The new forum software does not require you to use the UBB code [ URL ] button located above the post icons -- it automatically converts the URL you paste/type.
If you don't wish to show the actual URL in your post, you can use the UBB [ url ] buttons. This inserts a pair of tags in your post [ url ][ url ] and you paste your target URL in so that it looks as follows:
This displays as a clickable link without sight of the URL: Link to BBC site
Yes, the latter is not as elegant as the old forum, but that's how phpBB does things I'm afraid. The benefit is that it auto-converts URLs (the old forum did this badly).
All URLs entered in forum posts currently open within your existing browser window. This is a bug that will get changed as soon as we have free time to focus on it, and we'll go back to opening a blank window/tab, which is far more convenient.
Meanwhile, you can use right-click then 'open in new tab/window' from your mouse menu or any of the PC variants of this option.
