Everyone should use mozilla and just middle click to open a new tab. It would make the world a better place ;-)

Definately don't open a new window by default though, let the user choose if they want to do that, don't force them.

Agreed, Mozilla's middle click it the dogs b*llocks (that's good by the way :-). Although mine is configured to open a new window rather than a new tab - that whole Multi Document Interface thing was a failed experiment.

I disagree.

The purpose is to save taskbar space. When I'm at work, I usually have one adobe photoshop, at least three windows explorers, one ssh, dreamweaver, and a couple of gVims. So when I like to browse, I will end up with a hundred buttons on the taskbar. I can either group similar programs, but that's more confusing, or I can use (as I do now) Phoenix's tabs to have all the sites I'm visiting in a single window that I can easily find in between the whole mess on the taskbar, and doesn't get confused with everything else.

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He who asks will be a fool for five minutes, but he who doesn't ask will remain a fool for life.

Chady | http://chady.net/

This may get a little off-topic, but out of curiosity, why do you think MDI is a failed experiment? I wouldn't want to live without it anymore (in fact, I have 10 tabs open in mozilla right now, and that's not even *that* much).

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mowgli

If you change the links to have a new window target, you take away my choice to open in the same window.

Please don't take away my choices.

-- Randal L. Schwartz, Perl hacker
Be sure to read my standard disclaimer if this is a reply.

For the sake of correctness, you can still force new-window links to open in the same window in all browsers I've used so far: for IE drag the link on the titlebar, for Mozilla drag it onto the page's tab, for Opera drag it onto the window button.

That said, it is much easier for the user to let them pick that they want the link in a new window, rather than force them to use the above workaround if they don't.

Makeshifts last the longest.

if i want the link in a new window i just Shift-Click the link. i would be dismayed if everything i clicked poped up a new window. when i hit my back button the page is loaded from the cache and i'm back where i was, so i guess i just don't share your passion for popups.

I'm siding with zengargoyle on this one. There are times when I want the link I'm clicking on to open in the same window. Besides, you say 8 or less keystrokes: try beating the one keystroke/one click method: ctrl+click (in mozilla anyhow, some browsers use shift+click, etc). I like having my browser load pages the way I want them to, over some website-designer thinking they know what I want :)

As a side-note (unrelated yet related at the same time), I hate despise sites that open new windows via javascript. Why? Two reasons: 1. Because you have to have javascript enabled in order to view the page it's trying to open. 2. Because I tend to ctrl+click any link I want to open in a new window, only to find that it's a javascript link and will fail (with a popup javascript error to boot) to open the new link.

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By forcing opening a link in a new window, you rob me of a choice, which is quite user hostile.

Abigail

I've got to agree with all those that have spoken up already on this issue - I personally think links opening in new windows by default are a horrible thing. In fact, I think that this is a rather disruptive thing to do, too - it's counter-intuitive and working against the user (well, users like me, anyway :)) instead of aiding them.

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mowgli

Yet another vote for not doing this. I want to browse the way I want to - not the way you want to :-)

Add another vote for leaving things alone.

all offsite links open in their own browser windows

I find smartass HTML that assumes it knows better than I do how to follow a link obnoxious. All but epsilon of links on the web target the same context (window, frame, whatever) as the link itself, and most browsers will let you target the link to a new window (or tab) with a keyboard chord. In this case, I'd say that breaking the principle of least surprise is one big honkin' six-legged multi-mandibled bug.

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F o x t r o t U n i f o r m
Found a typo in this node? /msg me
The hell with paco, vote for Erudil!

“Every bit of code is either naturally related to the problem at hand, or else it's an accidental side effect of the fact that you happened to solve the problem using a digital computer.”
M-J D

I'm just wondering where you read this. I'm looking at the HTML 4.01 spec and I don't see TARGET listed as depreciated. It's a necessary part of the Frameset DTD after all...

Can you point me to where you read this? I'm not trying to be inflammatory, I honestly want to know.

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Grant me the wisdom to shut my mouth when I don't know what I'm talking about.