where the links still matched up with the subjects.
 
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  • #116
Greg Bernhardt said:
MathHelpBoards.com (MHB) has merged with PF!
.. and brought a load more unanswered threads with it. Quite a different style to the answers on MHB too (explicit answers to homework-style quesitons, some of which have ended up in non-homework topics).
 
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  • #117
pbuk said:
.. and brought a load more unanswered threads with it. Quite a different style to the answers on MHB too (explicit answers to homework-style quesitons, some of which have ended up in non-homework topics).
It's messy for sure, but we'll get it figured out
 
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  • #118
7 down, n - 7 to go but I'm done for a while. Looks like we've picked up some "characters" as well as posts, which is to be expected I suppose.
 
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  • #119
I did another one. It would help if you could do a global RegExp replace on ## \LaTeX ## tags on the imported posts - or perhaps you are already doing this, we just need to wait for it to work through them all.
 
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  • #120
pbuk said:
I did another one. It would help if you could do a global RegExp replace on ## \LaTeX ## tags on the imported posts - or perhaps you are already doing this, we just need to wait for it to work through them all.
Maybe you can help with this issue. I can't get single quotes and other tags types MHB was using to render. We are using this config for mathjax config. I have reached out to mathjax dev but nothing yet.

https://www.physicsforums.com/check-for-tex.js

Java:
(function () {
  var body = document.body.textContent;
  if (body.match(/(\$\$|##|\[tex\]|\[itex\]|\[math\]|\$|\()/)) {
    if (!window.MathJax) {
      window.MathJax = {
  loader: {
    load: ["ui/lazy"],
    source: {
      "ui/lazy": "https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/lazy.js"
    }
  },
  tex: {
    inlineMath: [
      ["[itex]", "[/itex]"],
      ["##", "##"],
      ['$','$'],
      ["\\(","\\)"],
      ["\(","\)"]
    ],
    displayMath: [
      ["[tex]", "[/tex]"],
      ["$$", "$$"],
      ["[math]","[/math]"],
      ["\\\[","\\\]"]
     
    ],
    processEscapes: true,
    macros: {
      href: "{}"
    },
    tags: "ams",
    autoload: {
      color: [],
      colorv2: ["color"]
    }
  },
  options: {
    skipHtmlTags: ["script", "noscript", "style", "textarea", "pre", "code"],
    ignoreHtmlClass: "tex2jax_ignore|dno",
    processHtmlClass: "tex2jax_process"
  }
};
    }
    var script = document.createElement("script");
    script.src = "https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/mathjax@3/es5/tex-chtml.js";
    script.async = true;
    document.head.appendChild(script);
  }
})();
 
  • #121
Do I have to report you for not using the [code=javascript] tag?
 
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  • #122
pbuk said:
Do I have to report you for not using the [code=javascript] tag?
Solved. We are generous to first-time delinquents.
 
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  • #123
Ah OK, that's the other way to do it (with the potential problems around "It was $100 but I got $10 off" etc.), although personally I would have gone for a one-off rewrite rather than a permanent run-time hack.

But I'm not getting that file, even with a cache flush. I'm getting
JavaScript:
  tex: {
    inlineMath: [
      ["[itex]","[/itex]"],
      ["##","##"],
    ],
    displayMath: [
      ["[tex]","[/tex]"],
      ["$$","$$"],
      ['$','$'],
      ["[math]","[/math]"],
    ],
  },
... and I can confirm that it is working on the imported posts as expected according to that configuration, guess you may have to cache invalidate the new file for it to reach me at a UK endpoint.
 
  • #124
Ah ok, so many cache platforms here. I purged Cloudflare, but it must still be in Litespeed cache. Let me see if I can flush that. But even still, it should render the single quotes as newline math.
 
  • #125
Do I understand correctly that there was a "Challenge" topic in MHB? Perhaps unsurprisingly this may have generated a lot of poor quality content similar to this fictitious example:
ASmartArse said:
Prove the Peano axioms using only the Reimann Hypothesis and the Goldbach Conjecture.
There seem to be quite a few unanswered posts like this, can we deal with them en masse somehow? Or perhaps it is a matter of a few individuals e.g. @topsquark and @solakis1?
 
  • #126
Correct, they had a challenges and puzzle forum. It may also just be that they had a lot of unanswered threads. This is a good opportunity to draw them into PF.
 
  • #127
The file finally has been updated and I'm seeing some improvement.
 
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  • #128
Greg Bernhardt said:
The file finally has been updated and I'm seeing some improvement.
Still having an issue rendering the backslash parenthesis
 
  • #129
Greg Bernhardt said:
Still having an issue rendering the backslash parenthesis
I noticed the front end editor replaces \ with <span>\</span> so you can't enter a new \( or \[, but I can see no reason why it shouldn't work with an existing one.
 
  • #130
Couldn't get the checkboxes working, but I added a response here. Seemed like a topic that could still be good general interest even if OP is long gone (which they likely are, given the age of the thread).
 
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  • #132
I answered one from 2010. Took me back. It did seem irrelevant whether there was a reply or not.
 
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  • #133
osilmag said:
I answered one from 2010. Took me back. It did seem irrelevant whether there was a reply or not.
It’s always relevant thanks!
 
  • #135
Incredible work everyone, down to 89!
google sheet

Don't worry, next week I'll be refreshing the sheet with high-value MHB threads we need a reply for. :smile:
 
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  • #136
Ok, I added a tab for MHB threads without a reply that have high view counts. Let's see if we can whittle these down like the previous tab.

Google sheet
 
  • #137
Greg Bernhardt said:
Ok, I added a tab for MFB threads without a reply that have high view counts. Let's see if we can whittle these down like the previous tab.

Google sheet
I hope he gets the order. :cool:
 
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  • #138
This thread:
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/full-beamer-presentation-coded-in-latex.1038438/
I don't think it serves any useful purpose. I mean, somebody is giving their source code for a beamer presentation without anything else. Maybe delete it?

Edit:
And this one too: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/latex-code-for-some-particular-differential-inequalities-and-their-proofs.1038434/
 
  • #139
Some of these threads appear to be someone doing a student's homework for them. They don't really need a reply.
 
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  • #140
Feel free to report any that you think require deletion, thanks!
 
  • #141
Greg Bernhardt said:
Feel free to report any that you think require deletion, thanks!
I am doing that, with a prefix "[Old MHB threads]" so that the mentors are not confused.
 
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  • #142
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  • #143
Greg Bernhardt said:
Feel free to report any that you think require deletion, thanks!
It looks like anything posted under the username Prove It could go. Alternatively, we could just edit the threads to keep the answer, so students could check their answers but still have to work it out themselves.
 
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  • #144
What happened here? No links.

1662237699449.png
 
  • #146
Threads with the title "<x>'s question via email/<something else> about <y>" are all probably by user Prove It, and can be locked. The proofs may be useful to future visitors, but there is nothing to be replied to.
 
  • #147
Wrichik Basu said:
Threads with the title "<x>'s question via email/<something else> about <y>" are all probably by user Prove It, and can be locked. The proofs may be useful to future visitors, but there is nothing to be replied to.
They seem to get a lot of views, so we'll keep them for now
 
  • #148
Greg Bernhardt said:
They seem to get a lot of views, so we'll keep them for now
Definitely keep them, but you probably can lock them. They don't need a reply. Any visitor can start a new thread and reference to the old thread for any further questions.
 
  • #149
Yes, it seems a bit pointless if "correct" is essentially all you can add. This is also sometimes the case in our usual homework threads. In all such cases, I try to add some additional information: wiki pages to read, the theory it belongs to, or some historical remarks. More because I feel stupid just saying "correct" than because of the OP.
 
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