create external link icon for websites

[kaigou]

Title:
create external link icon for websites

Area:
sidebars, design

Summary:
On many styles, there's nothing to indicate that the text in the sidebar is actually the website's link. Could we add an icon to those links?

Description:
The icon would indicate that a) the text really is a link even if the style doesn't reflect this, and b) that the link goes offsite. Examples of standard use:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Icon_External_Link.png
http://sils.unc.edu/redesign/IA/external_link_icon.gif

If it's set as default in the global CSS, it might be easier (maybe?) to make it apply without adjusting every style. Also, I don't know if it could be done as default icon (like the LJ/DW icons) in content text, but it'd at least be handy to have it on sidebars to indicate a user's website and which links in the sidebar are external.

ETA: Alternate might be to make it optional for users, to add it to their selected style?

Poll #1550 create external link icon for websites

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 31

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
5 (16.1%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
1 (3.2%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
19 (61.3%)

(I have no opinion)
6 (19.4%)

(Other: please comment)
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[matgb]

A style that doesn't show links as links either by underlining or colour changing at all is a bad design that breaks basic usability standards. Links should be clearly identifiable as such else users simply won't find them at all.

If you want to create a style that uses icons instead of text colour or underlines, go ahead, but I don't see the overall benefit--it'll simply encourage low usability layout designs.

[kaigou]

The issue here isn't whether links are indicated but whether it's possible to indicate external links. I agree about usability standards, but this is in addition to, not in place of, because this icon wouldn't be used for a link if the domain is dreamwidth.org.

[matgb]

Problem with that is to some people, including a huge chunk of my readers, links to *.dreamwidth.org count as external links if they're coming from matgb.dreamwidth.org

I use DW as my blog platform--half my readers are DW/LJ users, the other half come from all over the place, my blog is where they are, anything that takes them away from my blog is external. Sure, to many DW users, they're on their site and they're not planning to leave it, but that's not necessarily normal behaviour.

If you're going to have an option to label external links, if I were to use it, I'd want it to label anything not part of my bit of DW as external, as to me, it is.

[kaigou]

Per edits to original post: in which case, you'd be one of the people who'd open the style wizard and turn the option off. I, on the other hand, would like to be able to turn it on.

The question, then, is whether it's possible* to set this as a global option.

* I'm assuming the code to add such wouldn't require massive LOE. Which could be a bad assumption on my part, but hey, only making suggestions, here.