RE: Why authors are using Transitional (and target="_blank")

Unfortunately, in the commercial world, business owners are relying on people completing their application forms, checkout forms, whatever, in order to make their money.  We (those of us who develop sites for these customers) will not be allowed to _not_ open a new window in the middle of a checkout process, because business owners will rightly be concerned that users don't know about the back button (or right click, hold-down-shift-left-click, or any of the other numerous ways us savvy users control our windows).  They just want the path to conversion left intact, with no possibility of users getting diverted from the path.  

(Personally, I always spell out the pros and cons of new windows whenever clients request them, but ultimately it's their business, their choice.)

So we throw up a new window, in the hope that we'll please most of the people, most of the time.  This is what happens, and will continue to happen.  If that's "invalid", I, and thousands of other commercial web developers will stick to transitional, or turn off that particular check in any validation software, or just not fuss about the errors.  

Regards,
Jake.


Philip TAYLOR wrote:

 >> Sam Kuper wrote:
 >>
 >> But seriously...

 >> When the accepted and expected behaviour in userland is that a new,
 >> generic window should open, it should be easy to author. HTML already
 >> has the solution (target="_blank"), and should retain it.

> The decision as to whether to open in the same
> window, the same window but a new tab, or in
> a new window, should be the user's and the user's
> alone.  The document can offer guidance (such as
> "best opened in a new window"), but should not
> enforce that behaviour.

> Philip TAYLOR

 

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Received on Wednesday, 20 February 2008 23:09:32 UTC