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Internal Instant Messaging Client / Server Combo?
strongmantim writes "I manage an internal help desk (25-30 people) for a medium-large company in the healthcare industry. We're looking for an internal, secure, FOSS (if possible) instant messaging / presence awareness client and server combo. Transmission of Protected Health Information is a sensitive issue, so the server has to be able to log any conversations that occur. It is preferred that the client not support outside protocols such as AIM, MSN, Yahoo, etc.; if it does, I will have to promulgate and enforce yet one more policy that my techs not connect to them. All of the computers that will connect run Windows XP. The system should be scalable up to ~100 people (in case we decide to include our entire office in the roll-out). Hardware and OS for the server are not an issue. Oh, and one more thing: It has to be free. Suggestions?"
Pidgin is GPL, hack your own version so that
it does not support the 'outside protocols'.
It should be relatively straightforward.
You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
This is the exact attitude that pushes people away from FOSS in the first place.
It is almost impossible to get a real answer from people with experience when all you get in return is "RTFM n00b."
Then good riddance. As the maintainer of several open source projects, I am constantly amazed by the number of people who ask a question on a mailing list that is answered in the top 5 questions of the FAQ.
People who expect not only to have amazing software written for them for free but also to be spoon-fed every step of the way don't do anyone any favors, so why should FOSS authors worry if they leave?
Google does not have all of the answers. It has a wealth of information, but sometimes no answers.
If Google doesn't have the answer, then install the software yourself, try it out, and then blog about what you found out. That's at most a half-day proposition for most FOSS projects. Not only will go gain good experience, but others will benefit from your efforts and you'll add to the discussion.
You don't have to be a developer to contribute to the FOSS community. Even if the only thing you contribute is your user experience or a simple "thanks", that's better than being a leech who expects someone else to do all the work. The OP didn't ask a single question that couldn't be answered by 30 minutes of Googling and another 4 hours of kicking the tires on some software.