### start single-quote escapes the url parts so place them inside single-quote or else!
### (if you're given a bad link someone might be able to run shell commands)
finger:printf "%%s\r\n" '%p' | ncat '%d' 79 | tr -d '\r' | xmessage -file -
### new! subshells works
whois:whois "$(printf '%%s\\\\n' '%d' | sed 's/^..*$/-h/')" '%d' '%p' | xmessage -file -
irc:x-terminal-emulator -e irssi -c '%d' -p '%P'
http:dillo '%U'
DEFAULT:xdg-open '%U'