Re: [OpenFontLibrary] The future of OFLB development
An addendum to this topic: there are evidently still software projects out there whose users rely heavily on type and need a good font selection -- but aren't currently getting one. Nicolas Spalinger just posted a link to this LibreOffice proposal: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Design/Whiteboards/Font_Repository_Integration ...which is about integrating download installation of open fonts into LO. I at least think OFLB could fill this role better than anyone else. Or at least OFLB _could_; I'm not sure exactly what their technical requirements are at the moment Nate -- nathan.p.willis nwil...@glyphography.com aim/ym/gtalk:n8willis identi.ca/n8
Re: [OpenFontLibrary] The future of OFLB development
I'd like to support the idea of OFL indexing Open Source fonts that are hosted elsewhere. To speak as a frequent visitor to OFL and an occasional font maker, it would be great to have a resource that aggregates Libre fonts (or at least the major ones) and is actually kept up to date. Yet I can see major technical problems, especially if you intend to include descriptions samples and the like. How would you pull fonts from GitHub, SourceForge and elsewhere (each source presenting its own set of problems, not to mention all the things released from the designers' own webpages)? How do you cope with the fact that every font is differently packaged (for there is no standard for packaging fonts)? If the answer is to get font designers to cooperate, what are the incentives? When I release a new version of my biggest font project, I already have a lengthy checklist to get through: I'm not eager to add the making and uploading of a new package for OFL, or samples, or descriptions, to my list of stuff to do--just as I don't, for example, think it my job to provide Linux packages or update the Wikipedia page. If the answer is for the website's maintainers to find and index the fonts, how do you ensure the continuity of the effort? The idea of serving webfonts is I think a non-starter. The bandwidth involved would be immense: who would provide the funding? And if Google is providing the same service, what's the point? Peter Baker
Re: [OpenFontLibrary] The future of OFLB development
Having looked at the required data model more in depth, and looking at my own feature wish list, I'm no longer convinced that Drupal is the right tool for this job. (Drupal doesn't handle hierarchical data models very elegantly.) I'd be curious to see what MediaWiki could do. From my own experience, this seems like something that could be best done in RoR or Symfony2, but I have no MediaWiki experience. Regardless of the platform, I'd like to remain involved, whichever direction we go. Cheers, Daniel On Dec 18, 2012, at 7:14 AM, Dave Crossland d...@lab6.com wrote: Hi! On 3 December 2012 17:31, Daniel Johnson il.basso.bu...@gmail.com wrote: Dave Crossland's recent email reply has indicated that OFLB (and Aiki) is no longer being actively developed, and he has suggested Django or Drupal as a basis for future development. I am not only an amateur font designer but also a senior Drupal developer. I've led teams in development of dot-gov Drupal sites as well as in the private sector. I'd be willing to take the development lead in getting this project off the ground if there's sufficient community interest and support. Any takers? What do you need to move forward with this? :) Cheers Dave
Re: [OpenFontLibrary] The future of OFLB development
On 25 December 2012 15:55, Daniel Johnson il.basso.bu...@gmail.com wrote: Having looked at the required data model more in depth, and looking at my own feature wish list, I'm no longer convinced that Drupal is the right tool for this job. (Drupal doesn't handle hierarchical data models very elegantly.) I'd be curious to see what MediaWiki could do. From my own experience, this seems like something that could be best done in RoR or Symfony2, but I have no MediaWiki experience. Regardless of the platform, I'd like to remain involved, whichever direction we go. Perhaps extending http://impallari.com/projects is our best bet, made with http://kohanaframework.org/
Re: [OpenFontLibrary] The future of OFLB development
On 25 December 2012 16:09, Alexandre Prokoudine alexandre.prokoud...@gmail.com wrote: I'd start with a better question: what place in the modern ecosystem should OFLB be aiming at? When we started it, there was no TypeKit, no GFS, no half a dozen other web fonts foundries. What makes OFLB special today, apart from free-as-in-speech typefaces? I also think Alexandre's question is a very important one that needs an answer before we proceed in any direction. The one advantage OFLB has is that typeface authors become the curators of their own fonts, which we don't see so much on, say, Fontsquirrel, Kernest, or Google. I think Daniel is correct. What sets OFLB apart from FontSquirrel and GWF is that Ethan and I are gatekeepers for those services, deciding what is uploaded to each, whereas OFLB is 'self service.' I think it would make sense to add a 'link' object that points to projects that are hosted and developed elsewhere (DejaVu, Libertine, etc etc) so that OFLB really IS a 'library' - a complete index of all libre fonts on the web that presents the fonts in a way that is pleasant to browse. I think the features of www.openhatch.org are also good, in that they help people to become involved. OFLB can help type designers to set out a project's roadmap and invite people to participate on particular tasks.
Re: [OpenFontLibrary] The future of OFLB development
I have been thinking for a while (have i not mentioned it?) That I thought oflb should have a bone fide web font server, where web authors can serve the fonts with a single line in the head tag a la GWF. -v Dave Crossland d...@lab6.com wrote: On 25 December 2012 16:09, Alexandre Prokoudine alexandre.prokoud...@gmail.com wrote: I'd start with a better question: what place in the modern ecosystem should OFLB be aiming at? When we started it, there was no TypeKit, no GFS, no half a dozen other web fonts foundries. What makes OFLB special today, apart from free-as-in-speech typefaces? I also think Alexandre's question is a very important one that needs an answer before we proceed in any direction. The one advantage OFLB has is that typeface authors become the curators of their own fonts, which we don't see so much on, say, Fontsquirrel, Kernest, or Google. I think Daniel is correct. What sets OFLB apart from FontSquirrel and GWF is that Ethan and I are gatekeepers for those services, deciding what is uploaded to each, whereas OFLB is 'self service.' I think it would make sense to add a 'link' object that points to projects that are hosted and developed elsewhere (DejaVu, Libertine, etc etc) so that OFLB really IS a 'library' - a complete index of all libre fonts on the web that presents the fonts in a way that is pleasant to browse. I think the features of www.openhatch.org are also good, in that they help people to become involved. OFLB can help type designers to set out a project's roadmap and invite people to participate on particular tasks.
Re: [OpenFontLibrary] The future of OFLB development
I can see that is an issue :-) but then you are looking only for future developments that do not generate serious bandwidth. I wonder what sort of bandwidth a full on oflb font server could generate? Dave Crossland d...@lab6.com wrote: On 25 December 2012 21:11, vernon adams v...@newtypography.co.uk wrote: I have been thinking for a while (have i not mentioned it?) That I thought oflb should have a bone fide web font server, where web authors can serve the fonts with a single line in the head tag a la GWF. I'm not sure this is very valuable. OFLB offers this today but without the full set of formats, its not so much use. Also I'm not totally sure our gratis hosting provider would want to foot a massive bill...
Re: [OpenFontLibrary] The future of OFLB development
Hi! On 3 December 2012 17:31, Daniel Johnson il.basso.bu...@gmail.com wrote: Dave Crossland's recent email reply has indicated that OFLB (and Aiki) is no longer being actively developed, and he has suggested Django or Drupal as a basis for future development. I am not only an amateur font designer but also a senior Drupal developer. I've led teams in development of dot-gov Drupal sites as well as in the private sector. I'd be willing to take the development lead in getting this project off the ground if there's sufficient community interest and support. Any takers? What do you need to move forward with this? :) Cheers Dave
Re: [OpenFontLibrary] The future of OFLB development
AWESOME :) Yes please
Re: [OpenFontLibrary] The future of OFLB development
I like the idea, but Drupal has a huge developer community
Re: [OpenFontLibrary] The future of OFLB development
Lots of frameworks have a huge developer community. Here in MN, the WordPress and Rail communities rival, if not exceed, the local Drupal community. The satellite Microsoft office also gave rise to a vibrant developer community around their tools. In my experience, every framework has benefits and weaknesses. The question to me is about long term appropriateness for this project. Lastly, if the weaknesses - in the short term - of remaining in Aiki aren't detrimental to the OFLB. Then, there's time to discuss what will support the most successful OFLB. --- Garrick van Buren 612 325 9110 garr...@kernest.com --- Kernest.com eBooks. Typography. Together. --- On Dec 3, 2012, at 10:04 AM, Dave Crossland wrote: I like the idea, but Drupal has a huge developer community
Re: [OpenFontLibrary] The future of OFLB development
On 3 December 2012 19:27, Garrick van Buren garr...@kernest.com wrote: what will support the most successful OFLB. The OFLB project has failed to attracted any developers beyond the ones I raised funds for (most of which was out of my own pocket) I believe a libre font library project that has a concrete roadmap, openly calls for developers, and uses a mainstream framework will attract developers.
