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+---
+id: 2026-05-20T12:23:54-0400
+title: 2026-05-20 12:23:54
+tags: []
+daily: "[[2026-05-20]]"
+---
+# 2026-05-20 12:23:54
+
+## Footnotes as Sidenotes for Obsidian
+
+I've recently switched to using
+`Editor > Display > Readable Line Length`
+and have been enjoying the change,
+however I'm left with a lot of real estate in the viewport.
+
+An unrelated problem,
+I really don't love using the reading view and find it difficult to recommend
+because it puts `[^n]` style footnotes at the bottom of the page.
+I use footnotes liberally to include extra context
+and information that interests me
+while still maintaining a strong central narrative
+which only includes what is strictly necessary to understand the subject.
+
+My favorite way to present such asides
+is in the margin, right next to the reference.[^1]
+While the [[obsidian]] core plugin Footnotes View
+can almost emulate the desired appearance,
+the text is redundant when in the editing view.
+
+[^1]: See [My hobby: running deranged surveys --- LessWrong](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/fQz6afpcZhdMdYzgE/my-hobby-running-deranged-surveys).
+
+No existing community plugin implements the desired behavior.
+Cornell Marginalia is close,
+but it uses new syntax rather than footnotes
+and is bloated, buggy, and not fully translated.
+Eventually I should take a crack at it.
+
+### Resources
+
+* [Sidenotes In Web Design · Gwern.net](https://gwern.net/sidenote)
+* [Implementing Pure CSS Sidenotes for a Blog • Hey!👏Lyle!](https://heylyle.com/en/posts/only-css-sidenotes/)
+* [What HTML element for semantic sidenotes? --- Stack Overflow](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/57272564/what-html-element-for-semantic-sidenotes)