Interesting Hoefler Text Ligature Bug in SL

I had read about this problem some time ago and didn't have it so I ignored it. This morning, I opened iWeb to do an update to my site and lo and behold the crashing began.
I don't understand how the problem can just appear. I didn't install or change anything recently other than Apple updates - so what gives? I am not a programmer or font designer, so what causes the font to just 'go bad'?

I have the same version!
I wonder why some have the problem when upgrading from 10.6.1 to 10.6.2?? Didn't they have the problem already with 10.6?

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=10291390&#10291390
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=10376241&#10376241
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=10107323&#10107323
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=10205889&#10205889

I guess I didn't really phrase my question correctly. This morning, when I tried to update my site, I got the SFWordProcessing plugin message as iWeb crashed. When I removed the Hoefler Text font, iWeb worked fine. I am just wondering, unless it is a problem with 10.6.2, what would cause a font to suddenly 'go bad'?

I spent my entire morning addressing an issue that arose only immediately AFTER I installed the Apple update 10.6.2. Immediately following that install, I could no longer access/"open up" a Pages document that I had worked on for 3 or 4 months. After talking to an Apple tech who originally wanted to charge me $49.00, he eventually helped for free, when he realized that we had purchased the Snow Leopard on August 29, 2009. Anyway, what his fix boiled down to was a direct tie to the Hoefler Text font, and some type of downloading of "MacOSXUpdCombo10.6.2". Does anyone else find it strange, that with this 10.6.2 install instance, it might be similar to when you might go to a car dealership to get a problem fixed, and the dealership fixes the problem, CREATES a new problem that is so outlandish that only they could fix it, and then tries to charge you to fix the outlandish problem they created? Who on earth else would make a connection between the 10.6.2 install and the "hoefIer text" making access to a document impossible? I posted similar to this posting earlier in the day, and my post was removed by Apple. Hope this Hoefler Text information might help someone before it might get removed again. I believe that Apple should give free technical help to us less computer literate when they create the problem.

I had absolutely no problems with anything until about two minutes after downloading the 10.6.2. I am so thankful that it could be fixed, but I could never have figured this out on my own... and I do not see the answer here on this discussion forum either, that the tech finally shared with us today to remedy the problem. The tech also said that we download installs "at our own risk", did you know that? I had always thought I was doing the right thing by keeping my computer updated... until today, at least. My husband & I have owned only Apple computers since the 1970's and I must say that today's fiasco has been the WORST problem we have encountered so far... and I do not feel it was of our own doing... and that we should not have been threatened that we needed to pay $49.00 to get help to fix it. Thank you for your reply, Tom.

Tom, I did write to the feedback channel, right away, but I am hoping that the lessons I learned today could possibly help others like myself. We do have a bootable clone on an external... but, would using that clone have allowed us to still have the advantages of the 10.6.2 update installed? Or would we then just have been locked at 10.6.1?

I disabled Hoefler a few days ago in Font Book under 10.6.1. However, this morning I restarted my iMac and discovered the 10.6.2 update that I postponed was installing. Now I removed Hoefler from Font Book again but I am curious to learn how I might restore it at some future point.