[Openfontlibrary] clarification...

[Jan Claeys]

Op zaterdag 27-01-2007 om 11:08 uur [tijdzone -0800], schreef Ed Trager:
> IMHO, I think the absolute *best* business model for an independent
> type designer or independent small foundry would be a combination of
> things:
> 
>    (1) "Open Source" some artistic fonts under a license such as
> Gustavo suggests in order to gain exposure, free advertising, and a
> foot in the door of the FLOSS and commercial typographic communities.
> 
>    (2) At the same time also contribute or donate some of your
> typographic design expertise to one or more OFL-style projects that
> really need it.  That is, help out by adding or improving some of the
> glyphs in one of the SIL fonts, or in WenQuanYi, or in the GFS fonts,
> or in some other OFL'ed project that is likely to sprout up in the
> next couple of years.  Or donate some of your time to help get the
> OFLB site or other typographically-centered FLOSS community sites up
> to snuff.
> 
>    (3) Set up a nice web site with PayPal and sell your fonts too.
> Dual-license them as appropriate.
> 
>    (4) Try to get interviewed on MyFonts.com or some other
> typography-centered site to help build you or your foundry's
> reputation.
> 
>    (5) If you live in a country like the USA, don't forget to consult
> your tax man about how to get the most out of your charitable
> contributions to the community. 

Another option is releasing a basic version of a font for free and
charging for the "professional" version (e.g. with ligatures,
alternative versions, more languages supported, better hinting, ...).

Or yet another option: release a (partial) font (family) under a less
free license and promise to release the complete font (family) under the
OFL if you are given a certain amount of money (remember how Blender got
free?).


-- 
Jan Claeys