I guess the word I was missing was that it only happened on a fresh install so I just wanted to clarify. If this problem exists on other operating systems then it is actually an issue with firefox and not something Ubuntu has done to modify firefox.
If you can confirm the below link addresses your concern then I will link this upstream. -- Firefox doesn't display new windows in new tabs despite option being set https://launchpad.net/bugs/75758 -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
