[thelist] To _blank or not to _blank

[Daniel Medley]

I'm curious, what is the consensus, if there is one, concerning opening a
new window with links to off-site content? I've heard that it is not a good
design method, generally speaking, however I know that I personally prefer
it when I browse sites. I will almost always left click a link and then open
the link in a new window so that I don't have to hit my back button to come
back to my original destination. Based on this preference I'm making a site
that uses _blank on all my off-site links on the opening page only (there
are several).

Any input would be greatly appreciated,
Daniel