I think we should do first things first, that is stop garbled characters due to codepage discrepancies; stop (resp. minimize) burdening posters with HTML escaping. (The problem is explained in AC's moderated thread.) In order to increase our chances of a quick and waterproof solution, this goal should be achieved

1. with minimal effort for the programmers and testers, likely to become stable quickly,
2. with minimal change for users from Kansas,
3. without requiring a complete reworking of the database,
4. preferably without any changes to the database and its interpretation at all, thus allowing fallback to the old script,
5. without barring any future reforms.

These criteria are reflected in my above proposals. Everything else can be added later, including the conversion of old messages. Note that the officials still have to be convinced to consider any change at all.

The "target _blank" code, normally resulting in a new tab being created, is already in use by the links labeled "Printer Friendly"; try them out. (Popups, in contrast, are usually effected by JavaScript, which is not the Mudcat way.) (Neither is specifying any fonts other than "Arial", John.)

My models Grishka1 and Grishka3 can alternatively be realised without "target _blank". In this case posters of plain English will not notice any difference at all between Grishka3 and the current model. It is also very easy to offer both behaviours via two buttons – this may be the best idea.