The browser-instigated substitution of another font should always be considered when composing Web pages. Neither standards supply us with a method of obtaining a list of installed fonts from the user's system. It would be a security problem if they did, anyway, so we have lived with this behavior. If we know that such a font exists on the user's system, then we could save each user TWO, count'em, TWO internet connections, just for the example shown above. In a Web Application, furthermore, there are countless uses for dingbat fonts.
All systems come with an installed dingbat font.
For example, Macintosh has Zapf Dingbats , the grandaddy of dingbat fonts, and Windows has WingDings . Windows also shipped with the Marlett font. More recently, it also ships with Webdings , as does the Macintosh. Both of these fonts, especially the latter, are very useful for Web applications. However, it seems the designers quickly ran out of what they considered useful Web icons.