FreePBX Documentation

General Help
1

As requested by @tonyclewis this thread is to discuss and address the concerns about the FreePBX documentation revisions and updates.

There can be no argument that there are sections with the FreePBX Wiki are outdated and in some cases missing completely. To bring the Wiki into a fully current and complete status is no small task, that is recognized. With that being said it is also a task that is going to require organization, guidelines and other processes to be in place to manage the updates as well as being guidelines to follow for future updates.

It goes without saying that there has to be involvement from Sangoma for this to happen at the level it needs to. I also understand that Sangoma might not have all the resources/bandwidth needed to be fully dedicated to this project. So how can the community help fill in that void? What can we do together to make this happen?

I wouldn’t mind seeing the wiki in more of an Asterisk style where the general, core concepts regardless of release version are organized and then release specific sections allowing for the documentation to be version specific instead of generalized.

What is everyone else’s thoughts, views, suggestions on how to improve/update the FreePBX documentation?

2

A few points I will make here is;

Starting earlier this year around Jan 2017 we made the following changes in our work flow to help address this.

  1. Every time a bug works through Development it goes to QA. Before QA can pass the bug for Stable release they need to verify that the bug fix does not change behavior in the GUI that would require updating documentation and if it does the wiki is updated.
  2. When Development adds a new feature in a release it can not go to QA until documentation is updated or written.

Now does this mean everything always gets updated? No, but it does catch 90% or more. Looking through the wiki you will see all the new features in things like lDAP in 13 and 14 are already updated and all the cool new features in 14 are updated like Calendar and such.

If their are things that are missed please let us know. I found 1 ticket in the past 9 months that was related to documentation missing and it happened to be opened by you and somehow it slipped through with all the changes we made earlier this year. If you see missing or outdated documentation please feel free to inform us here and we are always happy to fix it but it should be rare that a feature has no documentation with the processes we have in place now. This doesnt mean documentation is 100% accurate or covers 100% everything you want in a module but we try and document the basic and normal usage for a module.

As far as documentation being outdated back to FreePBX 12 please show me as we spent 6 weeks plus over a year ago updating all the GUI module documentation for 13 but again sure we missed some things. Their are thousands of pages of wikis and we try and catch what we can.

3

@tonyclewis

Please review the sections under “Settings Module” you will nice a high majority of those documents are not updated. In some cases they link sales slicks from 2.10/2.11 versions. Notable is the fact that Asterisk SIP Settings does not contain anything in regards to the Chan_PJSIP driver or ports, etc.

You can also review the Report Modules section to see that CDRs are not updated. Links to old sales slicks from previous versions, pretty much the entire section.

Connectivity Modules the Trunks section is out of date, no details on Chan_PJSIP trunks. Outbound Routes is half updated.

Configure Your PBX section another half updated area.

Finally, XMPP module which is now a AGPLv3 module but still listed in the Commercial modules section. It also is still showing all data related to Prosody, including how to install the RPM, etc. However, Prosody is not longer being used Let’s Chat is. There was an update that removed Prosody, required a NodeJS update and then installed Let’s Chat.

I’m sure a deeper dive will show more but not just with FreePBX 12 stuff hanging around, where things like XMPP changed during the v13 release such as Prosody to Let’s Chat.

Also, yes you probably have only found one ticket in the entire system related to documentation. I was told to do that and when I was told I stated the same thing most others probably think “Why do I need to open a bug/feature request for documentation updates when new updates are released?”

Tony, I am seriously trying to solve an issue that exists. Refusing to acknowledge the issue or push back against a resolution for it will not make it go away.

You could also look at it this way, FreePBX 14 is in RC and bound to be release as stable soon so that means documentation does have to be updated to meet 14 changes regardless. So why not take this as an opportunity to get it all updated and current?!

4

Where did I every refuse to acknowledge things were not 100% updated. I stated what has been put in place earlier this year for things moving forward that get added to make sure that this doesnt keep happening. Then stated we updated when 13 came out all the 13 stuff but yes anything between 13 and Jan of this year is hit and miss if it was updated.

You seem to have a personal issue with myself or Sangoma and your tone is not coming across as helpful and more condescending and attacking which wont get you anywhere and make someone want to help.

Providing a useful list and being pleasant and not attacking every other post will go along way for us to update the free and open source FreePBX documentation for you and all of our users.

5

@tonyclewis

First, this has nothing to do with anyone personally. At all, nadda, zero. Do not make it that.

Second, I have no hate towards Sangoma as a company. I love FreePBX, I spend my days supporting FreePBX and it’s users both professionally and voluntarily. You literally TOLD me to create this thread. Then you literally TOLD me to point out where there was still FreePBX v12 references in the Wiki.

I have been TOLD by Sangoma reps to submit bug/feature requests when I see them. When I did, in return I got told various reasons as to why the bug/feature won’t happen or something is still in a mode of development so I just have to understand that it’s evolving so bug reports won’t be accepted.

It seems I get told things by Sangoma a lot. I point out bugs or where things could be improved I’m told that I must hate Sangoma or that I’m attacking people personally. I’m told to follow a process for things and then I’m told that what I did, even despite the fact I followed a process, doesn’t count. I have been told “Contributions are welcomed” but at every step of the way I try to offer contributions it is met with things like this.

That being said, I also have been told “Thank you for your help”, “we appreciate the work” I am in no way diminishing that. But I’m not going to let is diminish the fact that when I am critical of something with in FreePBX I have been told in reply now by both yourself and @tm1000 that I must hate you all and have something personal against each of you and Sangoma as a whole.

So am I being critical of FreePBX and in extension Sangoma in cases, yes. But am I being critical of the product and the company as their own entities not the actual individual people who work there. I am being critical because I want to see FreePBX perform at it’s best and in turn that means Sangoma.

As someone with the title COO next to their name, you shouldn’t be telling someone that they are being hateful and attacking you after you requested them to do something. Start a thread about this. Done. Show me where this stuff still exists. Done. Final assessment, look at how I hate you and Sangoma and I should stop attacking.

Honestly, if I hate you, Sangoma and FreePBX so much why would I spend my professional life pushing, installing, driving my clients to buy commercial modules and generally endorsing FreePBX as the main solution? Why would I spend hours upon hours help volunteering my time to help other FreePBX users and try to help solve issues with it including doing whatever I can to help in anyway.

I continue to do this despite the fact that I’ve been told, as I pointed out, on multiple occasions that either my work and effort meant nothing and/or being accused of being hateful and making personal attacks.

6

Opening a thread here with a list of things to updated is what I asked for. The side jabs and making claims like we refuse to acknowledge something when I clearly have is what I am referring to. I laid out exactly what we have done this year to help make sure we dont miss documenting new features. I also stated that when 13 came out we had updated the whole wiki for it or atleast the majority of it that we found. I then stated things between 13 and the changes we put in Jan would of caused us to miss things and 100% acknowledged this.

My frustration has nothing to do with the list and we appreciate that and thank you for it. This is all about your tone and the side comments you have to keep putting in instead of just a nice list of these 10 modules need updating and for some reason the ability for you to not accept where we have stated that the ball was dropped and the changes we put in place earlier this year to keep this from happening based on feedback we had gotten from the community and users as a whole.

I also never claimed anywhere you hated Sangoma. I only stated it feels you must have a personal issue with myself or Sangoma based on your tone but some how you again put words in my mouth or twist what I stated. I am your biggest supporter here and have spent at least an hour today discussing this with numerous managers and staff here to make sure its addressed and assigned out the wiki to get updated for your list by months end by our QA team.

You have the attention of the second highest person in command at Sangoma minus our CEO which I would think should show how serious Sangoma does take Open Source FreePBX. I was only trying to provide to you insight into things and share internal workings of what we have done and feel by doling so I am now being attacked so next time I wont want to share internal details like I have today trying to be 100% transparent.

7

@tonylewis

Right, getting side tracked. So back to the original question, what can be done about the documentation? If there is a bandwidth issue internally, how can I (or we) help fill in the gap?

8

What about writing the user manual, how to use the system as an end user and then write the Wiki to help installers make that work and nothing more. Any extra configuration wouldn’t be in the Wiki be here in the community or a fee to do it for them.