Posted by Harlan Messinger on 02/20/07 21:28

idiotprogrammer wrote:
> Hi, my boss has told me I need to put "target_new" for all external
> hyperlinks.
>
> I find this to be bothersome and contrary to current web trends. But I
> can find no articles or recommendations to back me up here.

Users hate going through the routine of hitting the Back button to get
back to the previous page, finding out that it isn't working, then
realizing that they have a pop-up, and then closing it. Users hate
having to figure out, every time they do the same thing, which way it
has to be done this time. It's a nuisance. Does your boss find some
benefit in that?

Users hate pop-ups because they associate them with obnoxious
advertising tactics. Some have the habit of zooming to shut down any
window that they see popping up.

If the user doesn't close the new window but returns to the old window
by clicking on it, then clicks another external link, and goes through
this routine several more times, he'll have a whole bunch of open
windows on his page to clean up afterwards. Does your boss find some
benefit in that?

A user who *wants* to see a page in a new window can do so, using the
browser's built-in feature for that purpose. It's silly for your boss to
second-guess the user by deciding he'll want another window when the
link is to an external page and not when it's to an internal page.

Not every Web-enabled device has windows (cell phones. PDAs, etc). What
does your boss think happens when a user tries to pop up a new window on
a non-windowing device?

If you ever switch to XHTML, the target option isn't going to be
available anyway.

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