[sf-lug] Centralised phone number for Linux Support

Sat Sep 15 21:08:50 PDT 2007

Not sure yet; my wife's very pregnant. I will come if we're not in the
middle of having a baby :)

Nathan

On 9/15/07, jim stockford <jim at well.com> wrote:
>
>
>    it might be worth a lot to us if we decide to
> try Asterisk for Tom's support phone idea.
> Can we hit you up for help? Do you plan to
> come to Monday evening's meeting (6 to 8
> at Javacat on Geary at 20th in SF)?
>
>
> On Sep 15, 2007, at 6:55 PM, Nathan Hoover wrote:
>
> > Asterisk in and of itself is pretty easy to set up. Those products
> > (trixbox, asteriskNOW) are meant to install a whole system from
> > scratch, via an ISO.
> >
> > I have some limited experience installing and configuring it (I have a
> > working system here at home...) for whatever that's worth.
> >
> >
> > Nathan
> >
> >
> > On 9/15/07, jim stockford <jim at well.com> wrote:
> >> 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
> >> >
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> sf-lug mailing list
> >> sf-lug at linuxmafia.com
> >> http://linuxmafia.com/mailman/listinfo/sf-lug
> >
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://linuxmafia.com/pipermail/sf-lug/attachments/20070915/8ab503d8/attachment.html>