Received links are working for me using Firefox 38.0 (Linux build).

Maybe it's a recent Firefox bug and will be quickly fixed?

Interesting? https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/gmail/U7B666AMo8s

Edit: Links work in 39.0 for me, both Linux and Windows versions.

Have you tried clearing cookies and cache?

I occasionally click a link, don't recall where, and FF gives me a blank page. I've a little green circle with an arrow that restarts FF, not the computer, just FF, an this usually fixes the blank page. [I put up with a lot of nonsense from FF because I use the 'reader view' feature a lot.]

Thanks to both of you. I have FF updating automatically, so don't know when it happened, but as of this morning, it is FF39, and--whether or not FF was the problem, I can't tell, but today the links are working fine. I'm going to keep a record of your suggestions in case it happens again.

Related or not?

I like FF as it has been personalized with add-ons for my convenience. However, the versions released over the last several years have increasingly failed to open sites, complete a view offering, and resulting in more dead hyper-links. And many sites are important sites to me. V39.0 is now the worst with the most failures.

It's not a security settings issue, and its not add-ons blocking a page's ability to load as it occurs with add-ons disabled. It's not an AdBlock issue. The effected pages work just fine in IE, Opera, Chrome, and Slimbrowser. I am approaching the need to drop FF altogether.

It's been a while, but I have read other users complain of the failures and supported their wishful thinking that the next release will remedy the concern. It hasn't.

DA

Thanks for the comment, DA. I sure hope I don't end up getting rid of FF, myself. There may have been more bad-link experiences due to FF than I realized; generally I just felt annoyed that some site had been linked to when the page linked to no longer existed. Now, reading your comment, I have to start checking to see if I can get some of those sites if I use I.E., which I really don't like very much.

Didn't even realize GW had a computer forum but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.

Try using Chrome. I used FF for years until it started getting buggy on me, now I used Google Chrome browser on all devices (phone, tablets laptop, desktop) and have no problems.

It may come to that eventually, but I have had such a long relationship with FireFox!

Hmm, I'm a long time Firefox user, haven't run into any significant rendering issues that I can
remember - not enough anyway to overcome the shortcomings of what I run into in other browsers. I do occasionally use other browsers though for certain reasons.
They're all pretty much neck and neck as far as standards compliance.
If you really want to get into the nitty gritty of that check the Wikipedia page that charts all that stuff :
Comparison of web browsers - Wikipedia

I don't think you have to worry about jumping ship just yet.

I've also had recent issues with Firefox. Most recently with my company's website and a call to our tech support disclosed that they block Firefox access because of problems users have had.

I've switched between Chrome and Firefox (with a little Opera too) over the years and it may be time to leave Firefox for awhile.

Users have different needs. I read several hours a day. As I've mentioned before, I use Firefox for Firefox Reader View for clutter-free web pages | Firefox Help. When Netflix went to their latest format I had to start using two browsers.

Kbarb: Thanks. I'll look at that comparison.