pageoneresults - 2:29 pm on Oct 31, 2008 (gmt 0)

Does anyone actually LIKE something opening in a new window?

I do. I use JS quite a bit to open new windows especially for documents that are typically not viewed as a web page such as pdfs.

I've done some extensive usability testing in this area. I've managed an online distance education program for years. The JS popups we have throughout the site have served the visitors very well and continue to do so. We make sure our popups are void of anything other than the material they are viewing. No toolbars, no address window, nothing but a fixed window size that is positioned based on their interaction with the system. We may have windows opening to the right, to the left, from the top, etc. It is all relative to what is on the page and where we'd like the user to see the window when invoked.

Also, that target="_blank" attribute is deprecated so there are usually challenges during validation of Strict DOCTYPEs.