[Mediawiki-l] Break out links-How are they done?

Thu Aug 10 23:16:35 UTC 2006

Re: Break out links-How are they done?

Thanks for all your feedback on my post about break out links.

1. I feel it is a shame that the wiki publisher does not have the option 
to code break out links to external web sites. It is very easy for those 
new to computers to head to a new link and forget what they originally 
were looking for on the original wiki. Then they leave our wiki.

2. When I send someone to an external link from my wiki, I am not 
responsible for the content of that external site. Sometimes "newbies" 
may think that I created the external link page too.

3. FYI... I am a Mac user using FireFox. To make a break out link, all I 
have to do is hover over the link, press lightly and choose "Open link 
in new window".

4. The wiki I am developing is here  http://www.christianmedia.ca

Thanks again for all of your comments and words of wisdom. This is a 
very helpful listserv!

David Spencer
Ontario, Canada

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David Spencer wrote:
> August 8, 2006
>
> Hello:
>
> Break out links-How are they done?

Hi David,

I remember seeing this topic here a few weeks ago. The answer was that
MediaWiki will never be scripted to do break out links because break
out links are bad Web design. Web site visitors are supposed to control
that part of their own Web surfing experience, not Web site authors.

Click on a normal Web link with the *middle mouse button* and see how
your browser behaves.

Roger :-)

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From: Simetrical

They aren't.  You'd have to hack the software.  This is a deliberate
design decision, I believe: the user's browser gives them ways to
decide where to open a link, and overriding them should be
unnecessary.  Let the user decide whether they want a new window or
not.

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Just because I'm controversial I'll disagree. Gmail, for example,
always opens *every* external link in a new window. It works extremely
well - you never have to worry about "losing your gmail window". It
wouldn't be a bad thing if MediaWiki did similar - you're unlikely to
really want to navigate away from Wikipedia, for instance, when you
follow a link - most likely you'll read it then want to come back.

The user's browser can override any behaviour, but that's not to say
that providing good default behaviour isn't necessary.

Steve

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On 8/9/06, Steve Bennett <stevage at gmail.com> wrote:
 > > Since we've established that you can override the suggestion provided
 > > to the browser, no one's forcing anything...

I missed where we established how an average user (IE or unextended
Firefox, say, with default settings) is supposed to a) determine in
advance that a link will open in a new window/tab and b) override the
behavior and open it in the same window/tab.  I can do the latter via
a Firefox extension, but even that requires two clicks plus picking an
option out of a context menu rather than just middle-clicking.

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On 8/9/06, Tels <nospam-abuse at bloodgate.com> wrote:
 > > Mouse middle click opens the page in a new tab (!) for me in 
firefox - left
 > > click in the same tab. (Who wants a new browser windows, anyway?)

I tend to use new windows for new "themes" (work vs personal browsing,
Wikipedia vs organising a holiday). 2-3 browser windows is a good
total number.

 > > So let _me_ decide where I open up links, and stop trying to force me.

Since we've established that you can override the suggestion provided
to the browser, no one's forcing anything...

Steve

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For a highly interactive site, new-windows make sense... but I don't really
see it making sense for MW.

-- Ben Garney Torque Technologies Director GarageGames.Com, Inc.

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