return false; in jQuery event handlers?

More than often we want to cancel the default behaviour of browser. In jQuery, do we return false; or e.preventDefault(); in event handlers?

Short Answer:
When in doubt, use e.preventDefault();

Longer Answer:
e.preventDefault(); actually suffices most of the time. return false; in jQuery event handler is doing more stuffs, basically the following:

e.preventDefault();
e.stopPropagation();
// And immediately stop the execution of the function (It “returns”!)

Event bubbling is normally what we would like to have. Having a e.stopPropagation(); without careful planning will usually lead to some unforeseen bugs that eat up precious development time.

Here’s a good read on this topic: jQuery Events: Stop (Mis)Using Return False