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Just adding on… Browsers model back/forward linearly whereas the mental model I want is more tree-like. If I end up going back a few times and then click a lin

Just adding on… Browsers model back/forward linearly whereas the mental model I want is more tree-like. If I end up going back a few times and then click a link in the same tab, I lose all ability to go forward again. So a lot of my tabs are the result of using “duplicate tab” so I can take actions that destroy the back/forwards state without losing the original. If we’re going to have a browser implement instant, reliable back/forward, I’d also like to see some simple way of choosing from all forward actions I’ve previously taken. Because my browsing is so often non-linear.

andrewla 4y ago
Strongly agree -- this is where tabs as artifacts becomes useful. I don't necessarily feel that we need to eliminate tabs in favor of "virtual" tabs but that we can contain the "tab explosion" problem. One thing I do frequently is do a middle-click-on-back-button to navigate backwards but keep the current tab open; the enhancement here would be that this would be a cost-free and non-context-losing operation.
brokenmachine 4y ago
This is 100% true. I'm a tab hoarder, and your comment made me realize that it's mostly because I don't want to lose the source of a interesting links. So I just open in new tab or duplicate tab to preserve the original tab and it's history.
ogarten 4y ago
I thought it was only me, but so much yes. Back/forward is so broken and unusable websites make it even worse. Going back brings you straight to the top which kind of sucks if there is endless scrolling. Websites making it hard or impossible to open links in new tabs are really annoying as well.
dendrite9 4y ago
I would be happy to have tabs on the top, then tabs on a side for all tabs opened from the current tab. I find that wish there were a way to group tabs opened together, for example when I am exploring several datasheets at once to select a suitable part. Sometimes a new window works well enough but for complicated browsing that isn't really useful enough. At some point the branches get complicated but even 3 layers deep would be enough for me before breaking into new windows.

andrewla 4y ago

Strongly agree -- this is where tabs as artifacts becomes useful. I don't necessarily feel that we need to eliminate tabs in favor of "virtual" tabs but that we can contain the "tab explosion" problem. One thing I do frequently is do a middle-click-on-back-button to navigate backwards but keep the current tab open; the enhancement here would be that this would be a cost-free and non-context-losing operation.

brokenmachine 4y ago

This is 100% true. I'm a tab hoarder, and your comment made me realize that it's mostly because I don't want to lose the source of a interesting links. So I just open in new tab or duplicate tab to preserve the original tab and it's history.

ogarten 4y ago

I thought it was only me, but so much yes. Back/forward is so broken and unusable websites make it even worse. Going back brings you straight to the top which kind of sucks if there is endless scrolling. Websites making it hard or impossible to open links in new tabs are really annoying as well.

dendrite9 4y ago

I would be happy to have tabs on the top, then tabs on a side for all tabs opened from the current tab. I find that wish there were a way to group tabs opened together, for example when I am exploring several datasheets at once to select a suitable part. Sometimes a new window works well enough but for complicated browsing that isn't really useful enough. At some point the branches get complicated but even 3 layers deep would be enough for me before breaking into new windows.