lucy24 - 8:44 am on Aug 14, 2011 (gmt 0)

Shoot the client? This is exactly why the w3c folks thought long and hard about whether the 'target = "_blank"' feature should be retained at all in HTML5. (Luckily they kept it, because you need it for situations where you can't do javascript and you're not creating a full-fledged second window.)

On my own pages I tend to use two different forms of link highlighting: one for links that lead elsewhere on the site or even on the same page, another for external links. By now, all browsers make it easy to open links in a new window or tab if you prefer. So you don't have to force a choice on the user. Can't anyway, because even if you specify "_blank" they can change it in their prefs. At least to "new tab" instead of "new window".

Some sites do warn you when you click on an off-site link. "Are you sure you want to do this?" But all the examples I can think of are government sites where they can say with a straight face that the place you're going to may not be as reliable as the site you're currently on ;)