Re: Fonts WG Charter feedback

Thomas Phinney wrote:

> But I do think that John's point is well taken in understanding where
> font vendors are at in their thinking: even EOT, especially once the
> former encryption is a public spec, represents considerable compromise
> relative to what most font vendors would really like. Yes, they WOULD
> like iTunes-like DRM. They're not angling for it because they don't
> think it's feasible insofar as browser vendors aren't going to go
> there. But font vendors who back (or backed) the public version of EOT
> mostly feel like they've already made a huge compromise. So taking
> that as if it's an utterly unreasonable request and trying to get font
> vendors halfway from there to desktop fonts on web servers... well,
> the surprising thing is not that many of them are resistant to further
> compromise, but that as many of them are open to it as they are. It
> may be due to a feeling of helplessness, and the sense that the W3C
> will do what it does, and they'll just have to decide afterwards
> whether to license their fonts under those terms.

Thank you, Thomas.

The other thing worth noting is that the community of people who make 
type diverse and distributed. I think what we're looking at now is a 
kind of second wave of engagement. The first wave involved people from 
companies like Adobe and Ascender and Monotype, who are larger and more 
closely connected with related software such as raster imaging, page 
layout, compression, etc.. This second wave involves the more 
technically savvy of the independent font developers: people like Chris, 
Erik, Karsten and Tal. Even when we have been through the process by 
which we might come to a compromise and consensus, there will be the 
main body of independent designers and boutique vendors who now 
represent the main creative force of type who will probably need to go 
through the process themselves in some cathartic fashion.

Funnily, when a major industry has been completely destroyed in living 
memory, people feel protective about what they've managed to put 
together for themselves from the wreckage.

JH

Received on Monday, 6 July 2009 23:13:48 UTC