Forums » Suggestions & Development Discussion » Changes to Google Font Usage in Templates

All of my templates rely heavily on Google Fonts, from the body text to titles, everything. What is the 'google fonts selector'? Is it adding google fonts to the font dropdown in text widgets? I'm afraid my templates will be quasi-broken with ugly fonts that I can't change

...like 99% of custom templates are using google fonts right now. Won't disabling that code break those templates?

It won't exactly "break" the templates, but it will force them to try determining a backup typeface until settings on them are fixed, which can certainly make many of them look less nice. Should still all be totally readable, and everything, though.

Oh, it'll be legible, I'm not saying that, but some of them will still look pretty... eugh. I have a scifi template for an alt of mine that relies on 3 different google fonts and there are no defaults that work so that's going to suck.

Just seems like there should be a way around this other than just disabling the code? I mean, all us graphic designers know how much a good font can really tie a design together. It also hampers people dabbling in design like Hooke, having to stick with just default fonts =

It will make the fonts "plain" unless the creator takes a second to add the font to the template using the new drop downs that will be added, rather than via the @import command.

All custom template authors will be individually contacted with information about what is going to happen and how they can prepare before the changes go into effect.

I'm not trying to prevent all Google font usage, I'm just trying to make that usage safe for all our members. Group CSS has worked via this system since its inception, and Google fonts still abound in custom group templates.

So you're saying that, instead of importing ourselves, you will add an option to select the fonts we want and it will import them that way? So, in theory, we can preserve the fonts on our templates and the change is how we do that?

If that's the case, are we able to have multiple fonts selected (usually use 2-3 fonts per template).

You may want to go look at the editor for group CSS (you don't need to purchase epicness for the group to play with the editor) as it is the basis of what's about to be done for character CSS editing. You will be able to select at least 2 Google fonts from our supported library. I am sure we will have some fun debates over the correct and final number, though perhaps that is best kept for another thread.

In most ways this will be a pretty massive upgrade, with easier previewing, targeted template sharing, re-activation of some previously disabled CSS selection features like direct inheritance selectors (li > a), and the flexibility to disable the underlying default template CSS. You know; all the stuff that's been brewing for years.

Having our ability to use google fonts cut off is a little disheartening and frustrating for me personally.

I enjoy being able to customize even the smallest detail in my design. It's a big part of designing a template and fonts can make or break the effect I attempt to achieve.

I'm also a little cautious on my potential creativity being restricted and limited.

If only there was a way to fix the security leak.

I agree with this sentiment especially since we are paying for a service which allows us to customize our individual webpages for our characters. And that altering a method in which we have utilized to place in Google fonts will make the overall customization process far more "complicated".

Google fonts are not being cut off. You will continue to have access to many, many google fonts. The method of incorporating them is simply changing.

I agree with Clove and Blitz.

I think the majority concern is, will we still have access to the Google fonts we are currently using? If there is a "no" possibility to that answer then to supplement my prior statement; will the database of Google fonts provided in a dropdown ever be expanded to have a wider selection and/or will there be a secure option to import Google fonts from the database outside of the pre-selected dropdown menu fonts sometime in the future? There are many fonts in the Google database that are not included in what is provided within RPR. Many of us who have taken the time to create custom templates have chosen a specific font or a variety of fonts to accentuate the design of our pages tailored to our individual characters. I think many people will agree that the main draw of paying for and being an epic member is simply for the fact that you can customize your templates. I recently just completed a custom template for one of my characters utilizing the Orbitron font from Google and it's exactly tailored for the look I wanted to achieve. The fact that support for Google Fonts is being altered and that the likelihood of me no longer being able to use this font or having to overhaul my template is rather frustrating depending on the method in which Google Font support is changed. I imagine it's even more frustrating for those who have commissioned custom templates and have no or limited coding knowledge.

I completely agree with having security measures but over the years our pool of customization options has grown increasingly smaller. Many roleplayers used to rely on Webs for their character pages until HTML support was withdrawn. People turned to Wix but Wix, as many will agree is a pretty terrible alternative and paying for a web host to post character information is simply not feasible for a large majority of people. Simply put, balancing security with the ability to customize is a delicate balance. RPR is a great community and we simply wish to continue express our creativity through roleplay and through our custom templates.

I admit to being baffled. I have been warning of this change for years, on the forums, in the news, in the development logs, and there's been basically no reaction.

Some of you in this thread have been part of conversations with me about this change in the past, and were apparently fine with it then.

I have stated at least three times in this thread that you will still have access to many google fonts. We've been using a similar system for groups for the last year, which was widely received as an improvement.

So, am I going to continue to allow something which I know could be used to hurt members? No. That's irresponsible. The fix is overdue. It must be done.

Am I going to take away all Google fonts? Goodness no. That's crazy. Of course fonts are important and necessary.

Am I going to do this without any kind of notice or support to help people make the tiny changes required to update their templates? No. If the change affects you, I will be speaking with you individually in the coming month to help make this transition as totally painless as possible.

Edit: Thank you, worgbeast, that is a more understandable question to answer. Our fonts library is indeed being expanded, and every effort will be made to include those fonts that are in use by existing templates. Over the last five years I have gone to extraordinary efforts to preserve people's hard work wherever I could, whenever we had to make a change, if it was in any way possible. This is no different; you guys make kickass templates.

It is unlikely we will have immediate access to the entire library of Google fonts at the outset, but I'll try to make sure you have the ones you were already using in your templates plus 100+ others. Will we ever have a way to import more than what are on the list? That seems likely.

Thank you for the clarification and taking note of our concerns. I'm all for site and security improvement and I appreciate that you are putting forth the effort to ensure that our existing custom templates remain as or close to how they currently look and function. I'm glad to hear that access to the database will be expanded over time to increase our options. It's paramount to ensure that creating templates is a fun and minimally confusing but secure process to ensure a site-wide standard.

Thank you for clarification and I apologize for not reading more thoroughly before I made my previous post. I understand that you want to protect RPR, and I'm all for removing security breaches.

I'm excited to see what the future brings, and I appreciate the hard work you and your team are putting in for RPR and it's players!

You are both very welcome, and I you.

My original post was rambly and not as clear as it could be. I've been under the weather for weeks now and the cough medicine is starting to get to me. I apologize for the scare my poorly chosen words caused. I am glad we are getting back on the same page.

Worgbeast expressed my concerns perfectly .

I've edited group CSS before, and it's brilliant! But my biggest annoyance with the font tool, is that I don't know which fonts are available, and I have to use the drop-down look at each of them and then check in Google Fonts to see which fonts are good and harmonizing with each other, and that takes needless time.

Could we possible get a list over what fonts are in the database at the moment, so we know which fonts are safe to use for now?

Also, I'd love to have more than 2 fonts available to use for a layout. LOL.
(And for that list to grow, because none of the fonts which I've used on at least a few of the templates I've done are on it. LOL)

Ahhh, I really appreciate the clarification you've offered. It definitely seems way less scary now! I did take a look at the how editing groups is set up and rather do like the simplicity of being able to choose a font from the list. Curious though, and I'm not sure if you even have the answer yet, but how would that work for those of us who make templates for others? Will there still be a code that picks from that list - or would we need to tell our client which one to choose? Either is fine, I'd just like to know for future reference is all!

Now that we have an understanding of what exactly is going to happen, how would you recommend us designers continuing our work? I've got 3 commissions lined up at the moment, and I'd rather not put a font on there that may not be on the list xD Do you have a preliminary list (other than what is already available in Groups)? Or would it be safer to stick to fonts that we've already used on templates that are currently live so we know they will be supported?

PS: Sorry to Hooke that we hijacked your thread... but maybe this is useful to you, too?
PPS: Hah, I'm apparently asking Green's question again. woops

For those of you that make templates for others, your lives are about to be much easier. Instead of "for me only" or "for all epic members" as the only two share options on templates, you will be able to share templates you created with specific other people. So, you could make it on your own account, testing with your own characters, pick all the options for the template, and then share the finished product with only the person who paid for it. You'll retain control of it in case you need to make further edits or updates in future.

If for some reason your client decides that isn't good enough, and they want to be the owner of the template rather than just the sole "sharee", you may need to pass them the CSS in a txt file (or whatever) and tell them which fonts they need to select when they paste it in.

This opens up some interesting propositions like small-run templates, wherein you sell the rights to use the template at a reduce rate to five different people, and promise to share the template exclusively with those five.

For templates that are already complete, sold, and sent in full to the purchasing member, you may have to direct them to take a moment to select the right fonts. Or, failing that, you and I may need to work together to get the correct options selected for them.

Regarding what is about to be available, I don't have a list of new fonts I feel comfortable sharing right now, sorry! If I published it, people relied on it, and I swapped one of the newly added fonts for something else, that'd be a big ol' PITA for everyone. I'll try to make the list available as much in advance as possible, though.

For now, you can be assured that everything currently available in the groups dropdown should remain available. Using fonts you've previously used in custom templates is also a pretty good bet, and will make both our lives a little easier when the time comes to transition.

Since this has become its own discussion, I may split some of these posts off into their own topic.

Edit: Yes, I did that.