There will always be a need for genuine typography - I'm talking about beautiful, robust font sets from places like Hoefler, etc. Sure there are a kajillion freefonts out there, but how many are truly elegant and useful for anything more than an occasional rock-band flyer? There will ALWAYS be a need for great type. I assume we'll continue to have to pay for it, too, since it takes hard work and knowledge to build a beautiful and useful font.

Plus, if these freeware typographers really love type, they're bound to improve and maybe some of them will blossom into true masters.

Typography is rapidly becoming one of the truely lost arts. The truth of the matter is that younger people tend to prefer anarchy over order in their quest for an identity. This quest is a very positive force in design (both print and web) but you should never forget one simple premise, If you have something to say, at least let those to whom you are saying it understand what it is that you are saying. Thoughts like choice of readable type, page color, leading (now there is an element the web has not even begun to address) all lead to readability. If you just want to "anal smear" then by all means smear, but don't expect any one to pay much attention to it.