External links

[#1]

Well that's back to that debate then isn't it - anyone wanting to just "see the solution" isn't going to be interested in any detail, they just want to know it's fixed

[#2]

@dvorak Well I wasn't - it was Bob who did actually read my post

[#3]

The usual accepted behaviour is to open links to the same domain in the same window and open external links in a new window.

All of this new tab business is browser dependent and is a user configuration not a link target option.

[#4]

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@Lurch wrote:

The usual accepted behaviour is to open links to the same domain in the same window and open external links in a new window.

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That was the situation here until it was changed by request. I prefer the behaviour as it is now. In my opinion inexperienced forum users will find it easier if clicking any link *doesn't* take them away from where they are; experienced users can select the same tab option when posting if they wish to.

[#5]

@Lurch whilst there are some conventions that perhaps ought to be adhered to, this is not one of them.
The majority of technical responses to posts here, that require a link to another source, are best opened in a new tab so that the reader does not lose the context of the response that they are reading whilst referring to the other source.
A good number of us that respond here were finding that this was really needed when writing our replies. I personally was finding that over 90% of the links I created really needed to be opened in a new tab.
About the only time I change the (now) default behaviour (it is user selectable when creating the link), is if I'm referring to another post earlier in a thread providing that it's not a very long thread and the post is many pages back.

[#6]

I suppose that isn't an unreasonable view. At least the issue has been given some thought and a decent, measured solution has been put in place that seems to suit most members, unlike some forums!

[#7]

Well we are trying to get it bashed into a reasonable shape, but there is some way to go!

[#8]

@Lurch, I had the same reasoning as you at first and that is the way I have worked for years in corporate web development. External links - new window, internal links - same window. That's pretty standard.

But being a forum, its a little bit different and when you are going page to page it can sometimes feel like the original post has become lost while browsing through some of the links to other threads. While user testing there was a strong need to open links in a new window so I got a bit of javascript that will override links within posts to open in a new window unless they are set to target="_self". Coupled with the link manager defaulting to open in new window - the users became a lot less frustrated after that.

[#9]

I suppose the other thing is being an "advanced internetter"(!) I am used to opening links where I want. I use middle click a lot for open in new tab which a lot of people don't even know exists, and a lot of people use mobile/tablets and have no idea what long press is either. I notice a lot of sites nowadays have everything set to open in new window which drives me insane but obviously as I am using a PC, with a keyboard & mouse I am in a minority, and my several monitors probably push me further into a niche user base!

[#10]

Touch screens are so slow   Don't worry, we could start a club.

One of the reasons that I stopped using FF as my primary browser (although that creates a few minor problems), the removal of basic features, and the expectation to use an add-on (where one exists) to get basic functionality - like open in the Current Tab - where the user chooses to do so.

Mind you we could do with a few add-ons round here