Each site that does this does it a bit differently, but the bottom line is that a script intercepts a regular click, Ctrl+Click and Shift+click and replaces them with a new behavior (in this case, adding the video number into the address of the page). As you discovered, you can bypass this script using the right-click context menu. Another method is to "middle-click" using the mouse scroll wheel (if it's a mouse with a scroll wheel).

I'm sure there's a crafty way to strip the scripts off of the videos, but I haven't tried to program one.

Wouldn't a better way is to have Firefox filter-out any script that defeats Firefox default key behavior?

What normally happens is; when you left click on a link, that page changes to the new page. Some links on some pages are set to open new windows, but not all that many. The best policy I have found is; When I find a link to check out, I open that link in a new window or tab. Once I am done, I can close or save a bookmark, then go back to the original page I was on.

Hi Tecknomage, that's a tough one, since many sites are designed to minimize page loads by loading new content into the same page, and may not work correctly if the content is loaded in a new tab instead. Breaking those sophisticated applications if someone happens to be holding down Shift or Ctrl would be a poor result. I think the right-click and middle-click workarounds might have to suffice for now until the exact change is better defined and tested.