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Discussing a writeup inline#

A published result often needs a conversation before it needs another revision. Hypothesis adds that conversation directly to a demolab web page: select a passage, attach a comment, and reply in a shared thread. The annotation stays outside the scientific record, while the experiment, figures, and PDF remain reproducible and unchanged.

This page is itself an example. Its meta block contains annotations: "hypothesis", so the Hypothesis control appears at the right edge of the web edition. Select this sentence and attach a private note to test the complete path.

Set up a private reading group#

1. Create free Hypothesis accounts for each collaborator.
2. Create a private group, then send its invitation link to the people who should read and reply.
3. Open an annotated demolab page, sign in through the sidebar, and select that private group before posting. The public layer is a different destination; check the group name on every new top-level comment when the discussion must remain private.

Replies form a thread beneath the selected passage. Hypothesis also supports page notes for comments about the whole experiment and LaTeX between double dollar signs for mathematical discussion.

Enable annotations#

To annotate every article and experiment, add one field to the root demolab.yaml:

annotations: hypothesis

To enable only selected entries, omit the root field and add the provider to a writing’s metadata instead:

#let meta = (
  title: "A result to review",
  date: "2026-08-07",
  annotations: "hypothesis",
)

Entry metadata wins over the lab setting. Set annotations: none on one entry to keep it unannotated when the rest of the lab has Hypothesis enabled.

What gets published#

The setting adds the hosted Hypothesis client to web entry pages only. It does not add scripts to the homepage, collection listings, standalone PDFs, or the combined book. Comments and group membership live in Hypothesis rather than the git repository, so rebuilding the site does not publish a private discussion or alter a recorded result.

An annotation targets the page URL and records several descriptions of the selected text. Small layout changes and unrelated edits usually leave it attached. Moving the page to another URL, deleting the selected passage, or substantially rewriting its context can orphan it. Keep entry IDs stable and resolve important review comments before replacing the prose they target.

Operational boundary#

This option loads JavaScript from hypothes.is and sends annotation content to the Hypothesis service. That is an intentional external dependency, not part of demolab’s committed research record. Do not enable it for material whose hosting or data policy forbids that service. Review Hypothesis privacy information with your collaborators before using it for sensitive or unpublished work.