Whether to use target="_blank" for outside link

Hi,

This question has been vexing me from quite some time now. When one
links to the resources outside his/her website should the
target="_blank" attribute be used for the tag?

Normally I use target="_blank" for anything that is outside my
website. But this question bothers me even more when I am creating a
list of resources. Since, while viewing these lists user will be more
interested in the resources than my website.

Recently I came across the following opinion a lot times:

If the user wants to come back to your site he has the back button and
also he can use the "Open in new window" option if he wants the linked
resource to open in new window.

Please share your thoughts about this point.

Thank You.

"Pritam Barhate" wrote in message
news:38087ce9-e8c4-4ab4-8862-735f8601544b@s12g2000prg.google groups.com...
> Hi,
>
> This question has been vexing me from quite some time now. When one
> links to the resources outside his/her website should the
> target="_blank" attribute be used for the tag?

No.

--
Richard.

Pritam Barhate wrote:
> Hi,
>
> This question has been vexing me from quite some time now. When one
> links to the resources outside his/her website should the
> target="_blank" attribute be used for the tag?
>
> Normally I use target="_blank" for anything that is outside my
> website. But this question bothers me even more when I am creating a
> list of resources. Since, while viewing these lists user will be more
> interested in the resources than my website.
>
> Recently I came across the following opinion a lot times:
>
> If the user wants to come back to your site he has the back button and
> also he can use the "Open in new window" option if he wants the linked
> resource to open in new window.

Exactly. And this is much more suitable than leaving a user who's being
browsing from site to site to site to finished up his session only to
discover that he now has a dozen windows to close because each site's
designer thought he needed to see the next site in a new window.

In article <5rq5nfF15vrs9U1@mid.individual.net>,
Harlan Messinger wrote:

> Pritam Barhate wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > This question has been vexing me from quite some time now. When one
> > links to the resources outside his/her website should the
> > target="_blank" attribute be used for the tag?
> >
> > Normally I use target="_blank" for anything that is outside my
> > website. But this question bothers me even more when I am creating a
> > list of resources. Since, while viewing these lists user will be more
> > interested in the resources than my website.
> >
> > Recently I came across the following opinion a lot times:
> >
> > If the user wants to come back to your site he has the back button and
> > also he can use the "Open in new window" option if he wants the linked
> > resource to open in new window.
>
> Exactly. And this is much more suitable than leaving a user who's being
> browsing from site to site to site to finished up his session only to
> discover that he now has a dozen windows to close because each site's
> designer thought he needed to see the next site in a new window.

Take me for example. I get pissed off. If I want to keep track of
things and have your site up easy to get to and others to compare
material etc I just Command key click and a link opens in a new
tab (Windows users would have their own ways). Do it often.

If you do not leave it to the user you are deliberately making it
more difficult to be rid of your site, a user who wants to leave
your site and go a link must do two things instead of one. He
must click and then find yours and click the close.

--
dorayme

dorayme wrote:
> In article <5rq5nfF15vrs9U1@mid.individual.net>,
> Harlan Messinger wrote:
>
>> Pritam Barhate wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> This question has been vexing me from quite some time now. When one
>>> links to the resources outside his/her website should the
>>> target="_blank" attribute be used for the tag?
>>>
>>> Normally I use target="_blank" for anything that is outside my
>>> website. But this question bothers me even more when I am creating a
>>> list of resources. Since, while viewing these lists user will be more
>>> interested in the resources than my website.
>>>
>>> Recently I came across the following opinion a lot times:
>>>
>>> If the user wants to come back to your site he has the back button and
>>> also he can use the "Open in new window" option if he wants the linked
>>> resource to open in new window.
>> Exactly. And this is much more suitable than leaving a user who's being
>> browsing from site to site to site to finished up his session only to
>> discover that he now has a dozen windows to close because each site's
>> designer thought he needed to see the next site in a new window.
>
> Take me for example. I get pissed off. If I want to keep track of
> things and have your site up easy to get to and others to compare
> material etc I just Command key click and a link opens in a new
> tab (Windows users would have their own ways). Do it often.
>
> If you do not leave it to the user you are deliberately making it
> more difficult to be rid of your site, a user who wants to leave
> your site and go a link must do two things instead of one. He
> must click and then find yours and click the close.
>

This has done the rounds quite a lot and the very clear consensus is
that using target="_blank" is a BAD THING. One thing that anyone who's
browsed the web for any length of time will be familiar with is leaving
a site, getting engrossed in the new one and losing interest in the
first. Particularly for casual browsing.

I think, if you HAVE to link to an outside site and you still want your
users to come back then this is one time using frames is acceptable:
link to a page within your own site that contains a narrow "navigation"
frame to take you back to the calling page, and a main frame filled by
the external site.

+mrcakey