[geeklog-users] New user help

[Dirk Haun]

Bruce,

>If you don't like using target="_blank" what would you use?

If I feel the need for a new window, I can always open one. Any browser
(at least those that actually use windows ...) offers the option to open
a link in a new window. Not many offer the option to not open links in a
new window (Mozilla does, fortunately, but it's hidden in a config file
somewhere).

It's all about choice and not forcing your way of handling things down
your visitor's throats.


>Using frames for specific targets is not always the best coding style

I think we can agree that frames are even worse than target="_blank".


>1) I don't want my visitors lost somewhere else or ever leaving the confines
>of my site

Force doesn't work on the WWW. Never has, never will. If the visitors
want to leave your site, they'll leave. The only thing you can do is to
annoy them such that they don't even want to come back ...


>2) I don't want my visitors to ever have to rely on a back arrow on their
>browset to get back to where they were and the exact place where they were
>reading.

The back button is one of the essential means of navigation on the web.
Why break it?

My favourite anecdote is when I had pretty much the same discussion with
a friend who used target="_blank" all over his site. While we had that
discussion, someone was actually browsing said friend's site on a PC next
to us. And at some point, that person uttered his confusion about the
back button not working any more. Guess what? A link had opened in a new
window without him noticing it, hiding the original window. The only
thing he did notice was that his back button didn't work, causing him
some frustration.

You don't want to frustrate the visitors of your site.


[paraphrasing 3) - 14)]
> I ... I ... I ...

Don't forget that websites are mainly for your visitors, not for
yourself. Give them the choice to browse it the way THEY want.


>So, if it is easy to add myself, I'll look at that config.php file.

It is not in config.php.

Which links exactly are you talking about? I've already pointed out where
you can change it for links from RSS feeds. For Geeklog's links section,
change the template files (in layout/YourTheme/links), and for links in
stories, you'll have to add the target attribute in the list of allowed
HTML tags (that one is actually in config.php - see the documentation and
the FAQ for details).


>No, it's not on my hard drive, as it was installed from the server using
>Fantastico.

K, didn't think of hosts that have Geeklog pre-installed. It should be
somewhere outside of your webroot, i.e. not in any directory that can be
accessed from the web. It shouldn't be too hard to find.

bye, Dirk


-- 
http://www.haun-online.de/
http://www.haun.info/