Comments on: Linky linky

By: arensb

arensb — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 03:50:43 +0000

In case you’re still keeping track, I hate links that open in a new window. I know how to use a browser, and I know how to make an ordinary link open in the same window, in a new window, or a new tab. And I like having control over the process.

By: L Fuller

L Fuller — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 16:35:38 +0000

As a Web designer, I opt for the new window (and/or tab) method… but then I work in marketing for a telecom and don’t want to lose the viewers that I work so hard to bring to our site. I don’t find this a problem with a site like Bad Astronomy that isn’t trying to attract paying customers, especially since I have it bookmarked and visit it a couple of times a day anyway. :^D

By: Z. Johnson

Z. Johnson — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 15:19:02 +0000

External in new window (or tab) is the way to go. If, while reading an article, I come across an interesting link, I usually open up a new tab (using firefox) and finish reading the article befor exploring the new links.

By: captain swoop

captain swoop — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 13:35:55 +0000

External; in a new window yup.

By: Vega Altair

Vega Altair — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 04:19:09 +0000

I personally don’t like a link opening up a new window. I generally have a large number of them open at one time and I find that adding one that I didn’t deliberately generate is somewhat frustrating

By: TheBlackCat

TheBlackCat — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 02:47:10 +0000

I may have Firefox now, but even when I had Internet Explorer I still preferred it when external links open in a new window (I tended to do it myself by hand just to be on the safe side). I could easily have 20 or more windows open (although I think IE usually crashed when I go upt to around 40).

By: CS

CS — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 01:06:54 +0000

I also prefer to make my own decision on a new tab/window or keep the same tab. If I just want a quick look at the link, keep the same tab and use the back button. If it might be a long look or something I will finish reading later, use a new tab/window. What I find annoying is that I constantly have a dozen or more tabs open: when a link opens a new tab/window, it takes a lot more effort to get back to the original tab than had I been able to use the back button.

As pointed out somewhere above, why not just allow the reader to select the default behavior with a checkbox? Something like:

http://www.iamcal.com/publish/articles/hacks/new_windows/

By: John

John — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 00:43:59 +0000

I read your blog daily via RSS, but have never posted a comment. And I, uh, haven’t read all of the 97 comments before this one. Whenever I click a link and it opens in a new window I immediately kill it. Then I go back and click the link such that it opens in a new tab (firefox). To me it’s an issue of control. I can open a link however I damn well please (new window, new tab, same window). So I prefer “webmasters” just not mess with it. Don’t be tricky. Don’t try to help me. Just link the dang text and let me do as I please. The counter argument, of course, is that since I have this control the page author can do as they damn well please. And thus we have a flame war based on subjective personal preference (is there any other kind?).

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 00:19:59 +0000

The web publishing side of this whole thing:

Everybody may prefer links to open in the same window, but the truth of the matter is that:

When leaving the site, it *should* open in a new window just so that you know you’re entering another webiste/a non-affiliated site. This is similar to citing a source–only the source is embedded within the original article.

So, I propose a compromise: all hyperlinks on text can target the current window. Next to those hyperlinks, to indicate they are external sites, you can place an icon on it (something along the lines of the one used in Wikipedia for the similar practice) which also has the link, but when clicked upon opens the link in a new window. Voila. Problem solved. We all go home happy. (Yes, I know, in the real world some people probably won’t even be happy with this for some silly reason or other.)

By: Karl Withakay

Karl Withakay — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 18:47:37 +0000

I have always preferred to be in control of my own web browsing experience (It’s the main reason I hate Flash). If I want a link to open in a new window/tab , I’ll right click on it and chose open in new window or open in new tab (I use Firefox). If I want the link to open in my current window/tab , I’ll just click on it.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 18:28:39 +0000

wow that hit a nerve!

anyway you care to do it Phil…. it really doesn’t matter….

By: Don

Don — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 17:38:06 +0000

Yep. Firefox, “Open in New Tab”. Doesn’t matter if you have your link opening in a new window.

By: Calli Arcale

Calli Arcale — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 17:11:14 +0000

It occurs to me that while I find the external-links-open-in-new-windows behavior mildly annoying, the only really serious annoyances for me are these:

1) All links (including internal ones) open in a new window.
2) Seemingly random links open in a new window, regardless of source.
3) Some or all links open in a new window, but it’s always the same one.

#3 is the most annoying to me. Drives me batty when a browser not only forces a new window to open, but gives it a name so it can direct all future links to that same window, making it difficult to open more than one link at a time. I’ve never understood the justification for it either. I realize some users truly don’t understand how to click the little red circle/little x/whatever to close the window. But it’s just aggravating.

Still doesn’t drive me from sites, though, unless it’s on just the right links to seriously impair my use of the site and there’s some alternative source for the same content.

By: Frank Sullivan

Frank Sullivan — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 17:05:43 +0000

That blog entry is bull. I hate, hate, hate links to outside websites that don’t open in a new window. In fact, I’ve gotten used to “right click, open in new tab” every time I click on such a link now, just on the off chance that the link might open in the same window.

By: Polarbeast

Polarbeast — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 17:05:40 +0000

Ignore the advice and the threat of losing readers; Kevin’s LexBlog rant fails to support itself. Its only evidence is for PORTALS–websites whose goal is solely to point the way to what the user is looking for–then he goes on to apply that paradigm to blogs, which isn’t the same beast. Many times a blog will link to several images or other sites just in passing; e.g., it discusses rabbit subspecies while popping up pictures of the bunnies. One does not want to entirely leave the blog just to view a picture, then go back and reload the page.

I create web pages for a living. I use several browsers, on a Mac. I do not use tabs. I am happy to pop new windows; in fact I prefer it, because I can pop back to the original window and continue reading while the new page is loading, kill the new window immediately if it fails to load, and don’t have to interrupt my browser experience in the case the originating site does not cache (say, if it generates every page dynamically).

Please keep with your current, correct practice. Internal links stay internal. External links == new windows.

By: Gary Ansorge

Gary Ansorge — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 16:56:21 +0000

Definetly new windows. I like to return to my old window with a single click.

Gary 7

By: William Roeder

William Roeder — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 16:37:10 +0000

There are two types of links, 1) Those giving additional information – after reading you’ll want to return to the orginial materal. 2) Links for continued reading – normally don’t want to return. Note the types are independent of internal vs external. It depends mostly on what the user is looking for, therefor I (shift click to open a new tab) open a new window if I know that I want to return. Therefor I prefer very few new window links.

What I also don’t like are links that forward to the same page further down. I end up having muliple tabs open only to discover that they are all the same page.

What I do, is Grey links: go to the same page. Red links: go off site. The few new window links such as privacy policy are Green. The rest are normal blue.

By: dhtroy

dhtroy — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 16:32:15 +0000

I’m going to add my wife’s comments to this: “I hate it when a link hijacks my current browser, because sometimes when it takes me to a new site, the Back button no longer works. I wish they’d just open in a new window”.

As for me, I use FF, so I honestly do not care, but the wife has a good point.

That’s her 1 cent and my 1 cent.

Make cents? (ha ha)

By: Leyalic

Leyalic — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 16:19:42 +0000

I’ll add my own two cents…

Personally, I like the way it’s set up now. I like that I can click a link and have it open in a seperate window. This allows me to click your link and have it open all the while reading the rest of your blog. Of course, dual monitor displays help this a lot since the new windows go onto my other screen.

I also use Firefox but I actually hate the tabs. I hate having what I’m reading covered up by something else. Yay dual screens I guess…

-Ley-

By: BMurray

BMurray — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 16:11:46 +0000

You know a society is wealthy enough when its members care this much about so little.

By: icemith

icemith — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 15:37:36 +0000

Safaris I know, I prefer to have the link open in a new window. When I’m sufficiently bored with that I know I just have to close that window by hitting the little red jujube and I’m back in BA. And I have been frustrated a couple of times by accidently hitting the close button instead of the back button – they are very close in Safari. Losing a keenly worded comment that I had almost finished, by accidently closing the main window, for the want of checking something in another link – a name or a spelling, is quite frustrating, as I have not been able to see how to save it otherwise.

Oh, for a preview button though. (Yes I know that has nothing to do with the above debate, but seeing I’ve got your ear, might as well mention it, and yes Darrin (Post 34), I have the presentation you see when the BA blog opens up – thought I’d mention that too.

Ivan.

By: Berlie

Berlie — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 14:37:50 +0000

My vote is keep it the way you have it. I like it that your website stays open even if I click on a link to another page. After all, I came to your site to find out what was going on.

By the way, I use Firefox, with Ubuntu Linux, at home and IE at work. Firefox is by far a better browser.

By: GDWarf

GDWarf — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 14:32:29 +0000

I, like so many here, use Firefox, this means that I always middle-click links, it’s really the best of both worlds.

Anyways, when I’m using IE I can never decide on that issue, both ways annoy me, to be honest. If it opens in a new window then I’ve got more annoying screen clutter and the back button doesn’t work if it’s just a one-page thing. If it opens in the same window and it’s more then one page, I have to hit the back button multiple times. It’s really a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ problem.

By: Jokermage

Jokermage — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 13:56:35 +0000

New windows are annoying. Luckily I have a Firefox extension that forces new windows into new tabs. So I never notice.

By: Evolving Squid

Evolving Squid — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 13:00:32 +0000

I use firefox and tabs, but I agree with the voices that say that opening new windows is annoying. But it’s only an annoyance – not the end of the world, and if the content is good in that open window, I don’t get bent out of shape about it.

Back when I was an IE user, I used to open everything in new windows manually. As someone above said, it’s not rocket science to open a new window, so why not leave the user the choice?

Now, if you want to infuriate your users, open in frames.