Products · Pattern or everyday thing
Websites that hijack link clicks
Raised as a usability problem by 5 people on Hacker News over 16 years (2008–2023), in 5 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Script-driven links can't be middle-clicked to open new tabsUnreviewed
20082026- Ctrl+click and middle-click open a foreground tab instead of a background one2023-05-24
- Can't open links in a new tab because they are JavaScript click handlers, not real links2017-04-16
- Links that run script can't be middle-clicked or Ctrl-clicked to open in a new tab2013-06-14
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 5 complaints
- Ctrl+click and middle-click open a foreground tab instead of a background one2023-05-24
- Can't open links in a new tab because they are JavaScript click handlers, not real links2017-04-16
- Links that run script can't be middle-clicked or Ctrl-clicked to open in a new tab2013-06-14
- Redirecting clicks breaks the browser Back button, so users can't return to the previous page2013-05-21
- Accidentally navigating away loses page state, with no reliable way to return2008-07-02