Posted by David Dorward on 03/18/06 17:32

xyZed wrote:

> I was writing all my markup in XHTML 1.0 strict but was bothered by
> the fact it wouldn't allow me to open affiliate sites in a separate
> window. I know it's potentially contentious, but I really think if
> someone clicks a link which goes to a different site I would prefer
> them to do so in a fresh window. Even as I type it, it sounds a bit
> dictatorial though ;-)

It is. Most browsers have options to let a user open a link in a new window
or tab (usually by middle clicking it) when they choose to. Likewise, most
browsers display the target URL in the status bar, so the user can glance
at that and see that the link goes to an external site (if that is a factor
in their decision).

Most browsers won't inform the user that the author wants the link to open
in a new window, and I'm now aware of any which allow the user to
selectively disable such hints.

Should a new window be opened, then it is not uncommon for both the original
and new window to be maximised. This means that it isn't obvious that a new
window has opened. The only clue is that the back button doesn't work. I've
seen mention (no, I haven't got the references to hand) of studies which
show a strong tenancy for users to give up, type another URL in the address
bar and carry on. Then, when they finish, they close their window, discover
another window underneath go "Oh, that's what happened to that site", and
close that window too since they've finished.

> Other than the opening of links with target="_blank" my pages
> validated with XHTML strict (apart from the useless affiliate
> javascript links which is another post) Should I seriously consider
> switching to strict?

Yes.

--
David Dorward <http://blog.dorward.me.uk/> <http://dorward.me.uk/>
Home is where the ~/.bashrc is

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