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From: RWS@ZERMATT.LCS.MIT.EDU (Robert Scheifler)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: X font files - is there any method to the madness?
Message-ID: <870805102857.5.RWS@KILLINGTON.LCS.MIT.EDU>
Date: Wed, 5-Aug-87 10:28:00 EDT
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Posted: Wed Aug  5 10:28:00 1987
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    Why do some fonts have zero width spaces?

Because a space generally isn't useful for proportional fonts.
The problem you are really seeing is that most X clients out
there today only work with fixed-width fonts.

	    Is anybody in charge of X fonts and attempting to see that a 
	    consistent collection is put together, or are fonts files simply
	    an uncoordinated collection of submissions?

The V10 fonts are completely random.  Various groups are privately
acquiring their own sets of coordinated fonts for V11, but at this point
there are no sets with unrestricted distribution rights that MIT can use
on the release tape.  There are some people thinking about coherent font
naming; if anyone has suggestions along these lines, feel free to send
them to me.