[sf-lug] Centralised phone number for Linux Support

[jim stockford]

    My first hope is that VoIP, probably in the form of
Asterisk, will answer the need. What can we do to
explore that possibility? I can volunteer a machine
with static IP internet accessible address. I dimly
remember a product offering that lets one install
Asterisk, pretty much ready to go, anyone know
of this?

    Can we use the SF-LUG colo box for web access
to support info in the time being?

    Do you need more help from SF-LUG folks?


On Sep 15, 2007, at 11:01 AM, Tom Haddon wrote:

>
> On Sat, 2007-09-15 at 10:47 -0700, jim stockford wrote:
>> by "put in time" i mean people who answer the phone
>> and/or respond to phone messages and provide help
>> to callers.
>
> Hi Jim,
>
> This is already happening for the HVLC project. Currently Gloria, Ruby
> and Kami have my number and are calling me with issues (I've had three
> calls so far for tech support issues). I don't have a problem with
> answering their calls, but I'm trying to think of ways to make the
> system more reliable if I'm away on holiday/unable to answer the phone,
> etc. Currently we could just set up a call tree (Jason has volunteered
> as an alternate person they could call if I'm unavailable), but that
> means them having multiple numbers, knowing who to call when, and if 
> any
> of us changes our phone number then they need to be updated.
>
> Obviously this will require time from those interesting in offering
> support to projects like these. What I'm trying to figure out is, if
> there are people who are interested/able to provide that support, 
> what's
> the best way of managing that.
>
> Thanks, Tom
>
>>     seems like installing and config'ing would need time
>> and expertise. as to maintenance, i don't know, but a
>> tho't is how phone messages are stored, queued,
>> removed--standard filesystem stuff, probably.
>>
>>
>> On Sep 15, 2007, at 9:04 AM, Tom Haddon wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, 2007-09-14 at 17:25 -0700, jim stockford wrote:
>>>> a reaction: great idea.
>>>>     someone has to pay for the phone and some ones
>>>> have to be willing to put in some time.
>>>
>>> I guess I should have specified - another criteria would be low cost 
>>> if
>>> not free. However, I actually don't think the cost is the real issue 
>>> -
>>> I
>>> think if it was cheap enough it would be easy enough to find funds to
>>> pay for it.
>>>
>>> How do you mean someone would have a to willing to put in some time?
>>> For
>>> what aspect - the management of the system? I think that would be
>>> outweighed by the benefits of a system like this.
>>>
>>>>     this might best be done using VoIP and software
>>>> such as asterisk.
>>>
>>> That would be cool. Perhaps some VoIP/asterisk experts could weigh in
>>> and let me know if all this is possible using asterisk. If so, I 
>>> think
>>> this would probably be a better way to go since then you're not
>>> dependent on some outside provider. What I'm not sure about is how 
>>> you
>>> hook up asterisk to the regular phone network so that people can all
>>> into it from a regular phone. If anyone has some experience on this,
>>> would they be willing to discuss at a LUG meeting?
>>>
>>> Cheers, Tom
>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Sep 14, 2007, at 5:01 PM, Tom Haddon wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hi Folks,
>>>>>
>>>>> I've been mulling over an idea that came up in my head after 
>>>>> reading
>>>>> about Grand Central:
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.grandcentral.com/
>>>>>
>>>>> The idea is related to phone support for the Hayes Valley Learning
>>>>> Center project that a few members on the list have been working on,
>>>>> but
>>>>> could related more generally to a number of other projects. I was
>>>>> thinking that often non-technical users need support, especially in
>>>>> something they're as unfamiliar with as Linux, and that ongoing
>>>>> support
>>>>> is pretty vital to the success of any project like that. Preferably
>>>>> phone support, because if they could get online and/or get to a
>>>>> ticketing system to enter a problem for a support team to deal 
>>>>> with,
>>>>> chances are they don't have a problem in the first place :)
>>>>>
>>>>> So, are there any sustainable free centralized phone services like
>>>>> Grand
>>>>> Central out there (or Grand Central itself) that anyone has
>>>>> experience
>>>>> with and could recommend? What I'm looking for (in an ideal world):
>>>>>
>>>>> - One phone number that could be relied upon to last for a good few
>>>>> years at least
>>>>> - You could subscribe multiple phones to this number at will
>>>>> - Voicemail if no forwarding numbers are subscribed
>>>>> - Email notification of messages and online storage of voicemail
>>>>>
>>>>> This would allow for a fairly nebulous group (like the SF LUG) to
>>>>> provide a project with one support phone number to call, and behind
>>>>> the
>>>>> scenes (and without too much administration) to turn that into a
>>>>> phone
>>>>> support system that would be reliable enough to cope with members
>>>>> leaving/joining the project and/or being away on holiday or
>>>>> something.
>>>>>
>>>>> Any ideas or recommendations?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks, Tom
>>>>>
>>>>> P.S. All I know about Grand Central I read on their website. I
>>>>> haven't
>>>>> used them and while I tried to sign up, it seems like they're in a
>>>>> closed beta at the moment.
>>>>>
>>>>> -- 
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ----------------------------------
>>>>> Tom Haddon
>>>>> mailto:tom at greenleaftech.net
>>>>> m +1.415.871.4180
>>>>> www.greenleaftech.net
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> sf-lug mailing list
>>>>> sf-lug at linuxmafia.com
>>>>> http://linuxmafia.com/mailman/listinfo/sf-lug
>>>>>
>>>>
>>> -- 
>>>
>>>
>>> ----------------------------------
>>> Tom Haddon
>>> mailto:tom at greenleaftech.net
>>> m +1.415.871.4180
>>> www.greenleaftech.net
>>>
>>
> -- 
>
>
> ----------------------------------
> Tom Haddon
> mailto:tom at greenleaftech.net
> m +1.415.871.4180
> www.greenleaftech.net
>