Need a font?
A lot of comm owners seem to be at a loss for finding a font that will fit well with the "feel" of their communities. There are thousands of fonts out there to use, finding them can often be overwhelming for people. So here are my suggestions for where to find some free-to-use fonts and tips on how to make a header font work for your community.
First off is deviantART, which has a lot of custom made fonts free to use. I would suggest sorting by "all time" to find the best first. You can also sort by the styles on the left, a gothic styled font will be far more likely to fit a vampire community than will a Sans Serif, for example.
Secondly, 1001 Free Fonts is a site that has been around since 1998 and has a ton of fonts. It can be very, very overwhelming, but it's still interesting. I've spent many an hour just browsing the examples to see what the fonts look like. This site also divides fonts up into different styles to make it easier for you to find a font that will fit your vision.
amused suggested Fontspace, a site that lets you search for fonts by tag/keyword. So say if you're looking for a font with a Old West or Cowboy feel, you just type that in the search box and it'll come up with a list of appropriate fonts that you can peruse.
Random Tips
An interesting font can take the place of and even be more powerful than an image if you pick well. An interesting font used consistently can help define a community and make a point of interest without taking attention away from the content of your pages.
I will also add, do not be afraid to mix and match fonts. I have seen some very lovely headers where they have mixed a very fancy, detailed, scrolling capital letter with a much more simple lower cased font. Sometimes font makers do go over the top from time to time, decide they want a super fancy font which is lovely with an individual letter, but can be overwhelming with a whole word or group of words. Using a fancy upper case with a more simple lower case font can make for a very graphic, interesting header.
Grunge and scrolling fonts can be very interesting, but make sure they are not too abstract. While it may be interesting to look at, it is pointless if viewers have to spend a very long while trying to figure out what the word says. If you do want to use a very abstract font, make sure you include a small, clear type in the corner clarifying the word. This acts as a guideline to viewers to help them make sense of the patterns of the font.
Don't be afraid to mix and match a large font with a small image. If your main banner has an ice cream cone, put a small icon of ice cream, 100 pixels or so, next to your font. This helps carry out the theme of the comm without overwhelming viewers with graphics galore. Don't underestimate the power of small graphics!
That's all I have for now, know any other good font resources? By all means post them here. Any other tips or tricks? Post I'll add with credit. :3