On 29/09/06, Delirium delirium@hackish.org wrote:
Footnotes make sense when a specific claim should be attributed to a specific source, especially if it's controversial. Interestingly, this is standard style in most of the technical articles, maybe because the pedants know not to poke their head in there. Most good mathematics articles contain a footnote-free exposition of the subject, with some references at the end, and footnotes only to point out where authorities disagree, where there's a significant minority view, or to point to particularly notable proofs.
Depends. I've learnt to use defensive inline references in articles on recent technology because people will argue over *anything* ;-) Mind you, that's more a specialised variety of current-events article.
- d.