There are several classes that use/render fonts with different methods. The way LLUI text and floating text were implemented created a dependency on fonts that are not common enough even though they were freely distributable to a degree. Instead of any extra management added to maintain and distribute the fonts, it would be easier not to reinvent the wheel and just switch to Pango (supported by Gtk), which provides a common interface to the fonts across platforms.

We can use Alissa's patch to get a jumpstart interim solution to at least remove all dependencies on the previous font renderer. http://jira.secondlife.com/browse/VWR-10131

Next, the Pango based font render can be moved from C++ classes into G-Objects and maybe further into languages which can use the the Snowglobe-GLib based API.

Floating text (and obsoleted LLUI text) can still work as it does now, yet it is more ideal to create dynamically-rendered textures that would not have to be re-generated every frame.