TeX can use Type 1 fonts, but the procedure is clumsy. And since TeX still runs under DOS, where it's considered important to keep file names to the DOS 8.3 limits, TeX uses naming conventions different from any other Linux application. Then there's my StarOffice installation, which puts its accompanying fonts in an entirely different location. WordPerfect Office not only puts its fonts somewhere else, it installs its own private font server. To a certain extent, this is a standards issue.
Nobody has specified where fonts go on a Linux system, so they end up everywhere.
I spoke to Dan Quinlan from the Linux Standard Base group and he said that he'd love for someone to step forward and coordinate efforts to bring some sanity to the system. But standards are barely half the battle. Vendors need to improve installation methods. While I make no pretence that an acceptable solution will be easy to find, this is a problem that absolutely needs to be solved. Yes, I know that GUIs aren't for everyone, but they are useful to many and clumsy font handling is a serious impediment to mainstream acceptance of the Linux desktop.