Let me rephrase your question: How is MediaWiki different from Google? You have in fact given the answer: Google gives you the option to open all search results in new browser windows. MediaWiki does not. I think this is mixing two totally different things. The user-interface is one thing. The teaching of users how to use a physical device like the mouse is another. Regardless of how you configure things, you are not going to be able to teach users to press the middle mouse button. Let me therefore rephrase your question: I don't understand how a) forcing all your visitors to open all your links in new browser windows, and breaking the back-button functionality, can be more user-friendly than b) making all links open in the same window and thus allowing those who have the knowledge to be able to do so to control their surfing experience should they wish to and open links in a new window This I think is a fair question, and one which makes rather more sense, and to which I will try and answer. I believe it is more user-friendly in the sort of website which is primarily about proposing links to other sites (such as Chainki and Google) to open the proposed site in a new window, so that the original page remains open: * If the link is NOT opened as a new window, and the user surfs through half-a-dozen pages of the new site and realises that he doesn't want this site but that he would like to return to the list of websites, then he/she must back-up to reach the original page. * If the user is used sometimes to a new window opening for a new site, and doesn't notice or remember that a new window has not opened in this case, and thinks that by closing the existing window he will return to his list, and yet ends up closing everything, then he/she will have completely lost the list; since you cannot enforce upon ALL website owners to stay strictly within a single browser window, this will be a common problem. * The interface must work well for all users. It is not good enough to say "serve those stupid users right who don't know how to open a link in a seperate window themselves". No, the design must try and work as well as possible for all users, no matter their level of skill. Chainki (for which you can read Hugh), for these sorts of reasons, has taken the design decision to force external links to open in a new window. Google, gives users the option in settings; MediaWiki does not. Hugh