01Met
Sidebar Chrome extension as the primary capture surface
The Chrome extension opens beside the page you are viewing, so you can capture and comment without leaving the source. The website offers the same publishing flow as an alternative.
Contest transparency
What the contest asked for—and where Annotated stands.
This page explains the original requirements in plain language: what works today, where we chose a better way to reach the same goal, what is saved for release, and what still needs discussion.
View the original contest requirements24
Met or improved
2
Postponed or pending
5
To be discussed
Shipping in the MVP
Met / improved
What already works, including choices that meet the goal of the brief in a safer or more useful way.
02Met
Use the current page or paste a source URL
The extension recognizes the page you are on and any text you selected. On the website, you can also start by pasting a source link.
03Met
Account creation and Google login
People can create an account with Google. Publishing is connected to a visible profile, while anyone can read public annotations without signing in.
04Met
X login
People can now sign in and create an account with X as well as Google. Both options lead back to the page they wanted to use.
05Met
News article and web-text annotation
Users can highlight text on a page, bring it into the extension, add commentary and publish it with source metadata.
06Met
Maximum 100-word text excerpt
A quoted passage can contain no more than 100 words, whether it is created from the extension or the website.
07Met
Select media start and end points
People choose the exact start and end of a video or podcast segment. The form catches reversed, impossible or overly long time ranges before publishing.
08Met
Maximum 90-second audio and video segment
Audio and video segments are limited to 90 seconds. Playback begins at the chosen start and stops at the chosen end.
09Improved
YouTube clipping and reduced-copy fair-use approach
Annotated uses the official YouTube player instead of copying and hosting the video. Viewers see the original source and channel, while playback is limited to the selected segment.
10Improved
YouTube transcript and playback context
The YouTube player keeps captions and familiar controls, and every annotation links back to the full video. Annotated does not republish the complete transcript.
11Improved
Podcast snippets
The extension recognizes Spotify podcast pages. The published annotation uses Spotify’s own player and limits playback to the selected segment.
12Improved
Required commentary in text or recorded audio
A post needs a real contribution: at least 10 words of written commentary or a recorded note of at least 10 seconds. Both options work on the website and in the extension.
13Met
Public annotation landing page with an intelligent URL
Every public annotation gets its own shareable page with a readable address, the selected excerpt or media segment, and the author’s commentary.
14Met
Always link and credit the original source
Each annotation clearly names the source and provides a prominent link back to the original page.
15Improved
Article screenshot support
People can capture only the relevant part of a page. Images are compressed and stored securely instead of copying an entire article page.
16Met
Visible ‘File a claim’ action
Every public annotation has a visible “File a claim” option where a rights holder or affected person can explain the problem.
17Improved
Fair-use claim adjudication
Claims appear in a private review area for @timo. Accepting a claim removes the annotation from public view; rejecting it records the decision and keeps the annotation available.
18Met
Annotations saved to each account
Every author has a profile and a personal library for public, unlisted, private and draft annotations.
19Met
Public homepage with the latest annotation feed
The homepage explains how to get the extension and shows the newest public annotations first.
20Met
Follow annotators and browse a following feed
People can follow authors and switch between the newest public posts and posts from people they follow.
21Met
Threaded discussion under an annotation
Signed-in readers can discuss an annotation directly below it, both in the feed and on its own page.
22Met
Positive community voting
The first release uses Likes as a simple positive signal. Like counts appear in the feed and on annotation pages.
23Met
Live public service
Annotated is live at annotated.ideasthatrank.com, with the website and account-based publishing flow available publicly.
24Improved
Sharing and access controls
Authors can also keep work private, share an unlisted link, save useful annotations and manage everything from their own library.
| # | What the contest asked for | Where we stand | What this means for users |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Sidebar Chrome extension as the primary capture surface | Met | The Chrome extension opens beside the page you are viewing, so you can capture and comment without leaving the source. The website offers the same publishing flow as an alternative. |
| 02 | Use the current page or paste a source URL | Met | The extension recognizes the page you are on and any text you selected. On the website, you can also start by pasting a source link. |
| 03 | Account creation and Google login | Met | People can create an account with Google. Publishing is connected to a visible profile, while anyone can read public annotations without signing in. |
| 04 | X login | Met | People can now sign in and create an account with X as well as Google. Both options lead back to the page they wanted to use. |
| 05 | News article and web-text annotation | Met | Users can highlight text on a page, bring it into the extension, add commentary and publish it with source metadata. |
| 06 | Maximum 100-word text excerpt | Met | A quoted passage can contain no more than 100 words, whether it is created from the extension or the website. |
| 07 | Select media start and end points | Met | People choose the exact start and end of a video or podcast segment. The form catches reversed, impossible or overly long time ranges before publishing. |
| 08 | Maximum 90-second audio and video segment | Met | Audio and video segments are limited to 90 seconds. Playback begins at the chosen start and stops at the chosen end. |
| 09 | YouTube clipping and reduced-copy fair-use approach | Improved | Annotated uses the official YouTube player instead of copying and hosting the video. Viewers see the original source and channel, while playback is limited to the selected segment. |
| 10 | YouTube transcript and playback context | Improved | The YouTube player keeps captions and familiar controls, and every annotation links back to the full video. Annotated does not republish the complete transcript. |
| 11 | Podcast snippets | Improved | The extension recognizes Spotify podcast pages. The published annotation uses Spotify’s own player and limits playback to the selected segment. |
| 12 | Required commentary in text or recorded audio | Improved | A post needs a real contribution: at least 10 words of written commentary or a recorded note of at least 10 seconds. Both options work on the website and in the extension. |
| 13 | Public annotation landing page with an intelligent URL | Met | Every public annotation gets its own shareable page with a readable address, the selected excerpt or media segment, and the author’s commentary. |
| 14 | Always link and credit the original source | Met | Each annotation clearly names the source and provides a prominent link back to the original page. |
| 15 | Article screenshot support | Improved | People can capture only the relevant part of a page. Images are compressed and stored securely instead of copying an entire article page. |
| 16 | Visible ‘File a claim’ action | Met | Every public annotation has a visible “File a claim” option where a rights holder or affected person can explain the problem. |
| 17 | Fair-use claim adjudication | Improved | Claims appear in a private review area for @timo. Accepting a claim removes the annotation from public view; rejecting it records the decision and keeps the annotation available. |
| 18 | Annotations saved to each account | Met | Every author has a profile and a personal library for public, unlisted, private and draft annotations. |
| 19 | Public homepage with the latest annotation feed | Met | The homepage explains how to get the extension and shows the newest public annotations first. |
| 20 | Follow annotators and browse a following feed | Met | People can follow authors and switch between the newest public posts and posts from people they follow. |
| 21 | Threaded discussion under an annotation | Met | Signed-in readers can discuss an annotation directly below it, both in the feed and on its own page. |
| 22 | Positive community voting | Met | The first release uses Likes as a simple positive signal. Like counts appear in the feed and on annotation pages. |
| 23 | Live public service | Met | Annotated is live at annotated.ideasthatrank.com, with the website and account-based publishing flow available publicly. |
| 24 | Sharing and access controls | Improved | Authors can also keep work private, share an unlisted link, save useful annotations and manage everything from their own library. |
Release dependencies
Postponed
Agreed work that belongs to the final release or needs dependable support from another platform.
01Postponed
Apple Podcasts bounded playback
Spotify is supported for the first release. Apple Podcasts can follow once we can reliably start and stop its player at the selected times.
02Pending Google review
Chrome extension live
The finished extension has been submitted to the Chrome Web Store. It will become publicly installable as soon as Google completes and approves its review.
| # | What the contest asked for | Where we stand | What this means for users |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Apple Podcasts bounded playback | Postponed | Spotify is supported for the first release. Apple Podcasts can follow once we can reliably start and stop its player at the selected times. |
| 02 | Chrome extension live | Pending Google review | The finished extension has been submitted to the Chrome Web Store. It will become publicly installable as soon as Google completes and approves its review. |
Deliberate product choices
To be discussed
Choices we want to make openly after seeing early feedback and community behavior.
01To be discussed
Anonymous annotation publishing
For now, publishing requires an account so posts, claims and moderation decisions stay connected to a real profile. Reading remains open to everyone.
02To be discussed
Chaining multiple excerpts from one article
Linking several excerpts could help with long articles or fact-checks. We will revisit it after feedback rather than make the first publishing flow harder to use.
03To be discussed
Up/down voting
The first release uses Likes only. Before adding downvotes, we should learn whether they improve discovery or mainly encourage pile-ons and disagreement voting.
04To be discussed
Most-annotated media leaderboard
A leaderboard could help people discover active topics, but only if the number of annotations proves to be a useful signal rather than an incentive to create noise.
05To be discussed
How community content should be moderated
Rights claims already have a review process. Before the community grows, we should agree how people report harassment, hate, misinformation, spam and other abuse; who reviews reports; when content is hidden or removed; and how authors can appeal a decision.
| # | What the contest asked for | Where we stand | What this means for users |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Anonymous annotation publishing | To be discussed | For now, publishing requires an account so posts, claims and moderation decisions stay connected to a real profile. Reading remains open to everyone. |
| 02 | Chaining multiple excerpts from one article | To be discussed | Linking several excerpts could help with long articles or fact-checks. We will revisit it after feedback rather than make the first publishing flow harder to use. |
| 03 | Up/down voting | To be discussed | The first release uses Likes only. Before adding downvotes, we should learn whether they improve discovery or mainly encourage pile-ons and disagreement voting. |
| 04 | Most-annotated media leaderboard | To be discussed | A leaderboard could help people discover active topics, but only if the number of annotations proves to be a useful signal rather than an incentive to create noise. |
| 05 | How community content should be moderated | To be discussed | Rights claims already have a review process. Before the community grows, we should agree how people report harassment, hate, misinformation, spam and other abuse; who reviews reports; when content is hidden or removed; and how authors can appeal a decision. |
31 decisions, published for accountability.
The 90-second and 100-word limits are product guardrails, not automatic legal safe harbors. Annotated also requires meaningful commentary, attribution, a direct source link and a visible rights-claim process.