Is It Ever Justified To Open A New Window/Tab From A Hyperlink?

Question

Simple question, spurred on by the removal of the target attribute in HTML 4.0 Strict and XHTML 1.0 Strict.

Answer 1

I personally don't think so, as web users become more savvy, they'll ask for a new window from the browser. It annoys me when a website does this a lot.

I think the question is sort of subjective. It could be good if you're launching a javascript game or something.

Here's Neil Turner's reasons not to do it.

Answer 2

On social content sites like Digg or reddit I prefer links to be opened in a new window/tab, as I am constantly going back to the original page to grab more links to look at.

That being said, I think that wherever you can you should allow a logged-in user to make the decision for themselves. I know Digg allows users to choose how they want links to behave.