Editing MathWorld

{{short description|Online mathematics reference work}}
{{primary sources|date=July 2017}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox website
| name = ''MathWorld''
| logo = MathWorld logo.png
| logocaption = 
| screenshot = 
| collapsible = 
| caption = 
| url = {{official URL}}
| company_type = [[Privately held company|Private]]
| location = 
| type = [[Internet encyclopedia project]]
| language = [[English language|English]]
| owner = [[Wolfram Research, Inc.]]
| author = [[Eric W. Weisstein]]<ref name="Making">{{cite journal |title=Making MathWorld |author=Eric Weisstein |journal=Mathematica Journal |volume=10 |issue=3 |year=2007 |url=http://www.mathematica-journal.com/issue/v10i3/MathWorld.html |access-date=2010-08-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709060020/http://www.mathematica-journal.com/issue/v10i3/MathWorld.html |archive-date=2012-07-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| launch_date = {{Start date and age|1999|11}}
| alexa = <!-- {{increase}} 7 ({{As of|February 2011}})<ref name="AlexaStats" /> -->
| current_status = Active
}}
'''''MathWorld''''' is an online [[mathematics]] reference work, created and largely written by [[Eric W. Weisstein]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wolfram MathWorld : the web's most extensive mathematics resource {{!}} WorldCat.org |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/68697264 |access-date=2023-03-28 |website=www.worldcat.org |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Making MathWorld « The Mathematica Journal |url=https://www.mathematica-journal.com/2007/08/06/making-mathworld/ |access-date=2023-03-28 |language=en-US}}</ref> It is sponsored by and licensed to [[Wolfram Research, Inc.]] and was partially funded by the [[National Science Foundation]]'s [[National Science Digital Library]] grant to the [[University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign]].<ref name=":0" />

==History==
[[Eric W. Weisstein]], the creator of the site, was a [[physics]] and [[astronomy]] student who got into the habit of writing notes on his mathematical readings.  In 1995 he put his notes online and called it "Eric's Treasure Trove of Mathematics." It contained hundreds of pages/articles, covering a wide range of mathematical topics. The site became popular as an extensive single resource on mathematics on the web. In 1998, he made a contract with [[CRC Press]] and the contents of the site were published in print and [[CD-ROM]] form, titled ''CRC Concise Encyclopedia of Mathematics''. The free online version became only partially accessible to the public. In 1999 Weisstein went to work for Wolfram Research, Inc. (WRI), and WRI renamed the Math Treasure Trove to ''MathWorld'' and hosted it on the company's website{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}} without access restrictions.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}

==CRC lawsuit==
In 2000, CRC Press sued [[Wolfram Research|Wolfram Research Inc. (WRI)]], WRI president [[Stephen Wolfram]], and author [[Eric W. Weisstein]], due to what they considered a breach of contract: that the ''MathWorld'' content was to remain in print only. The site was taken down by a court [[injunction]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=CRC Press, LLC v. Wolfram Research, Inc., 149 F. Supp. 2d 500 {{!}} Casetext Search + Citator |url=https://casetext.com/case/crc-press-llc-v-wolfram-research-inc |access-date=2023-03-28 |website=casetext.com}}</ref>

The case was settled out of court in late 2001, with WRI paying an unspecified<!--?--> amount and complying with other [[stipulation]]s.  Among these stipulations is the inclusion of a copyright notice at the bottom of the website and broad rights for the CRC Press to produce ''MathWorld'' in printed book form. In November 2001 site then became once again available free to the public.<ref name=History>[https://mathworld.wolfram.com/about/faq.html#history MathWorld Q&A: What is the history of MathWorld?] Wolfram MathWorld Last updated: Sat Apr 12 2025.</ref>  In 2008, the litigants reached an agreement to allow new edition of MathWorld to be printed.<ref name=History/>

This case made a wave of headlines in online publishing circles. The ''[[PlanetMath]]'' project was a result of MathWorld's being unavailable.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Corneli|first=Joseph|date=2011|title=The PlanetMath Encyclopedia|url=http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-767/paper-03.pdf|journal=ITP 2011 Workshop on Mathematical Wikis (MathWikis 2011) Nijmegen, Netherlands, August 27, 2011}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of online encyclopedias]]
*[[Wolfram Mathematica]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links==
* {{Official website}}
{{Wolfram Research}}

[[Category:Mathematics websites]]
[[Category:American educational websites]]
[[Category:American online encyclopedias]]
[[Category:Wolfram Research|Mathworld]]
[[Category:Encyclopedias of mathematics]]