h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have footnotes which are intended to refer to an entire sentence, rather than a single word. The sentence states a fact which is relevant to the entry, but the footnote goes on to say something interesting, but perhaps slightly outside the scope of the paragraph in which the sentence appears. Should this footnote, then, appear within the punctuation at the end of the sentence, or outside it?

-N.

Purists might argue that the footnote should always appear withing the punctuation, but others might say that this looks silly, and suggest that an asterisk or supertext numeral would look better outside of a full stop - and still not be misunderstood*. This would apply whether your note referred to one word or the whole sentence; the sense of the note would make that issue clear.*

*See what I mean?

My currently-working-on-her-thesis wife assures me that inside the punctuation is the stylisticly correct place for superscripted numerals, regardless of semantics and arguments of logic or aesthetics. (I suppose it ultimately depends on the style guide being used.) Currently, my submitted articles are about half-and-half, since I arrested revision to consider the point. I think, though, I will go ahead and change them all...

-N.

Technically, She cannot be challenged. But whether you opt for "correct" or "relaxed" (Fowler would shoot me!), you must be consistent. So yes, change 'em!!

Well, I'm consistent within individual entries. Does that count? And if I do all the editing, then what will the (Sub-)Editors have to do?

-N.

Shh!
Never say anything that may upset a sub-editor.
They are EVERYwhere!

Especially on a page devoted to the Sub-editors...

I think I probably speak for all the sub-editors when I say that we are more than happy when we see an entry where the person has edited it well themselves. We do enjoy the work, but it makes it a lot easier when people have read (and followed) the guidelines before we get the entries.

If you think we want lots of work, I can assure you there's nothing we hate more than an entry that's obviously the output of frontpage express or something, and has hideous HTML that needs to be labouriously stripped out!

Is it just me who finds the lack of links with the footnotes really annoying? I'd like to be able to click on the '1' and get transferred down to the bottom instantly, rather than spending half my time scrolling the entry up and down.
I'm sure the editors have a footnote fetish....

Yup - I suggested this a while back. It is on the books. Somewhere. Sometime...

Actually, I might be able to put in another word about it...