OT - network based answering service?

[Fredxxx]

Most reminder system tend to include texts as a means to promulgate information.

What's wrong with a mix of website, email, Facebook and texts?

[Mike Barnes]

What I actually had in mind - and this might be totally unsuitable for cost, practical, or other reasons - is a simple landline with a new, dedicated, number, and simple answering machine on it. No need to move it anywhere.

I'm assuming that you can still get the kind of answering machine that I used to have in the 1980s where you can enter the PIN during the outgoing message and then pick up messages, re-record the OGM, etc.

[Dave Liquorice]

I was going to say ATA's with FXO ports were available for less than £50 but a quick google indicates that such devices have more or less disappeared from the market.

But do you need one? Site a Pi or micro PC somewhere with a reliable broadband connection, hav it running Asterix and a free VOIP account somewhere. Members call VOIP number from what ever, call is handled by the Asterix system. If there is a need to connect to a real person

2nd VOIP to "dialout" on, but that will probably incure some call charges.

[alan_m]

Are you coming to the wrong conclusions from your experiences.

It is common in any group such as yours for only 10% or less of the members to be active. The others still may willing to belong but prefer to be sleeping participants.

The members of a committee are usually very non representative of the people they represent. Just because members of a committee may be reluctant to use technology it doesn't mean that the rest of the group are the same.

Anyone in their 60s now would probably been using computers for work for the past 2 years. Even 40% UK population over the age of 75 use the internet on a regular basis. Just because people don't give you a email address doesn't mean that they haven't got one.

A web site not worth visiting is visited only once (at most). If you don't let anyone know that you have the web site you will get fewer hits. If the pages are not updated on a regular basis repeat visits will also be rare. It is easy to embed a (free) third party counter in your web pages so that you can see at a glance how many times it has been visited.

Rather than dream up some horrendous scheme using older technology why not just build on what is already there and using as many means as possible in parallel.

Set up a web page that people may want to visit.

Hijack a moribund diabetes Usenet group and provide a web interface to it in your web space in much the same way that the "banter" sites use this (uk.d-i-y) and the gardening groups to provide an interactive discussion forum for "members".

Contact the 40% of your members with an email address by email or text messaging.

Start using Farcebook/Twitter yourself and get your fellow committee members to do the same. Getting something to work well must come from the top (the commitee) and not bottom up.

[Dave Liquorice]

Yep, if the person hosting the physical server wants to stop doing so, just announce a bit of down time, physically move the kit to another 'net connection and switch it back on.(*)

The new physical location could be Austraila, the US, anywhere, it doesn't matter. Though the down time getting to Oz might be an issue. But just have a duplicate bit of kit: OK Fred it's off. Right powering up. In fact you might not even need to be that co-ordinated. Connect, configure and test the new system with it's answer time longer than the old. When wanting to make the switch, make the new system answer time shorter than the old and the new will pick up the calls first. Old system can be disconnected.

VOIP doesn't need a oodles of bandwidth, roughly 0.1 Mbps each way per call. So yer a "poor" ADSL running at 1 Mbps will be limited by the 0.448 Mbps uplink not the down link. What it does need is no lost packets or random delays. Some primative traffic shapping prioritiseing small packets can stop a big download hogging all the bandwidth with big packets.

Yep. I have a VOIP account and incoming call will ring the phone next to me or if I run an app on my mobile ring that as well or any other device logged into the account from anywhere in the world. All at the same time, first device to answer gets the call.

Why do you need new handsets and giving them out? People call the (PSTN) VOIP number from their existing phones just like like any other number.

[Dave Liquorice]

And you can text landlines, but the text to spoken word translation normally leaves a little to be desired. With a number of elderly "technophobes" I don't think it would be a good idea.

OP says a number of those involved don't have access to internet, some of those that do are frightened of it/the technology. The only common and familiar communication device is a POTS phone.

[David]

A real techie solution - and seems to ignore that this requires real techies to produce and run it. If you look back at what has been said about the committee you may gather that there isn't a team there to do any development.

The web site (as stated elsewhere) is third party hosted and we are users not administrators. We can input text into text boxes and publish them. We can upload pictures. As far as I know we can't embed any HTML such as 3rd party counters. I have requested metrics but I have no idea how long enhancement requests take (could be years).

I may get a couple of committee members helping to manage the web site over the next three months, and even post on Facebook, but this will be a long uphill struggle.

I could develop and host my own web site but as with all things IT the development is not the issue it is the long term support. There is no point in developing software when there is nobody else who can support it and enhance it. Been there many times with IT systems.

I am searching for low tech solutions at present.

[Bernard Peek]

Server logs can tell you a lot aout patterns of usage. Is there a reason why you can't get metrics? Would changing to a new host help?

Without knowing the target audience I don't know how relevant Facebook and Twitter might be. But I can tell you that most charities these days use them extensively. If the committe shudders at the thought then you probably need to recruit some new committee members.

All of this and much more is possible and could be done using the open-source Asterisk software. But it won't be easy.

The Plug: I'm an IT and management consultant specialising in charities. If you are local to Manchester I'll be happy to come in and discuss the requirements. The first one is free :-)

[Bernard Peek]

Quite a large number of silver-surfers are quite happy to use Skype to keep in touch with their family and are quite capable of setting up video conference calls. They also use Facebook to keep in touch with each other.

It's true that a large number of older people don't understand email and other technologies and you would need other routes to connect with them. But unless this is a very unusual group of senior citizens a substantial proportion will be reachable through a Facebook page.

And the uk.people.silversurfers newsgroup is quite active.

[Fredxxx]

A text message can be sent to a landline as a last resort, but I don't know of any active elderly person to not have a mobile and not able to text etc.

[Bernard Peek]

Unless you need attached hardware then this is probably better done using cloud services; AWS or Azure (from Amazon and Microsoft respectively.)

[David]

The problem is to provide a service to the rest.

I am very aware of how the non-technical can be disenfranchised.

[David]

You little pusher you ;-)

My parents are (were) from Manchester but I am based in Suffolk.

As I have said else-thread the web page is provided for us and we are users not administrators.

I am capable of web fettling and given time setting up an Asterisk but the solution must be able to run without my involvement long term.

The standard support group website is specifically designed for effective use by non-technical users and is a standard offering supported by the charity and capable of being taken over by the charity if needed.

The downside is the lack of control, lack of low level access, the lack of metrics, absolutely no chance of server logs.

Home grown solutions can be more effective in the short term but can store up problems for the future.

So I need something to support the portion of our demographic who cannot be supported by web/email/Facebook.

This must also be generic and easy to use and not depend on equipment at the home of committee members.

Low tech all the way, dumbed down as far as possible.

Cheers

Dave R

[Rob Morley]

Much less of a problem if they're properly documented, of course. :-o

[Malcolm Race]

I understand your problem

I am compuer literate and have worked (up to 4 yrs ago) in IT support in a primary school

My wife is what I would describe as non IT literate. With a lot of coaching She can deal with e-mails but cannot see the difference between creating an e-mal and a Word document (re-named by me as 'Write a letter') She will not read about how to do it but has to be shown seveal times. This is often followed by a cry of HELP

I understand your problems and know that there is unlikely to be an education problem. Having said that I was, in a previous life, a secondary school teacher and I would not envisage appearing on FB as I am sure that some ex pupils would thake the chance to abuse me.

As you can see there are more factors to take into consideration

Malcolm

[Dave Liquorice]

Last resort indeed. Having been on the recieving end of text to landline messages they are dire.

Niether of SWMBO'd parents have a mobile, niether did my parents.

SWMBO'd has had a mobile for 10 years but it was rarely switched on. It was on PAYG and may have been topped up 2 or 3 times over that period. She couldn't really cope with the UI but it wasn't a bad UI. She has had a smart phone for 4 months and is just about begining to use it. It still spends far more time powered off (not just asleep) though. But as "it's like a little computer", a WIMP enviroment, she is slowly exploring it.

[Dave Liquorice]

reliable

account

handled

If you trust the cloud and/or the hosting companies. B-)

The OP has now said kit in a committee members home or WHY is not acceptable but is also mentioning answering machines on fixed landlines.

Are there any "ready to go" cloud based VOIP systems, like Asterix, out there? Something where you pay a small sub, complete a web page or two with your VOIP providers account details and it "just works". Like wise adding/configuring a menu system is via a web interface.

[Brian-Gaff]

I think web based stuff s often not appropriate for say, the more elderly people. and as you have seen, its one thing to have a web site, another to get anyone to go there. many councils and charities are terribly arogant about web sites, assuming joe public really will keep going to the site. They won't as there are only so many hours in a day, and not being a spotty youth living on a smart phone, its unlikely any will go outside of those sites they need to use like banking, paying bills etc, and these will be in their favourites. No the phone needs to make a come back I think. all too many organisations these days advertise with only a web site address, and then wonder why nobody goes there.

It has also to be said that if your client group has poor eyesight your web site will probably not be able to be used in any case. brian

[Mike Scott]

No thanks. "cloud" => dependency on someone else's kit, a likely failure point, and a security issue. And extra £££.

My own query is really how to take the incoming POTS line, screen or process calls on /my own/ server, then pass (most) calls back onto the (POTS) house phones for dealing with conventionally. A voice modem does half the job only. I'm definitely not up with the jargon, but "ATA's with FXO ports" sounds like what I was looking for a year or so back, to no avail -- any candidates around?

[Bernard Peek]

It sounds as if you need a ready-built commercial service rather than a homebrew solution. Skype and Microsoft's Lync software can do what you need but you need at least one person who understands the software. Services like Gotomeeting aren't designed to do the job but might do what you need.