[ggchappell]

I don't agree.

I think it's typical for a middle-button click and/or control-left-click to open a link in a new tab. That's easy to do, and so we get to choose new tab or same tab ourselves, rather than having the website make the decision for us.

My habit with HN is to open a link by middle-clicking both the post link and the comments link. So I get both the post and its comments in side-by-side tabs. It's convenient for me, but people who just want to use a single tab can still do so.

[pszczurko]

Using the middle-button click and/or control-left click open still works the same with the 'target="_blank"' specified so this wouldn't affect the way you do things anyway

[ggchappell]

Exactly. Doing "target='_blank'" would not help me. But it would be detrimental to others.

In a site full of ordinary users, maybe "target='_blank'" is called for. But HN is aimed at the kind of people who are knowledgeable about their computers.