The FJ vs. H lawsuit thread.

Max Phillips

Scott-Martin, it's very true that we'll never know the whole truth about what happened. No one ever knows the whole truth about anything. But, as you also say, I still have to choose whether or not to license H&Co fonts. Neither course is morally neutral, and I can only pick one based on the information I have. Which, in fairness, is quite a bit.

I don't think Gill or Wagner are pertinent here. For one thing, the abhorrent things they did were unrelated to their creative work. For another, they're dead. There's question that by licensing Gill or listening the the Ring cycle, you might be complicit in unethical activity, and no point in punishing Monotype or Deutsche Grammophon for dead men's misdeeds.

PabloImpallari

Any similarities to actual persons or places, alive or dead, real or fictitious is merely coincidental and the product of a feverish imagination.
http://www.dorkly.com/post/71305/if-luke-had-accepted-vaders-offer

Adam Twardoch

I’d like to offer a somewhat different point of view to the “post-settlement” debate. 

1. Tobias and Jonathan chose to work together years ago. 
2. After years of working together, Tobias and Jonathan had a major business dispute. 
3. Tobias and Jonathan used the appropriate place to resolve the dispute: a United States court of law. 
4. Tobias and Jonathan settled the dispute. A settlement means that both parties entered a mutual agreement that resolved the dispute. 

I’m happy that the dispute ended. I don’t have sufficient knowledge of the truth in the affair, and I’m not interested in learning how much which party agreed to give or receive (as little as I’m interested in knowing how much alimony a friend of mine is paying to his ex-wife after his divorce). Nor do I think I should be interested. Both Tobias and Jonathan decided to keep the terms of the settlement confidential, and I think I should respect that decision. 

As far as assholes are concerned: there are many in the world. Many good musicians and actors are assholes. Some type designers are assholes, as well. There are even some type designers whom I personally like who are assholes. 

As far as licensing or recommending somebody’s typefaces, I do take my personal relationship with the designer into consideration, but only as a minor factor. To be fair to the craft, I should be judging the craft and effectiveness of the typeface first, whether it gets the job done, whether it’s a good or perhaps the best choice for the particular purpose.

I ask myself: who am I to judge other people’s character? And, is it fair to let my personal opinions of, feelings about or relationships with a person dictate the choices I make regarding the craft? I feel my duty to the craft should be more important than that. 

I make a distinction between whom to have a beer with and whose typefaces to use. If I didn’t do it, I might be running into the danger of nepotism. I might unfairly favor and promote type not by the type’s merits but because the guy who made it is my buddy. 

Having said that, I look forward to seeing new typefaces from hoefler.com and from frerejones.com I think the future will best show whether, for the craft, it’s better that the two men went their separate ways or whether it might have been better if they continued to work together. 

(To be clear: I do have moral/ethical limits, of course. But hearsay about one man disputing with another about something one man said to another 15 years ago but they never put it in writing isn’t anywhere near these.)

William Berkson

"Some ...whom I personally like...are assholes" Wins the thread!

Eris Alar

I fear I am totally guilty of nepotism and recommend my friends (mostly people in this group) fonts all the time. I only recommend ones I believe are of high quality, and obviously whoever I am recommending them to is free to choose whatever they wish, but I see no issue with wanting to support my friends. 

Russell McGorman

Since I make 'em (fonts) and rarely ever buy 'em, I don't mind coming down - on the personal level, on the side of my idea of the who the 'good guys' are. I'm not in the same league as the Adam Twardochs of this world by any stretch of the imagination, so the thought of my opinion as a type designer of another type designer or foundry unfairly tipping the balance one way or the other is of absolutely no concern to me.

But, in my in-house design job for a government agency, there is a line where that way of thinking gets shelved, partly because I like having the job, but mainly because my opinion when spoken as a civil servant can have more weight than I intend. Not much, but still...  )