The debate over external links automatically opening in a new window goes far back. For many years, giving links their own window was considered a crime almost as grievous as ambushing visitors with a pop-up window (i.e. a window that automatically comes up without the user clicking an external link). Then, seemingly out of nowhere, browsers developed tabs, allowing users to open multiple web pages at once in what was actually a single browser window. Web addicts around the world cheered for joy; many developers pronounced the opening of external links in a new window an official best practice.
