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Link 123535 thumbnail
User 111696 avatar

By bloid
via blog.position-absolute.com
Published: Oct 07 2008 / 12:48

At some point as a front-end developer I think we all have to draw a line for HTML validation. Strict validation is not a holy grail you need or can crusade for. It improves your code but has also it’s downside. For example target:_blank is no longer available, you need a javascript snippet to get around it. And when you get there, what’s the point? Your template no longer really validate. The target attribute doesn’t validate because you can’t choose for the user to open a link in another window, but you decided to do it anyway!!!
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User 297517 avatar

WebmasterNeal replied ago:

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99% of the time, links opening in new windows are more confusing to users than if they had just opened in their source window.

User 239201 avatar

amphi replied ago:

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target="_blank" is silly indeed. Imagine video files could dictate if they are played in a window or fullscreen or audio files which only work with speakers or headphones. It's natural that the user can decide there. How are links any different?

Let the user decide. Everyone knows about the back button. Seriously. Everyone does. Even really old people who are using the net for about a week know about it.

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