To leave the choice up to the user. There's technologically no reason for HN to force external links to open in a new tab/window. https://css-tricks.com/use-target_blank/
I'm glad they don't, and would rather that everyone else just stop. It is an affront to my sense of control over my browser. Middle click is just as easy as left click; let me decide how I want to arrange my input.
How could the site possibly know what exactly I am trying to do with the content? Maybe I want to move forward from their site to another, never to return. Maybe I am rapidly opening a handful of probably-useless links in parallel, with the intention of closing all other tabs as soon as I determine that one of them has what I am looking for. Maybe I am opening a second window for some back and forth copy-pasta. Don't infringe on my controls, dammit!
Because it's My computer, My browser, My tabs and it should be under My control.
By the way, to enforce sane behaviour on decidedly not sane websites: Death to _blank addon for Chrome[0]. There was one for firefox too, but can't find any working with current versions..
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[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 33.0 ms ] threadHow could the site possibly know what exactly I am trying to do with the content? Maybe I want to move forward from their site to another, never to return. Maybe I am rapidly opening a handful of probably-useless links in parallel, with the intention of closing all other tabs as soon as I determine that one of them has what I am looking for. Maybe I am opening a second window for some back and forth copy-pasta. Don't infringe on my controls, dammit!
By the way, to enforce sane behaviour on decidedly not sane websites: Death to _blank addon for Chrome[0]. There was one for firefox too, but can't find any working with current versions..
0: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/death-to-blank/gne...