Re: css3-fonts: should not dictate usage policy with respect to origin

Ben Weiner wrote:

> Indeed, ones that can use permissively-licensed web fonts where the idea of restricting the origin of the file might happen not to be interesting or relevant.

Are you envisaging UAs that can *only* use permissively-licensed web 
fonts? Surely there are no webfont-ready UAs that cannot use such fonts. 
The point of defining a standard for Webfonts, rather than just saying 
'Everyone use libre fonts', is to encourage use of fonts under any 
number of different licensing models and to do so in a way that does not 
favour any particular model or force UAs to treat different licensing 
models in different ways.

Further, the same origin restriction is not simply an issue related to 
font licensing models, but also author/publisher preference (which may 
be informed by info leakage concern, or by a desire to limit external 
access to their digital assets, whether licensed or custom fonts). This 
is why I think Anne's from-origin header proposal is such a good idea: 
it puts the decision where it should be, in the content publisher's 
hands, presuming compliance with the from-origin header 
restrictions/permissions on the part of the UA, and compliance of the 
author with the font license, whether it be restrictive or permissive.

JH

Received on Saturday, 18 June 2011 22:29:55 UTC