\setupinteraction[state=start]

\setupnotation[footnote][interaction=yes,way=bytext]

\setupnotation[footnote][split=verystrict] 

\starttext

\dorecurse{50}{some text\footnote{a footnote} }

\stoptext

the call for note 42 and the note itself are on different pages. I realize that this may be an extreme case, but, regrettably, that is what I have in a review that I am typesetting.

Alan