- From: Christopher Slye <cslye@adobe.com>
- Date: Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:31:37 -0700
- To: <www-style@w3.org>
I agree with Adam's assertion that fonts are more broadly reusable than many/most other web assets. The idea of a more generic "asset wrapper" is interesting, but I don't know that it's necessary or even appropriate at this time. To those who demand the foundries trust their customers: First, it's about more than trusting our customers. If we allow customers to post fonts on a server, free and clear, we must then trust everyone on the web. I'm sure nobody here thinks that everyone on the web is trustworthy (i.e. doesn't steal). Foundries need some simple barriers ("fences" is a good figure of speech) to convey what is free and what is not. For many foundries, their sole source of revenue is fonts. Some users are asking them to allow anyone to post their product on a server where anyone can take and use them. That is simply not realistic for most foundries. Second, it seems counterproductive to exhort a foundry to trust its customers while simultaneously fomenting distrust of foundries. Like any business, foundries will have to find a business model that strikes the right balance between customer satisfaction and sustainable revenue. It all depends on what the market will bear, but license fees, proportional to the rights and benefits one receives, are part of the font business. It would be better to approach that discussion with trust and understanding, because in the end, the foundry-user relationship is reciprocal. Foundries certainly do know that what they charge and the license agreements they impose are factors in customers' choices, but likewise, users still must acknowledge and honor those agreements when they license a font. We try to understand what our customers want and need, and hope that our customers understand the same of foundries. To summarize, and reiterate what others have said: Foundries are looking for basic font protection on the web, something which minimizes inadvertent and brazen font copying and misuse. It need not be oppressive. We have to consider more than just our customers, we have to worry about everyone on the web who will have access to font files, whatever format that might be. It seems like a satisfactory solution is within reach. I'd ask all the skeptical font users out there to consider that what font foundries need really is fairly simple -- and Ascender's proposal is a good illustration of that. Regards, Christopher * * * * Christopher Slye Team Lead, Typographic Staff Type Development Adobe Systems, Inc. San Jose, California
Received on Tuesday, 16 June 2009 20:51:55 UTC