Re: Fonts for distribution

[Behdad Esfahbod <behdad cs toronto edu>]

On Thu, 9 Mar 2006, Clytie Siddall wrote:

> I don't know how useful it is to compare Linux with Mac OSX (UNIX),

Absolutely useless in this case.

> but I use Lucida Grande all the time _because_ it covers such a wide
> range of characters. Not having to change font when I change
> languages is a major convenience, even though changing font is only a
> couple of keystrokes or clicks in OSX.

Yes, but in GNOME (and Firefox) you don't have to change font.
The software picks the best font for each script automatically.

Now if you install fonts that cover a wide range of scripts, but
do a poor job for most of them, then you are in trouble and have
to change fonts all the time, to get rid of the ugly
general-purpose font.

In other words, let programmers think about font handling and
users enjoy the software.  If you have fonts you want to see
distributed, file feature requests for them with major distros,
but trying to push glyphs for your favorite into wide-spread
fonts is a recipe for disaster.  Please don't do that, for the
same reason that I do not commit Vietnamese translations.

--behdad
http://behdad.org/

"Commandment Three says Do Not Kill, Amendment Two says Blood Will Spill"
	-- Dan Bern, "New American Language"