Why Gruber’s Linking Method Wins

There was some hubbub a while back about the way the titles of posts in John Gruber’s linked list over at Daring Fireball link to the referenced post. (Read a synopsis here.) I myself wasn’t a very big fan (although I have gotten used to it), but today I stumbled on what I think is a very compelling reason for this linking style.

With all due respect to Gruber, I don’t have much interest in bookmarking or archiving his blockquotes with minimal commentary. What I’m interested in is the post he’s linking to! Imagine my serendipity when using Fraser Speirs excellent Applescript for archiving the current NetNewsWire item to Yojimbo. The URL for Gruber’s linked items is not to Daring Fireball but to the item in question. So, the script archived the actual item that Gruber linked to and not his linked list post. Not that my opinion matters a hell of a lot, but perish the thought that Daring Fireball’s linked list style change.

Sidebar: The other side effect of getting used to Gruber’s linking style is that I find myself expecting that linking behavior from other sites and being confused when I’m taken to their site. Most notably among these is kottke.org.

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