pablo> Yes many type designers do bad work. Some copy fonts or just make modifications of other fonts. Bad people exist in every field.

Some designers also decide to make a revival of a typeface that existed but is not available in digital or that they consider deserves a better version. If they have done the work and respected the copyrights, you have no right to claim that the font was stolen.

Anyway, I have seen many fonts being shared on this forum.
Most were original designs.
Most were from some small – not rich – designers.
So you are just taking bad examples to try to defend your views.
What about taking a good example. Explain why it is normal to take a typeface that took 2 years for somebody to design, and give it away for free?

Obviously, if a design is just a copy or a bad font, you will not want it, and not share it here.

But continue looking for excuses, maybe tomorrow I can ready a few better ones.

Today they were better ones at least, like the fact that a designer needs to try fonts before he can finalise a design. This was at least a reasonable point.

When you go to the supermarket, do you take 10 liters of milk, go to the cashier, and tell him you are not going to pay for the milk because they are making a lot of money with their shop, and the farmer is just an asshole exploiting his poor cows? Do you tell him that you actually don't like the taste of the milk they are selling, that it is not different enough from other shops, but you still want to drink it, and eventually if you feel like it, from time to time you will pay for it, when you are making a special cake or something?
I suspect you just put the milk on the register, get your money out to pay, and then you politely say thank you and have a nice day.

But apparently once you are back home on the internet, and nobody knows your name, other standards apply. Suddenly it is normal to be very unpolite and to disregard the law and the work of people like you. Not only that, but when somebody points out that maybe you are doing something wrong, you think you can talk down to him instead of staying humble and keeping a low profile when you are actually the one who uses somebody else's work without their permission.

So many of your arguments are just straight up incorrect, it's embarrassing.

Mine? Well I'm just a person, not perfect, neither are my "arguments".
On top of that I am tired of writing here, I really can't spend more time making these arguments.
But feel free to correct whatever you want and give your own opinion.

That is the rule in most of communication market, as in architecture... and even in custom font design! it's called a "call for tender".

No that is not the rule at all.
In architecture, every agency is compensated for their participation in a pitch. In graphic design, agencies are sometimes compensated, sometimes not.
It has become a more and more common occurence that companies try to get designers to work for free. And many designers have complained and criticized this tendency. You trying to defend this bad habit to justify your illegal downloading of fonts is just counterproductive to your own line of work.

You might want to read this and reconsider:
http://www.no-spec.com/faq/

As I've said before (and you of course fail to answer that), if somebody wants to work for free, it is their call to make. But because YOU are ready to work for free in a contest, does not mean every body has to work according to your standards.
You are not making the rules. You have no right to tell others how they should work.

Ok, test only 3 or 4 fonts for a project, and only have a few hundred fonts you always use, is the best way to work with recipes that kill creativity and to always serve the same old soupe without regard to the client specificity.

"only" a few hundred fonts? A few hundred fonts is A LOT.
Vignelli made a career claiming a designer needs only 5 typefaces. I would not agree, but he had a point: typefaces are not creativity. Typefaces are not concepts. They are the bricks of your project. You are the architect. The originality of your project will come from your brain and your ideas. And sure, you can also find a nice typeface. But you really don't have to try hundred of typefaces to reach that goal. Anyway, if at least at the end you buy the typeface, that is good. But again, type foundries have no assurance that the people sharing fonts here will not use them for profesional projects. Try changing perspective for a while. You are not alone on this planet, the font designers need to be paid for their work, plain and simple.

I know the licence terms. Hypocrisy, again.
Who can afford it? Even big international agencies doesn't pay for a licence per computer. These terms probably lasts since the time when there was only one computer per agency which was the equivalent of a heidelberg press for a printer. But are no longer coherent with the nowadays business realities (a lot of people/computers working on a project).

Oh come on now! 50$ for a font for one computer is not much. Many foundries offer this price for up to three or five computers. Agencies spend more for their coffee. A font can last 10 or 20 years and can be used as many times as the designer wants. That is plenty of occasions to make a buck out of that font. If not, try getting your client to pay you a decent price for your projects, instead of working for half what you should earn and then stealing fonts because of that.
You are reasoning in bad faith and rationalizing your actions.

So, no I'm not ok with the foundries license terms. But They're not dupe: the recent FontFont photoshop plugin aims to fill the gap between real life and a "perfect" copywrited world, it is not perfect, but an encouraging first step. I assume if foundries continue to adapt to the digital world we're in, providing us efficient tools we won't be in need to skirt their inadequate rules.

If you are not okay with their terms, simply don't buy them.
Before complaining here about their terms, have you ever written to a foundry and tried to explain that you think their license is not adapted to reality?
I'm sure you have not, because you know the foundry will explain to you why they have such terms. The truth is, you are only interested in what you think and what you believe is right.

Nobody is forcing you to buy these fonts. You will not die if you don't have all the typefaces ever created by mankind.

Typefaces have never been as cheap as they are today.
Now you get a font for often less than 50$, big families for 200 to 500$ in general.
40 or 60 years ago, when it was phototypesetting or lead, they were much more expensive and you had to wait until you would get your fonts.

So you really are just ungrateful for the technologic advancement digital has given you. You only see files that you can share easily.

Whatever I say, you will continue to oppose it so there is no point in continuing this discussion. I've said what needed to be said. Think about it, agree, disagree, stop sharing fonts or don't. You are grown ups so you can make whatever you feel is right.

Cheers

Yes and these sites are really hurting the practice of graphic designers. Everybody deserve to be paid for their work, not only the winning graphic designer. In any case, if graphic designers want to take part to such scams, it is their right. But if typefoundries don't offer their font for free, you are not allowed to take them just because you want to.

"There are a million VERY similar typefaces nowadays--90% of which I consider a lazy way to earn money by type designers. With the accessibility of the internet, those lazy fucks are able to make a boatload of money off of their font that's basically a copy of helvetica with some subtle "swashes"."

If you think these fonts are bad, simply don't buy them.
If they are so similar and lazy, why do people want to share them here?
What you say is untrue, these designers don't make a lot of money. There are only a few type designers and foundries that make a lot of money from this work. Most really don't. It costs money to buy the software to design typefaces, to design a website, to create specimens etc.

"my real argument is: who cares."

Well thank you for proving you are just an egoistical person who doesn't care if others can live from their work. I'm sure not everyone is like you, otherwise I wouldn't write here. And some people have shown much nicer and respectful attitude.

But you are probably just angry that the admin took down all the topics. You'll get over it and i'm sure you will find another place to continue not caring about others.

Cheers

Consider this: would you find normal if a company hired 100 graphic designers for a project, and then paid only the one they choose.
Then they would say "Should I pay all the graphic designers I need in this elaboration process ?"

If you train your eyes, you will not need to test hundreds of fonts for a project. 3 or 4 will do. If you buy a few typefaces regularly, you will get to know them and you will be able to know for which project they will fit.

Also, the end user is not the client. Foundries request that you have a valid license to use a font, for every computer where the font is installed. So if your client will also use the font, he will need another license. But buying a license for your client does not mean you don't have to buy a license for you, when you design a project.

Foundries provide you with specimens and font testers on their website to test words and see if the typeface fits your needs. If you cannot make a decision on that, contact the foundry. In any case, because you are unhappy doesn't give you the right to break the rules.

If you finally buy the typefaces you use, that is certainly a great step. But you must understand foundries. They cannot know if the people spreading fonts here will buy them or not. The easiest it is to steal their font, the less people will buy them. So have a bit of understanding and respect. If you are going to use fonts illegaly to try them, at least don't put them online publicly where they will be downloaded by people who never buy anything.

audiopimp> No, you don't need facts and figure, simply because you are not the one who should decide what people should do with their work. When somebody creates something, they get to decide if this thing is free or not, the price, the way they distribute it, and with whom they distribute it. That is their right as creators and you need to respect it. End of discussion

Just like you erased years of work of type designers when you shared all these fonts?

Keep in mind: spending hours looking for fonts online also cost money.