On Thu, Feb 21, 2013 at 5:25 AM, MZMcBride z@mzmcbride.com wrote:
Wikimedia is currently running OTRS version 2.4. The most recently released OTRS version is 3.2. There's been an outstanding request to update Wikimedia's OTRS installation for just shy of three years now:
Yes. May have been me, or at least I hope I joined the chorus. ;)
mounting volunteer frustration, I'm wondering whether this is an area where the Wikimedia chapters or some other group might be able to lend a hand in supporting the maintenance of this piece of important infrastructure. Broadly, the Wikimedia Foundation isn't acting on this issue and it seems to have little interest in maintaining or supporting this software any longer.
I have been administering a few medium sized installation of OTRS for quite a long time, and happened to contribute to the code as well. Several times I had the urge to offer a hand to upgrade it, and if people are in need I do it now: I am willing to upgrade it since the current version is horribly old, and the upgrade process has proven to work in the past for me between large version jumps as well.
(The required amount of project time is based on guesswork but if the size permits it's even possible to create a new installation with a copy of the old db and switch over, which is the safest way.)
My guess is that it's possible that the system needs serious review of configuration since there has been plenty of big changes (speedups) in the last years. It's doable.
However if anyone want to throw the work on me I most probably going to look for at least few people to watch over my typos. It can be done alone, no problem, but safer if there's someone else's watching. :-)
(For tech and administrative details feel free to contact me. I'm userid 1 on huwp, and my identity is recorded plenty of times already, as well as being an otrs member.)
Given recent discussion about various Wikimedia movement roles, I'm wondering whether a Wikimedia chapter or a grant or some other movement player could either take on supporting the existing OTRS installation (by hiring a contractor), evaluating and implementing better/different response software, and/or moving the response system elsewhere.
I can help supporting OTRS, and Wikimedia Hungary can officially support it as well. I do not intend to look for alternatives, partly because I'm quite happy with OTRS, partly because I haven't met anything better suiting this kind of job and partly because I'm not interested suporting something I do not know.
(Judging by http://wikitech.wikimedia.org/view/OTRS there's plenty of possible improvement here, especially on the spamfiltering part...)
cya, Peter ([[user:grin]] / [[:hu:user:grin]] / Peter Gervai)