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I use Firefox and Chrome mainly . When there is a link provided in the comment/answer/question , the link redirects to a page from the existing tab rather than opening a new tab & displaying it there.

for eg: Left Click here . By default , the site appears in this same tab and not in a new tab.

The same problem exists when it comes to the mobile site.

I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with it but why can't the links be opened in a new tab automatically rather than having to do it manually?

  • I agree, usually i want to open in-question links in a new tab, rather than switch. I'm pretty used to ctrl+clicking though, so I never really registered it – Toshinou Kyouko Feb 12 '15 at 16:34
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    Use middle button (click on wheel). Problem solved. I never left-click on link if I want to open it in new tab. – nhahtdh Feb 12 '15 at 16:34
  • nhahtdh, you're an experienced user. I'm talking in general. And btw I use my laptop's touchpad mouse. There's no wheel on it . @ToshinouKyouko since Im a noob here , I keep forgetting that the links don't open in a new page. – Ero Sɘnnin Feb 12 '15 at 16:37
  • Anyway, it might be a problem for mobile users. It's more convenient for them to tap, than to tap-hold-select-new-tab-option to open in new tab. I think you might want to post the request on Meta.SE, since this is a network-wide issue. – nhahtdh Feb 12 '15 at 16:37
  • Can't migrate it? :P @GaoWeiwei I know , but thanks :) . It's kinda hard on mobile too. I still feel click-for-new-page is easier in general – Ero Sɘnnin Feb 12 '15 at 16:38
  • @EroSennin: Just ask a new question. It's faster (and doesn't harm) in this case, I think. Try to incorporate the discussion over here into your request. – nhahtdh Feb 12 '15 at 16:40
  • @nhahtdh .. similar cases : meta.stackexchange.com/questions/35677/… meta.stackexchange.com/questions/2275/… – Ero Sɘnnin Feb 12 '15 at 16:44
  • @GaoWeiwei the guys on the SE meta are suggesting to use Ctrl+Click and MMB . Should I change my question to specify the new tab issue in phones ? – Ero Sɘnnin Feb 12 '15 at 16:48
  • @EroSennin I think they will tell you to install the SE App, which does open all links in your default browser (behaves like opening a new window), but you could try. – Gao Feb 12 '15 at 16:57
  • @GaoWeiwei But SE App is not valid for every single internet-using phone right ? Plus this entire matter isn't about just one user. – Ero Sɘnnin Feb 12 '15 at 17:07
  • @EroSennin The pros do not outweigh the cons, so I doubt they would cater to the ever-decreasing niche market of non-Android phones or non-iphones. It's still relatively easy to press and hold to open a new tab, or open in the same tab and pressing the back button. But as I said, you could try asking on Meta.SE. – Gao Feb 12 '15 at 17:12
  • Hmm .. point noted. But there are slow internet and other issues which make the above methods kinda tough. Nothing major. Will ask meta later :P @GaoWeiwei – Ero Sɘnnin Feb 12 '15 at 17:17
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Because the default behavior when clicking on a link is to navigate the current tab to the new link. This is called the principle of least surprise.

If a user wants to open the link in a new tab, they can either

  • Right click and select "Open in a new Tab/Window"
  • Middle click
  • CTRL+Click (yeah, that works, try it).

The only places where it makes sense to open a link in a new tab is when opening link in the same tab you'd lose some sort of progress in a process/activity (for instance, in chat).

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