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

on 2/16/08 1:06 PM, Sam Kuper at sam.kuper@uclmail.net wrote:

> On 13/02/2008, Thomas Broyer <t.broyer@gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Is coining names that hard?
> 
> It can be, when you're working in a collaborative environment. I'll explain.
> 
> Suppose I want a link to open in a new window of its own (i.e. such that it
> doesn't overwrite the contents of any existing windows). With target="_blank",
> this is guaranteed and easy.
> 
> However, if I have to name the target, it's non-trivial to guarantee I'll
> choose a name that hasn't already been used at a target for a link created by
> a colleague.
> 
> If a colleague has already used that name, and the user has clicked on the
> link created by my colleage and then clicked on the link created by me (which
> uses the same target name), the content of the second linked resource will
> overwrite the content of the first, which is not the desired effect.
> 
> It's a serious enough sticking point that in many cases where I wanted to
> target new windows, I'd avoid writing pages to try to meet an HTML spec that
> disallowed target="_blank".
> 
> (As an aside, why do I target new windows? Usually for the reasons given by
> Marghanita: I like links away from my site to open in new, distinct windows.
> As a user, this behaviour normally feels intuitive to me, and most of the
> people I've spoken to about it feel the same way. At the very least, authors
> ought to have a mechanism for implementing this behaviour easily when it is
> desired.)
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Sam
> 
> 

+1.

Sam sums up my thinking precisely.



--
Dylan Smith