Why not adding target=“_blank” to HN links by default?

It's like 3 or so lines in userscript if you really need it.

In general case most modern browsers allow an alternate way of opening a tab in background, e.g. middle mouse button click, so this gives users a method of control over what they want hyperlinks to do, but not the other way as there's no easy way to undo target=_blank.

It's usually considered bad UX practice to do so by default unless clicking a hyperlink can cause irreversible state change like in some cases of autopaging.

I would really like this to happen as I often forget to "open in a new tab" those interesting links and then have to go back and do it.

It's a matter of UX, people can choose if they want to read/open the web on the same tab or on the other tab

ctrl + click is effectively that

<sigh>

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15054636

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10079388

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8403764

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5240674

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2927091

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8183332

I semi-appologise for the sigh and the snark and I'll take the downvotes as being merited for my tone but the number of times I see posts like this (aka "Why Doesn't HN do xyz?") I cry a little inside. There is a search box at the bottom of each page (which is what I used to provide the links above rather than some super-human feat of search skills) and that search box should be the first port of call for any user that feels the need to post a 'why does HN do / not do...' i.m.o.