When a dagger is used to indicate a note, must it come after an asterisk?
Solution 1:
The dagger (also known as an obelisk) is properly used for the second footnote. The asterisk is for the first, and the double dagger is for the third. This is supported by several websites:
- Wikipedia
- Typography.com
- Grammar Girl
- Almost all of the Google search results indicate that the dagger is to be used second.
And so on. The general consensus is that the asterisk is first, the dagger is second, and the double dagger is third. I give him a 9.
Edit: I looked at the Chicago Manual of Style Online, and they gave this information:
Where symbols are used, the sequence is as follows:
- * (asterisk; but do not use if p values occur in the table; see 3.78)
- † (dagger)
- ‡ (double dagger)
- § (section mark)
- || (parallels)
- # (number sign, or pound)
Solution 2:
Grammar Girl offers the same advice, citing Chicago Manual of Style. She writes:
You use the symbols in a specific order that starts with the asterisk and then continues with the dagger, double dagger, section mark, parallels, and number sign. If you need more symbols, you start over in the sequence and double each symbol; for example, double asterisk, double dagger, double double dagger, etcetera.
Chicago Manual is pretty much a ten on your scale.
Solution 3:
While I generally agree with the other answers I think you have to take the context of your writing into consideration. For instance, while writing about computer related topics asterisk tends to have special meaning. Similarly parallels looks very much like two pipes, which also has special meaning.
Solution 4:
LaTeX's \@fnsymbol specifies asterisk, dagger, double-dagger, section, pilcrow, double-bar, double-asterisk, two daggers, and two double-daggers; which is close to CMoS.
I was taught (at the London College of Printing) that numbered footnotes should be used (a) when there are several per page and their usage is systematic; (b) where there is a need for cross-reference between them; or (c) where there is a need for other writers to refer to them (this covers practically all academic, research, and technical writing). Use symbols only when there are very few footnotes and when there is no reason to number them for reference.