I agree that JS-only links are a not a good approach. This forces the user to relinquish control over how they explore the information space. It is perfectly f

I agree that JS-only links are a not a good approach. This forces the user to relinquish control over how they explore the information space. It is perfectly feasible to have a hyperlink to an actual page (i.e. a 'normal' hyperlink) and then run some JS on the click event to achieve the current behaviour. This will ensure your links work when there is no JS and when people just want to right- or middle-click a link. A normal left-click on the link will activate the JS as is currently the case. Best of both worlds.