That is a flawed argument. HTML on its own does not function as a programming language. Yes websites are moving towards the same behaviour _through the use of JavaScript_. Ergo JavaScript should be used to open popup windows when required.
target="_blank" does not allow enough information about popup windows for them to function as an application. You have no control over there size or placement. If the website is not user friendly for those with JavaScript disabled then it is a poorly designed website. Allowing target="_blank" does not fix this. For instance, how would a cell phone browser handle target="_blank"? You can't rely on it. --- Original Post --- Now that websites are moving more towards application style, they should really behave like applications as we are accustomed to. And a fact is that applications require pop-up windows at certain stages. Mostly when information is provided that falls outside of a linear process. The typical example: a user fills out a form and wants to read the Terms and Conditions. Or a user works in MS Word and wants to read the Help File. Never do those applications provide the user with the option of opening the supplementary information in the same window. For a good reason: the users would get taken out of the linear process they are in and potentially loose whatever they were working on. Just imagine you would loose your 200-page thesis in MS Word just because you didn't specifically request the HELP information to open in a new window. So if websites are becoming applications, why shouldn't they behave in the same fashion that we are accustomed to from other applications? In Word, if I decide to go to a new document, I expect it to open in the main window. Ergo: On the web, if the user decides to go to a different website, it should open in the main window. In Word, if I decide to access information that help me work with the current document (e.g. help file, save dialog, document preferences) I expect them to open in a pop-up window. Why should it be any different on the web? Making "target" an invalid attribute for links is plain stupid. It forces developers to revert to some javascript ways of opening a new window which potentially makes websites extremely user-unfriendly for people with javascript disabled. Developers should be educated in the correct use of the target attribute, eliminating it just creates a whole new problem. ****************************************************** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list & getting help ****************************************************** ****************************************************** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list & getting help ******************************************************
