Right click on the link, open in new tab.

Firefox Orange button > OPtions > Options > Tabs
[x] When i open a link in a tab, switch it to new tab immediately

You can middle-click or hold down Ctrl and left-click a link to open the link in a new tab.
A pinned tab isn't protected unless you have an extension that does this.

My mouse doesn't have a middle button. Interesting that a pinned tab isn't protected unless you have an extension because until two days ago my pinned tabs were protected. Am I the only one who could do this?

thanks for trying to help.

I have this problem too. Why do people always answer here with alternatives? I saw an alternate thread were the user used google opening in his pinned tab instead of a new tab. Half of the responders replied to change his google settings! HELLO! read the question!

I know I can right click, middle click, blah blah blah. I don't want that! Why dick around with: Rclick/context menu selection/ when simply Lcicking the menu use to work?  I want it to work like it always has. LEFT click, new tab. Geez there is even a setting for it, except  IT DOESN'T work! everytime they "upgrade" firefox, they break something else!  so, how about a fix for this?

That's NOT how it is suppose to work. we are asking for it to work like it always has. When I have a pinned tab, I don't want links opening in that tab, I pinned it for a reason, to maintain the link that's in that tab. We want to clink the link like we normally would, (Left click), link opens in new tab.

EVERY version of Firefox that has had the ability to pin tabs, ALSO opened links in a new tab with a simple Left click. Now I know its not much more of an effort, but we LIKE it the way it was, so why adopt new behavior because either something is broke, or they changed the programming, because, well of course they know what the users want... although they never ask!

I've been a Mozilla user since Mozilla WAS a browser! Firefox was the best step forward from Netscape, but since V.14, Firefox has gotten buggier and buggier, with many of the same problems never fixed. I really want to continue to like/use Firefox but its getting hard to continue. 

So if anyone who actually works for Mozilla reads this, how about a response that addresses the issue we asked about?