Remove target for local links

I hate the fact that vB automatically adds target="blank" to all links. I don't mind it so much for external sites, but when linking within our own sites to other threads and such, I would love to turn it off. Can this be done with vbseo?

Open internal links in _self - is this a hack?



I guess the file class_bbcode.php in includes has to be touched:

Code:

// standard URL hyperlink
return "<a href=\"$rightlink\" target=\"_blank\">$text</a>";

There is the code, which opens a link in an extra (_blank) window.

That "_blank" probably has no effect on seo but it does help keep visitors on your board. Frankly, I am always shocked when I visit a website, click on a link, and I end up on the other site without any way to go back to the first site. It's much better to open a new window.

except, target is depreciated. It is valid only in current "loose" and "transitional" doctypes.

I would like to see internal links open in same window (if you want a pop up, CTRL + click). It's a user preference IMO, not a system one.

Originally Posted by briansol

except, target is depreciated. It is valid only in current "loose" and "transitional" doctypes.

No problem there, vBulletin's default is transitional:

!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"

It will be around for years to come.

Originally Posted by briansol

except, target is depreciated. It is valid only in current "loose" and "transitional" doctypes.

I would like to see internal links open in same window (if you want a pop up, CTRL + click). It's a user preference IMO, not a system one.

I agree. target should be removed.

Yes, internal links should open in the same window, external links with a target=_blank action.

Originally Posted by majordude

No problem there, vBulletin's default is transitional:

!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"

It will be around for years to come.

And I'm hoping to remove it.

Transitional is not a doctype to "go for". It's one to use in case you suck at programming and "can't quite get it to validate".

All the font/size/color things of the post area need to be addressed as well, as they write invalid code, even in xhmlt transitional.

My board will be 100% xhtml strict by the end of the year, use 1/10th the javascript that it comes with, and about 1/4 the file size.

Originally Posted by BamaStangGuy

I agree. target should be removed.

werd

Originally Posted by majordude

Yes, internal links should open in the same window, external links with a target=_blank action.

internal, yes.
external, no target.

Using php, and javasctipt, the widows can be easily called properly.

Code:

<?// ------------------------------------------------------------------- 
// Return a hiperlink to something within the site 
// E.g: print Link('test.php', 'Link Test'); 
// E.g: print Link('test.php', 'Link Test', '_blank'); 
// E.g: print Link('test.php', 'Link Test', '_blank', 'Click here'); 
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- 

function Link($url, $linktext = false, $target = false, $tit = false) { 
    $l = sprintf('<a href="%s"%s%s>%s</a>', $url,  
          ($target  ? ' onclick="window.open(this.href,'' . $target . '');return false;"' : ''), 
          ($tit  ? ' title="' . $tit . '"' : ''), 
          ($linktext ? $linktext : $url) );     
    return $l; 
} 

?>

save that Jaun you'll need it later.
[/color]

Originally Posted by briansol

My board will be 100% xhtml strict by the end of the year...

Well, I'm not wasting my time chasing perfection. All you need is to have your code match the doctype and you're fine.

Google won't give you a gold star because your page is strict... but it will penalize you if you declare your page strict and it isn't. But that goes for any page (you have to match the code to the declaration).

Personally, I like the flexibility that "transitional" allows.

Originally Posted by majordude

Well, I'm not wasting my time chasing perfection. All you need is to have your code match the doctype and you're fine.

Google won't give you a gold star because your page is strict... but it will penalize you if you declare your page strict and it isn't. But that goes for any page (you have to match the code to the declaration).

Personally, I like the flexibility that "transitional" allows.

but it will penalize you if you declare your page strict and it isn't.

Prove that please.

Originally Posted by BamaStangGuy

Prove that please.

Why should he?

A fine point like that isn't something you can prove/disprove easily in a little forum thread about a vbseo feature request.

If you don't believe it, just ignore it. I'm guessing that majordude doesn't care much if you/we want to listen to that point or not. Especially if he's expected to provide documentation of his methodology for arriving at that point.

Originally Posted by rmjvol

Why should he?

A fine point like that isn't something you can prove/disprove easily in a little forum thread about a vbseo feature request.

If you don't believe it, just ignore it. I'm guessing that majordude doesn't care much if you/we want to listen to that point or not. Especially if he's expected to provide documentation of his methodology for arriving at that point.

because he flat out said if you do x y will happen.

He stated it fact.

The very least he can do is back himself up if he is going to make a claim like that and I don't think asking him is going to far? I don't understand why you felt the need to throw your .02 in here anyway. If he doesn't want to back it up that is fine but I ask him to prove something because I want to see documentation on it. Maybe it is true. If so I want more than just his word.

What he is saying is that search engines validate your code and then if you have errors penalize you. That is a pretty big thing if it is true.

Originally Posted by BamaStangGuy

Prove that please.

yeah, thats a bag of beans...

google them selves don't validate, let alone use a doc type...

Redirect ALL External URLs Posted in Private Forums

I hate this setting. If we have sites that are affiliated or run as "sisters" to our forum, the URLs are redirected.

Also, target needs to be removed for any internal URL. It's damn annoying to follow an internal link in a post and pop up a page.

This is important stuff Juan et al.