Asterisk: The Future of Telephony, 2nd Edition

The Asterisk Community

One of the compelling strengths of Asterisk is the passionate community that developed and supports it. This community, led by Mark Spencer of Digium, is keenly aware of the cultural significance of Asterisk, and is giddy about the future.

One of the more powerful side effects caused by the energy of the Asterisk community is the cooperation it has spawned among the telecommunications professionals, networking professionals, and information technology professionals who share a love for this phenomenon. While these professions have traditionally been at odds with each other, in the Asterisk community they delight in each others’ skills. The significance of this cooperation cannot be underestimated.

Still, if the dream of Asterisk is to be realized, the community must grow—yet one of the key challenges that the community currently faces is a rapid influx of new users. The members of the existing community, having birthed this thing called Asterisk, are generally welcoming of new users, but they’ve grown impatient with being asked the kinds of questions whose answers can often be obtained independently, if one is willing to put forth the time needed to research and experiment.

Obviously, new users do not fit any particular kind of mold. While some will happily spend hours experimenting and reading various blogs describing the trials and tribulations of others, many people who have become enthusiastic about this technology are completely uninterested in such pursuits. ...