I agree with the OP. Opening a link in a new browser window is bad user interface. It 'breaks' the back button.
A new browser window is an option that is best left to the site visitor. I prefer to make that decision myself. If I'm on a page that is a list of links to other pages and I know I will want to follow a number of them, I can exercise my option by right-clicking a link and selecting 'open in a new window/tab'. I do it frequently on this site. It's a great way to read a newspaper site..
I can understand that someone who likes this behaviour would find it convenient to have new windows auto-open when clicking a link, but I find it annoying.
The default behaviour in all web browsers is to open links in the same window. A web site that breaks that behaviour is bad UI. It's my computer--I want to be in charge of how the software on my computer behaves. Inconsistent behaviour depending on what site you visit is bad UI. There's a reason target="blank" was deprecated years ago.
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Top 10 Mistakes in Web Design Quote: Opening New Browser Windows
Opening up new browser windows is like a vacuum cleaner sales person who starts a visit by emptying an ash tray on the customer's carpet. Don't pollute my screen with any more windows, thanks (particularly since current operating systems have miserable window management).
Designers open new browser windows on the theory that it keeps users on their site. But even disregarding the user-hostile message implied in taking over the user's machine, the strategy is self-defeating since it disables the Back button which is the normal way users return to previous sites. Users often don't notice that a new window has opened, especially if they are using a small monitor where the windows are maximized to fill up the screen. So a user who tries to return to the origin will be confused by a grayed out Back button.
Links that don't behave as expected undermine users' understanding of their own system. A link should be a simple hypertext reference that replaces the current page with new content. Users hate unwarranted pop-up windows. When they want the destination to appear in a new page, they can use their browser's "open in new window" command — assuming, of course, that the link is not a piece of code that interferes with the browser’s standard behavior.