I usually open links in e-mails by right-clicking on the link and selecting "open link in new window" (or on firefox, "open link in new tab") this keeps your mailbox open to the exact place it was before and opens the link in a different window or tab. The only thing is that some pop-up blocking programs will think the new window is a pop-up. Change your pop-up blocker settings or hold down the "control" key while opening the link to keep your new window from being blocked.