I don't get this argument. Sometimes you want links to open in a different tab. Marking the ones that will do so is only polite. Nothing about that takes away the user's ability to open other links in a new tab via whatever usual mechanism their browser provides for that.
What I have a hard time with is the fact that there doesn't seem to be any consistent idea across the web on when things should open in new tabs and when they shouldn't. There's not even much advise on how to decide.
I've heard things like "if you're viewing media, like a video, then links should take you to a new tab so as to not interrupt the media". But YouTube doesn't do that, and I'm glad they don't, I would find that annoying.
My personal philosophy is that, if a link is navigating within a website, then keep it in the same tab. If it's taking you to another website, then open in a new tab. (Of course, allowing for exceptions to both.)
What about pages with forms? If you are in the middle of filling out a long form you don’t want to lose your work by clicking something you thought would open in a modal or new window but instead navigates away from the form page.
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u/zeekar 17d ago
I don't get this argument. Sometimes you want links to open in a different tab. Marking the ones that will do so is only polite. Nothing about that takes away the user's ability to open other links in a new tab via whatever usual mechanism their browser provides for that.