[General] The use of footnotes

[nigele2]

I would appreciate any views on the following:

Are there any rules relating to the use of footnotes in literature?

I see them frequently pointing to a referenced work, or to give more information relating to a real person.

I assume the objective of the author is often not to break the train of thought of the majority of readers, while equally making additional information available to those who might be interested.

For example, would eyebrows be raised if I wrote:

Professor Sykes said “It’s all down to the stultifying [[SUB]1[/SUB]] conformity of provincial life”.
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[SUB]
1 [/SUB]stultifying - causing to lose enthusiasm and initiative, especially as a result of a tedious or restrictive routine.

 

[Raymott]

I'd wonder why you're using subscripts rather than superscripts. Otherwise I can't see a problem.

Professor Sykes said “It’s all down to the stultifying[SUP]1[/SUP] conformity of provincial life”.
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...
[SUP]
1[/SUP]stultifying - causing to lose enthusiasm and initiative, especially as a result of a tedious or restrictive routine.