all of which 39987.74http://www.tehforum.co.uk/forum/index.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=39987.74!
OK, what happened there seems to be reproducible in Safari6/OSX.8.2:
If you select text in the text area and click the link button, the text remains selected. Now when you paste, the link gets pasted in place of the text rather than in the URL box. The dialogue complains that an URL is needed before closing, so you move the focus and paste. But if you're not observant you now have two links and no text.
So the text area maintains focus when the dialogue is invoked.
Bloody Macs! :{)