UbuntuLiveChatSupport
Summary
The UbuntuLiveChatSupport aims to provide an interface to communicate to other ubuntu users with the same language & location, as well as to connect to the official ubuntu channel in Freenode.org. It also aims to get live chat support from ubuntu users right into the desktop menu, via "System > Help > Live Chat Support".
Rationale
People who don't speak english and want local support in their language will face a challenge to gain help in existing documentations, specially when there are just a few documentations for their language. But if they speak to someone that can understand their language, they can talk to an experienced user to provide them with answers. It might as well be positive, because there might be a good chance that they will collaborate on translation of documentations and software for their language, as well as contributing to the Ubuntu work.
Another problem with the current way of getting help in Ubuntu requires the user to read and browse documentations, but what most users really want is getting the right answers to the questions straight. Browsing and reading documentations sometimes require one to research on a particular problem. But to get the right answer from an experience user is the most easiest way.
Scope
This will use Gaim as an IRC client, but will not alter the main Gaim configurations. It will add the IRC channels defined in InternetRelayChat in Gaim buddy list, namely, Localized Channels, Support Channels, and Team Collaboration Channels.
Localization
The user's location & language will be the basis of the default channel that will be automatically joined.
#ubuntu-<locale code> is the default channel, wherein <locale code> is based on their country. However, #ubuntu will also be added to the auto-join list.
Here are the list of the channels and their descriptions
Locale Code |
Country |
Channel Definition |
AD |
(Andorra) |
Catalan Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
AE |
(United Arab Emirates) |
Arabic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
AL |
(Albania) |
Albanian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
AM |
(Armenia) |
Armenian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
AR |
(Argentina) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
AT |
(Austria) |
German Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
AU |
(Australia) |
English Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
AZ |
(Azerbaijan) |
Azeri Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
BA |
(Bosnia) |
Bosnian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
BD |
(Bangladesh) |
Bengali/Bangla Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
BE |
(Belgium) |
German/French/Dutch/Walloon Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
BG |
(Bulgaria) |
Bulgarian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
BH |
(Bahrain) |
Arabic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
BO |
(Bolivia) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
BR |
(Brazil) |
Portuguese Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
BT |
(Bhutan) |
Bhutanese Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
BW |
(Botswana) |
English Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
BY |
(Belarus) |
Belarusian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
CA |
(Canada) |
English/French/Inupiaq/Inuktitut Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
CH |
(Switzerland) |
German/French/Italian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
CL |
(Chile) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
CN |
(China) |
Chinese Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
CO |
(Colombia) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
CR |
(Costa Rica) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
CS |
(Serbia and Montenegro) |
Serbian Speaking Ubuntu Channel (Jekavian Dialects) |
CY |
(Cyprus) |
Greek/Turkish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
CZ |
(Czech) |
Czech Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
DE |
(Germany) |
Sater Frisian/Lowlands Saxon/North Frisian/Upper Sorbian/German Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
DJ |
(Djibouti) |
Afar/Somali Speaking Ubuntu Channel (Cadu/Laaqo Dialects) |
DK |
(Denmark) |
Danish/English Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
DO |
(Dominican Republic) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
DZ |
(Algeria) |
Arabic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
EC |
(Ecuador) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
EE |
(Estonia) |
Estonian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
EG |
(Egypt) |
Arabic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
ER |
(Eritrea) |
Afar/Blin/Ge'ez/Tigrigna/Tigre Speaking Ubuntu Channel (Cadu/Laaqo/Saaho Dialects) |
ES |
(Spain) |
Aragonese/Asturian/Catalan/Basque/Galician/Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
ET |
(Ethiopia) |
Afar/Amharic/Ge'ez/Oromo/Sidama/Somali/Tigrigna/Walaita Speaking Ubuntu Channel (Cadu/Carra Dialects) |
FI |
(Finland) |
Finnish/Swedish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
FO |
(Faroe Islands) |
Faroese Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
FR |
(France) |
Breton/Catalan/Basque/Occitan/French Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
GB |
(Great Britain) |
Cornish/Welsh/Scots Gaelic/Manx Gaelic/English Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
GE |
(Georgia) |
Georgian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
GL |
(Greenland) |
Greenlandic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
GR |
(Greece) |
Greek Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
GT |
(Guatemala) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
HK |
(Hong Kong) |
English/Chinese Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
HN |
(Honduras) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
HR |
(Croatia) |
Croatian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
HU |
(Hungary) |
Hungarian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
ID |
(Indonesia) |
Indonesian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
IE |
(Ireland) |
English/Irish/Gaelic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
IL |
(Israel) |
Hebrew Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
IN |
(India) |
Arabic/Bengali/Gurajati/Hindi/Kannada/Malayalam/Punjabi/Tamil/Telugu/Marathi/Sanskrit/English Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
IQ |
(Iraq) |
Arabic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
IR |
(Iran) |
Persian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
IS |
(Iceland) |
Icelandic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
IT |
(Italy) |
Catalan/Furlan/Sardinian/Italian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
JO |
(Jordan) |
Arabic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
JP |
(Japan) |
Japanese Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
KE |
(Kenya) |
Oromo/Somali Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
KG |
(Kyrgyzstan) |
Kyrgyz Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
KH |
(Cambodia) |
Khmer Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
KR |
(South Korea) |
Korean Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
KW |
(Kuwait) |
Arabic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
KZ |
(Kazakhstan) |
Kazakh Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
LA |
(Laos) |
Lao Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
LB |
(Lebanon) |
Arabic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
LK |
(Sri Lanka) |
Sinhala Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
LT |
(Lithuania) |
Lithuanian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
LU |
(Luxemburg) |
German/French Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
LV |
(Latvia) |
Latvian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
LY |
(Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) |
Arabic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
MA |
(Morocco) |
Arabic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
MG |
(Madagascar) |
Malagasy Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
MK |
(Macedonia) |
Macedonian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
MN |
(Mongolia) |
Mongolian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
MT |
(Malta) |
Maltese Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
MX |
(Mexico) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
MY |
(Malaysia) |
Malay Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
NI |
(Nicaragua) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
NL |
(Netherlands) |
Westerlauwer Frisian/Limburgish/Dutch Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
NO |
(Norway) |
Norwegian/Nynorsk/Northern Saami Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
NP |
(Nepal) |
Nepali Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
NZ |
(New Zealand) |
English/Maori Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
OM |
(Oman) |
Arabic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
PA |
(Panama) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
PE |
(Peru) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
PH |
(Philippines) |
English/Tagalog/Filipino Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
PK |
(Pakistan) |
Urdu Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
PL |
(Poland) |
Kashubian/Polish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
PR |
(Puerto Rico) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
PT |
(Portugal) |
Portuguese Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
PY |
(Paraguay) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
QA |
(Qatar) |
Arabic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
RO |
(Romania) |
Romanian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
RU |
(Russia) |
Russian/Tatar Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
RW |
(Rwanda) |
Kinyarwanda Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
SA |
(Saudi Arabia) |
Arabic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
SD |
(Sudan) |
Arabic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
SE |
(Sweden) |
Swedish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
SG |
(Singapore) |
English/Chinese Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
SI |
(Slovenia) |
Slovenian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
SK |
(Slovak) |
Slovak Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
SN |
(Senegal) |
Wolof Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
SO |
(Somalia) |
Somali Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
SV |
(El Salvador) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
SY |
(Syrian Arab Republic) |
Arabic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
TH |
(Thailand) |
Thai Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
TJ |
(Tajikistan) |
Tajik Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
TN |
(Tunisia) |
Arabic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
TR |
(Turkey) |
Kurdish/Turkish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
TW |
(Taiwan) |
Chinese Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
UA |
(Ukraine) |
Russian/Ukrainian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
UG |
(Uganda) |
Luganda Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
US |
(United States of America) |
English Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
UY |
(Uruguay) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
UZ |
(Uzbekistan) |
Uzbek Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
VE |
(Venezuela) |
Spanish Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
VN |
(Vietnam) |
Vietnamese Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
XX |
(Peace) |
Esperanto Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
YE |
(Yemen) |
Arabic Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
YU |
(Yugoslavia) |
Serbian Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
ZA |
(South Africa) |
English/Afrikaans/Southern Ndebele/Swati/Sotho/Northern Sotho/Tswana/Tsonga/Venda/Xhosa/Zulu Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
ZW |
(Zimbabwe) |
English Speaking Ubuntu Channel |
The format that will appear to the buddy list would be like this:
(Philippines) English/Tagalog/Filipino Speaking Ubuntu Channel
Design
Invocation and overall design
The software will be linked right into "System > Help > Live Chat Support" menu, and will have the stock people icon. It will have an intro screen, a freenode.org login screen, a register button. By registering to freenode.org, an information will be displayed about the advantages of registering their nick, and how to register.
Desktop Integration
Nautilus integration and Evolution mail integration is enabled by default. This would be easy to send files to a user in IRC.
Profile Handling
Preferences and Buddy List will be saved for a particular Nick. Every nick will create a seperate profile for the current session. The seperate profile will be configurable and be used over and over again.
Introduction Screen
attachment:ubuntu-live-chat-support-intro-0.2.png
updated: ubuntu-live-support (ver 0.2)
The intro screen will tell the users about the process, and provide a brief introduction about the software.
Login screen
attachment:ubuntu-live-chat-support-login-0.2.png
updated: ubuntu-live-support (ver 0.2)
The login screen will ask about their freenode.org username and password. However, if they are not yet registered, they will be prompted to click the "Register" button.
Introduction to registering to Freenode.org
attachment:ubuntu-live-chat-support-register-intro-0.2.png
updated: ubuntu-live-support (ver 0.2)
This tells why it's good to register to Freenode.org
Texts taken from Freenode.org FAQ.
If you have any idea other than the Freenode.org FAQ, please send me a comment in this wiki.
Registering to Freenode.org
attachment:ubuntu-live-chat-support-register-login-0.2.png
updated: ubuntu-live-support (ver 0.2)
This asks your desired username, and guide you how to register it.
Chatting to #Ubuntu
attachment:ubuntu-live-chat-support-chatting-0.2.png
updated: ubuntu-live-support (ver 0.2)
Based on your locale & country, it will automatically join you to a particular #ubuntu-<locale code> chaannel, also you will be joined to #ubuntu channel. The channels defined in InternetRelayChat will be added to your buddy list.
Code
The code is written in GTK+ and C, with sh scripts as scripting backend.
Source Package
attachment:ubuntu-live-chat-support-0.2.tar.gz
The second release, contains lot's of improvements, like seperate account by nick profile handling, localization. Pretty much works perfectly.
attachment:ubuntu-live-chat-support.tar.gz
This is the first release of the software, but it's quite stable.
It does not require other dependencies other than build-essentials and GTK+ 2.0 Libraries. It can be installed by standard configure, make & make install
joelbryan