Components
A group running VOICE sets up the message line, email addresses, the Switchboard, a fax number, Beacon, and the software, each on its own.
Each part of VOICE can be set up on its own, in whatever order suits a group, and replaced later without rebuilding the others. The pages below describe how to set up each part and how volunteers run it.
Further Reading
- Message LineVOICE's message line is a personal Google Voice number, which costs nothing, needs occasional activity to stay active, and has a greeting that promises no time for a response.
- Email AddressesA catchall rule, Gmail filters, and delegation let a small group of volunteers run every wildcard address from one inbox, with a short register of the addresses assigned.
- SwitchboardThe Switchboard records every message from every source as a relay, assigns it to someone, and deletes everything that could identify anyone 30 days after it closes.
- Fax NumberAn online fax service delivers each fax as a PDF file to the shared inbox, where the volunteers who monitor it record the fax as a relay and let the person know it has arrived.
- BeaconEach display shows its own choice of alerts, custom information, messages from relays, and parts of public pages, and a separate permission decides who may put an item on a display.
- Beacon ScreensA television, a monitor, or a tablet can serve as a Beacon screen once it is set to start by itself, stay awake, and fill the screen.
- SoftwareThe VOICE software needs only PHP and ordinary web hosting, and it is shared under the GNU Affero General Public License, with its writing under CC BY-SA 4.0.