Adding citations in posts with a superscript (little raised numbers).

Is there a way to add superscript (the little raised numbers) in threads or posts for the purpose of citations? If there isn't, is there anyway to request it (maybe "[c][/c]" tags)?

I'm used to adding citations in my writings and essays with those little numbers, called a superscript. It would seem that people are less likely to follow up on information when the citations are just a bunch of links on the bottom of the post, without reference to what the links refer to. It also seems to distract from the information presented in the thread, when you are constantly adding sourced links after everything you back up through citations.

If there isn't already a way to do it, I believe that it would greatly benefit the content of this site and make it much easier for authors to add informative and efficient contributions. With the ability to add citations to our posts with superscript numbers (just like wikipedia), it would also allow the reader to further explore whatever may interest them, without distracting from the intended message of the post or thread. It also cleans up the post/thread and makes it much more readable, not to mention informative and efficient.

--airspoon

That sounds like a pretty good idea...
Having the option would suit different styles of writer..and readers.

Like this?

2²

I just went to google and copied the superscript and then pasted it...I know, it doesn't help, but it took all of 5 seconds.

reply to post by Aggie Man


Hey, at least that's a start! It would be even cooler to get some tags, though even anything other than cutting and pasting.

--airspoon

You can use the ASCII table and hold ALT and press the ASCII number into the NUMBER PAD (it has to be the numberpad, not the keys across the top of your keyboard) and you'll get any of the 255 numbers including some superscript numbers.

For instance 253 is for ², so to get ² I hold down ALT and then press 253 on the numpad and let go.

Alternatively, if you are using Windows, you can just use the Character Map (START > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Character Map. Character Map lets you copy and paste it and it also gives you the ASCII number.



[edit on 6-8-2010 by Zaxxon]

wrong thread.


[edit on 6-8-2010 by LadySkadi]

I don't know if this is any help but this is what I do when I need a citation in a paragraph (1). It might not be as perfect as a specialized coded reference notation (2) but it works until/unless something better comes along. Sometimes I also put asterisk links at the end of a sentence when I want to back up a fact I am stating (*).

This¹ is quite² possible.³

Just use⁴ Unicode⁵ superscript⁶ characters⁷ within⁸ the url⁹ tag.¹⁰

reply to post by Ian McLean


I'm stealing that from you! You're the best. So much prettier and cleaner than links and paragraphs.

Originally posted by airspoon
anything other than cutting and pasting

I wonder if I should have cited my source....you know...since I copy and pasted it.

reply to post by Ian McLean


How did you do that?

Funny you ask this, I posted the day before yesterday (or so) a similar question in Computer Help in BTS, but my concern was separating superscript with a comma ... in other words, I wanted to know how to do a supertext comma. I figured out how to do it in the application I'm using, but I asked about doing it on ATS, too. ArMaP suggested it was difficult and limited to 1, 2, 3 ... which must not be the case thanks to Ian. I tried to copy/paste the supertext comma into ATS ... fail.

BTS - Supertext Comma

[edit on Aug 06, 2010 by Hadrian]

reply to post by Hadrian


The superscript numbers 1, 2, and 3 are in a different Unicode block than the other numbers, and are more reliably implemented across fonts.

In my browser (Firefox on a Mac), Ian's 6 and 9 are italicized, and the 0 in 10 looks more like a theta.

reply to post by americandingbat


Hmm, interesting. I'm Safari on a Mac and the only thing in his post screwy for me was the 1 and 0 in the 10 were not level with each other.

reply to post by Cambion


Copying and pasting the unicode characters is really pretty much the easiest way. The characters exist in two ranges in Unicode: at U+00B2 for 1,2,3, and U+2070 for the remaining digits:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/af8477a78909.png[/atsimg]

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/cb23690d2c35.png[/atsimg]


If you're using Windows, you can use "Character Map", check the "Advanced view", and search for "superscript" to find them:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/9207ff4fca5a.png[/atsimg]

Then just paste them in a URL tag, eg:

Like this[url=http://www.google.com]¹[/url]

reply to post by Ian McLean


Thanks ²

Did that work??

[edit on 6-8-2010 by Cambion]

[edit on 6-8-2010 by Cambion]

Originally posted by Ian McLean
This¹ is quite² possible.³

Just use⁴ Unicode⁵ superscript⁶ characters⁷ within⁸ the url⁹ tag.¹⁰

Good call. I didn't even know there was a shortcut for Unicode, but it turns out there is. For instance pressing ALT + X and then the Unicode Hex works for the most part. Though anything above 9 (A-F) in hex pops my menus on my browser up.

reply to post by americandingbat


Apparently, the browser makers didn't thought about superscript characters when they made their browsers, so in some browsers (Firefox and Safari) the more closed characters (0, 6 and 9) look ugly.

But it works!

Now we only need the possibility of including links inside our own posts.

reply to post by ArMaP


Well, theoretically, you could make a post¹ with footnote references²

[edit on Aug 07, 2010 by Hadrian]

reply to post by ArMaP


¹ and then do a follow-up post
² with the actual footnotes

Though obviously you can't hyperlink to the specific location of the reference, you can at least refer back to the post with it.

I suppose you could break up a "scholarly" thread into many posts to make the footnoting more applicable.

But I guess it's all a bit much for ATS. And, at least for me, like you originally said ArMaP, it is a freaking chore.

And, of course, everything opens in new windows which is lame.

[edit on Aug 07, 2010 by Hadrian]