Comments on: New link type proposal, a:external {}

By: Udi

Udi — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 03:25:58 +0000

Hey Vin,

I was referring to the new startup that I’m currently developing with Dan. Not this blog.

Thanks,
Udi

By: Vin Turk

Vin Turk — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 18:14:44 +0000

There are code snippets (either in the form of a js that you include, or wordpress/blog plugins) that automatically detect a link not associated with your domain, and style that link differently (defined by you). The main problem with these are exactly what you mentioned above: they are not implemented at the browser level…its up to the web master, CMS, or platform to identify and style the links differently.

There is another issue when relying on a webmaster: Most large publications have editors that submit content using a defined workflow such as:
1)editor/journalist writes article and uploads it into system
2)article is sent to another user for approval or more editing
3)article is categorized or taxonomy applied
4)article is published to public site.

Relying on an journalist to flag these types of links is a worthless endeavor.

Udi, you mention “The value here comes in picking a simple default to apply when webmasters neglect to do the work on their own. (I’ve already implemented this for our new site, as you know)”.

Im looking at all the blog comments and most user’s links are external, yet its the same styling for all the links.

By: Jon Williams

Jon Williams — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 04:32:21 +0000

CSS level 3 selectors can accomplish some of this functionality. I matched on links beginning with “mailto:” and the “after:” selector to type email links.

By: Udi

Udi — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 21:12:43 +0000

The value here comes in picking a simple default to apply when webmasters neglect to do the work on their own. (I’ve already implemented this for our new site, as you know)

By: Udi

Udi — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 21:09:31 +0000

No, keep it simple. External means different top-level domain. That should be the default and I think that will suffice for most cases where this would be useful.

After that, you’re welcome to not style a:external and do something more complex on your own with a custom style.

By: Dan McKinley

Dan McKinley — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 21:02:58 +0000

What about subdomains? Are those external? They are for some people but not for others. Same domain, but https:// instead of http://? Different ports? What about http://foo.com vs. http://www.foo.com?

I would like the idea but the implementation seems more than trivial. And if that’s true the odds that results from all of the major browsers would match seem low.

However you definitely do know which links are external when you’re coding your application. With the concerns above it winds up being easier for you to code a control (or whatever this concept is called in your web framework of choice) that renders an anchor with class=”external” on it.