Unanchored annotations, previously called Orphans, are annotations that are no longer attached to the text they were originally linked to.
When is an annotation categorized as unanchored?
Unable to locate original text on web pages
Annotations become Unanchored when the text in a web page changes and Hypothesis can no longer locate the original text that was selected when creating the annotation. When this occurs, your annotation isn’t deleted or hidden, it’s simply moved to a category called “Unanchored.” The original anchor text will still appear on the annotation card, but it will be shown with a strikethrough.
Deleted or Hidden Top-level Annotation
Unanchored annotations can also happen when a top-level annotation is deleted or hidden, but its replies still exist. In this case, those replies are categorized as unanchored because their original parent annotation is no longer able to be displayed. The deleted or hidden annotation is replaced with the placeholder text “Message not available.” Since the top level annotation was the object that stored the anchor text, the replies are no longer able to be placed in the correct location.
Other Hidden Annotations
If an annotation in the middle of a thread is deleted or hidden, Hypothesis will still display the rest of the thread. The missing annotation will be replaced with the placeholder text “Message not available.” The annotation will still be categorized as Annotations and not Unanchored.
