Free ATypI

Commentary
January 20, 2003

Free ATypI

ATypI

¶ ATypI is a non-profit organization that intends to promote typography and defend the causes of typographers all over the world. It has a membership fee, and organizes an annual meeting that has become the main type meeting in the world. Voices on the Typohile forum raised the problem of the high costs of both membership and the annual meeting, especially for people from developing countries. The Latin Americans in particular have complained bitterly: with the recent economic collapse of Argentina, a cultured and sophisticated country full of great artists, almost no Argentinian typographer can afford the 100 USD membership fee, let alone the almost 900 USD conference registration fee. I am not a member of ATypI, so I have no real voice, and my opinion should not matter, but I will give it anyway, only because it is a cause close to my heart, and I care about the subject. I will argue why membership should be free, and why the annual conferences should be offered at a more reasonable rate. The arguments used at Typophile use the phrase ``ATypI is elitist''. I do not agree with that description, as good typography is by definition elitist: it shines in the presence of poor typography. Someone must have the courage to say what is good and what is not. The recent ATypI publication, Language Culture Type (edited by John Berry), is far from elitist: it shows a wonderful openness towards all typographers from all backgrounds. The Bukvaraz awards, showcased in that book, give a nice overview of the rich mix of type we are faced with nowadays. I am glad that boundaries in typography are being moved, and ATypI should be supported in this direction.

Transparency

¶ For a non-profit organization, it is amazing that no financial statement is publically available. So let us do a computation. The annual meeting draws about five hundred attendees. At almost 900 USD a person in fees (dinner included), this gives 450,000 US dollars. Let us estimate the number of members in the same ballpark. That gives another 50,000 US dollars, for a half million US dollars of total annual income. The ATypI claims that it is nearly broke. [On January 28, 2003, I learned from a posting of John Hudson that only about 350 people attended the Rome meeting. That would reduce the income to 350,000 US dollars income per year. What confuses me is that I have a printed handout of conference attendees with about 470 names, to which I added 30 as an "estimate" of the late arrivals at Rome like Jef Tombeur. That list was printed by ATypI, and has to be close to the truth. Anyway, we will use Hudson's lower figure for calculating the costs. Sorry, guys, I can't do better. Someone questioned the 900 USD cost--it was actually more than that if the dinner is included, but I rounded it down to 900. It was lower for early registrants, I understand.]
¶ There are salary expenses. Someone mentioned on Typophile that there is only Sharon Irving's salary. I find that hard to believe, because there were several British ladies ``manning'' the registration desk in Rome last year. So, let us estimate this at 60,000 US dollars (but I am sure it is much more). There are no fliers, but there are some publication costs. For example, each conference attendee got a magnificent book, Language Culture Type, whose value is about 50 US dollars. Take away 25,000 dollars.
¶ Next come the web/internet/computer costs. The web site needs juice and some support, although for a non-profit organization, that could and should be done by volunteers. Anyway, 100 US per month should suffice for this. If my proposal is implemented, I volunteer to run the web site on my computers forever for free, for as long as I live and can think straight [hmmm...].
¶ There are two final items on the financial ledger, the rental of the conference center (including food), and the expenses paid to speakers. As the ATypI claims to be broke, this must be eating up the remainder not accounted for, an unbelievable 400,000 dollars. [Note: After correction for Rome participants, we still have 250,000 dollars left to pay for the costs of ONE meeting.] Can someone please tell me that I am dreaming? If so, where is the accounting mistake? Can we please see a financial statement with details? Is this not our community?

The proposal

¶ A company in financial trouble usually reduces its expenses. In this case, I would start by not organizing the annual meeting in a plush hotel or snazzy conference center. Has ATypI ever considered organizing a meeting at a university? They are much more reasonable than hotels or conference centers, and have all the modern facilities that are required. In particular, they are typically much better internet-wired than businesses. And how about meetings in cheaper cities, like Havana, Montevideo, Prague, or Budapest? I don't really see any effort in this direction from ATypI.
¶ Next, there is the issue of paying speakers fully or partially for their trouble. This is a difficult subject. On most days, I feel like speakers should be honored to get asked to speak at the annual ATypI meeting. In the scientific world, most invited speakers pay their own way. But it is true that some typographers are indeed poor, and given their exceptional contributions, maybe those special artists should be invited to speak, with all expenses defrayed. But to pay well-to-do typographers like Roger Black or Erik Spiekermann is not acceptable. I am not saying that these were paid, and I have nothing against these two fine gentlemen, but those come to mind as examples of financially successful type people who should not get paid to speak by a society that is broke. I was once involved in the organization of a type meeting in France, and in my enthusiasm, I invited a top typographer to speak in front of a type software audience of the highest calibre. Unfortunately, there was no money for the plane ticket from North America, and the invitation was turned down on those grounds. From that experience, I can see what ATypI is up against, and what they must face in their planning. If I were a professional type designer, I would jump on such an [unpaid] invitation, no questions asked. In any case, a way around this problem is to move the venue of ATypI regularly, and invite speakers more locally. Maybe they could even have two meetings per year, one in Europe and one in the Americas. There should be a gentle unwritten rule not to invite anyone more than twice per decade [I have heard Unger, Carter, Van Blokland and Porchez---all interesting speakers---a bit too often, so that the ``added value'' in the next talk by any one of them is greatly diminished]. Whatever the solution is, a bit of creativity is needed to get out of the gridlock.
¶ Finally, I think that the membership fees should be abolished entirely. Membership is doled out electronically anyway, so it does not involve a physical exchange of goods, plastic, medals or paper. Students in particular will benefit from this. And the equal treatment of everyone by everyone would be admirable. In fact, the ATypI board should have a student representation. Others may say, why join? Because it is a community. The old model of professional societies is dead, I am sorry. Typography transcends borders, goods travel electronically, and reputations are made on the web. By being a member, someone is saying ``I care''. As a transitional measure, for those in dire need of an ego fix, the ATypI Board may confer a special honorary membership to major typographers, based on merit. But there are already many prizes and awards, so this too is unnecessary.
¶ How about salaries? I am sure that a lot of help in the organization of meetings can be obtained from local organizations and student groups. How about the students at Reading helping out, since the ATypI is HQed in the UK? So, with all those measures, I am sure ATypI can be run on a much smaller budget, appeal to many more people, involve the entire world of typographers, and represent all.

Copyright © 2003 Luc Devroye
School of Computer Science
McGill University
Montreal, Canada H3A 2K6
luc@cs.mcgill.ca
http://luc.devroye.org/index.html

	Commentary January 20, 2003 Free ATypI
ATypI	¶ ATypI is a non-profit organization that intends to promote typography and defend the causes of typographers all over the world. It has a membership fee, and organizes an annual meeting that has become the main type meeting in the world. Voices on the Typohile forum raised the problem of the high costs of both membership and the annual meeting, especially for people from developing countries. The Latin Americans in particular have complained bitterly: with the recent economic collapse of Argentina, a cultured and sophisticated country full of great artists, almost no Argentinian typographer can afford the 100 USD membership fee, let alone the almost 900 USD conference registration fee. I am not a member of ATypI, so I have no real voice, and my opinion should not matter, but I will give it anyway, only because it is a cause close to my heart, and I care about the subject. I will argue why membership should be free, and why the annual conferences should be offered at a more reasonable rate. The arguments used at Typophile use the phrase ``ATypI is elitist''. I do not agree with that description, as good typography is by definition elitist: it shines in the presence of poor typography. Someone must have the courage to say what is good and what is not. The recent ATypI publication, Language Culture Type (edited by John Berry), is far from elitist: it shows a wonderful openness towards all typographers from all backgrounds. The Bukvaraz awards, showcased in that book, give a nice overview of the rich mix of type we are faced with nowadays. I am glad that boundaries in typography are being moved, and ATypI should be supported in this direction.
Transparency	¶ For a non-profit organization, it is amazing that no financial statement is publically available. So let us do a computation. The annual meeting draws about five hundred attendees. At almost 900 USD a person in fees (dinner included), this gives 450,000 US dollars. Let us estimate the number of members in the same ballpark. That gives another 50,000 US dollars, for a half million US dollars of total annual income. The ATypI claims that it is nearly broke. [On January 28, 2003, I learned from a posting of John Hudson that only about 350 people attended the Rome meeting. That would reduce the income to 350,000 US dollars income per year. What confuses me is that I have a printed handout of conference attendees with about 470 names, to which I added 30 as an "estimate" of the late arrivals at Rome like Jef Tombeur. That list was printed by ATypI, and has to be close to the truth. Anyway, we will use Hudson's lower figure for calculating the costs. Sorry, guys, I can't do better. Someone questioned the 900 USD cost--it was actually more than that if the dinner is included, but I rounded it down to 900. It was lower for early registrants, I understand.] ¶ There are salary expenses. Someone mentioned on Typophile that there is only Sharon Irving's salary. I find that hard to believe, because there were several British ladies ``manning'' the registration desk in Rome last year. So, let us estimate this at 60,000 US dollars (but I am sure it is much more). There are no fliers, but there are some publication costs. For example, each conference attendee got a magnificent book, Language Culture Type, whose value is about 50 US dollars. Take away 25,000 dollars. ¶ Next come the web/internet/computer costs. The web site needs juice and some support, although for a non-profit organization, that could and should be done by volunteers. Anyway, 100 US per month should suffice for this. If my proposal is implemented, I volunteer to run the web site on my computers forever for free, for as long as I live and can think straight [hmmm...]. ¶ There are two final items on the financial ledger, the rental of the conference center (including food), and the expenses paid to speakers. As the ATypI claims to be broke, this must be eating up the remainder not accounted for, an unbelievable 400,000 dollars. [Note: After correction for Rome participants, we still have 250,000 dollars left to pay for the costs of ONE meeting.] Can someone please tell me that I am dreaming? If so, where is the accounting mistake? Can we please see a financial statement with details? Is this not our community?
The proposal	¶ A company in financial trouble usually reduces its expenses. In this case, I would start by not organizing the annual meeting in a plush hotel or snazzy conference center. Has ATypI ever considered organizing a meeting at a university? They are much more reasonable than hotels or conference centers, and have all the modern facilities that are required. In particular, they are typically much better internet-wired than businesses. And how about meetings in cheaper cities, like Havana, Montevideo, Prague, or Budapest? I don't really see any effort in this direction from ATypI. ¶ Next, there is the issue of paying speakers fully or partially for their trouble. This is a difficult subject. On most days, I feel like speakers should be honored to get asked to speak at the annual ATypI meeting. In the scientific world, most invited speakers pay their own way. But it is true that some typographers are indeed poor, and given their exceptional contributions, maybe those special artists should be invited to speak, with all expenses defrayed. But to pay well-to-do typographers like Roger Black or Erik Spiekermann is not acceptable. I am not saying that these were paid, and I have nothing against these two fine gentlemen, but those come to mind as examples of financially successful type people who should not get paid to speak by a society that is broke. I was once involved in the organization of a type meeting in France, and in my enthusiasm, I invited a top typographer to speak in front of a type software audience of the highest calibre. Unfortunately, there was no money for the plane ticket from North America, and the invitation was turned down on those grounds. From that experience, I can see what ATypI is up against, and what they must face in their planning. If I were a professional type designer, I would jump on such an [unpaid] invitation, no questions asked. In any case, a way around this problem is to move the venue of ATypI regularly, and invite speakers more locally. Maybe they could even have two meetings per year, one in Europe and one in the Americas. There should be a gentle unwritten rule not to invite anyone more than twice per decade [I have heard Unger, Carter, Van Blokland and Porchez---all interesting speakers---a bit too often, so that the ``added value'' in the next talk by any one of them is greatly diminished]. Whatever the solution is, a bit of creativity is needed to get out of the gridlock. ¶ Finally, I think that the membership fees should be abolished entirely. Membership is doled out electronically anyway, so it does not involve a physical exchange of goods, plastic, medals or paper. Students in particular will benefit from this. And the equal treatment of everyone by everyone would be admirable. In fact, the ATypI board should have a student representation. Others may say, why join? Because it is a community. The old model of professional societies is dead, I am sorry. Typography transcends borders, goods travel electronically, and reputations are made on the web. By being a member, someone is saying ``I care''. As a transitional measure, for those in dire need of an ego fix, the ATypI Board may confer a special honorary membership to major typographers, based on merit. But there are already many prizes and awards, so this too is unnecessary. ¶ How about salaries? I am sure that a lot of help in the organization of meetings can be obtained from local organizations and student groups. How about the students at Reading helping out, since the ATypI is HQed in the UK? So, with all those measures, I am sure ATypI can be run on a much smaller budget, appeal to many more people, involve the entire world of typographers, and represent all.
	Copyright © 2003 Luc Devroye School of Computer Science McGill University Montreal, Canada H3A 2K6 luc@cs.mcgill.ca http://luc.devroye.org/index.html