Q. Dear CMOS, I am puzzled by what appears to me as an inconsistency in your demonstration of footnote style with author-date system. The example in CMOS 13.128 demonstrates a footnote that is clearly indented. However, the text sample for figure 13.13 shows a footnote whose first line is not indented. Can you please tell me what is correct format for this issue?
A. CMOS doesn’t specify a style for indenting notes, although endnotes are almost always indented (as in fig. 13.2), as opposed to footnotes, which aren’t always (as in fig. 13.13 or in this manual; see, e.g., the footnote to paragraph 1.63). This is usually not an editorial decision, but rather a design decision, so it’s not something editors should mark. Proofreaders should mark it only if they notice an inconsistency.