MeetBot is designed to assist in running meetings, taking notes, and so on. It is in pure python, as a plugin to supybot. However, there is a clear distinction between meeting-code and IRC-code, so it should be relatively easy to port to other bots. It is under the supybot license (3-clause BSD).
To discuss issues, feature requests or to request it enter another channel, please join #meetbot on OFTC. The current version is by RichardDarst (MrBeige @ OFTC). It was started as a clone/replacement of meetbot by HolgerLevsen, which was itself a derivative of https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ScribesTeam/MootBot used by the Ubuntu Scribes team. MootBot and the original meetbot were plugins to the eggdrop IRC bot.
MeetBot is designed to be simple, not complex. Features are great, but not so much that it becomes hard to use or unwieldy to maintain.
Meeting notes and logs appear here after the meeting.
The full manual is located at http://meetbot.debian.net/Manual.html and contains many more tutorials, etc.
Howto
Commands start with a #. Not all commands give feedback. Bold commands are the main important ones - knowing just them is enough to run a great meeting.
Admin commands (for only Chairs):
#startmeeting - Start a meeting. You are designated the owner (and have permanent chair powers).
#endmeeting - End the meeting. Must be called by a chair.
#topic - Set a new topic.
#agreed - Document an agreement in the minutes.
Commands for Everyone:
#info - Add an info item to the minutes. People should liberally use this for important things they say, so that they can be logged in the minutes.
#action - Document an action item in the minutes. Include any nicknames in the line, and the item will be assigned to them. (nicknames are case-sensitive)
#idea - Add an idea to the minutes.
#help - Add a "Call for Help" to the minutes. Use this command when you need to recruit someone to do a task. (Counter-intuitively, this doesn't provide help on the bot)
#link - Add a link to the meeting minutes. The link should be the first non-command on the line, other commentary after the link is OK. Links beginning with http:// and a few other protocols are automatically detected.
More advanced commands are in the manual.
Wishlist
(add more feature requests here)
- Publish to a wiki page? (I'll do it if someone gives me wiki-posting code)
- Include a follow-up link (http, mailto or wiki?) to discuss afterwards
For Later
- Imported dynamic configuration.
- Work out prefix character issues (what to do about overlap with supybot char?)
Allow #agreed to be used by all. Make it configurable.
- Make permissions on all commands be configurable.
- Allow per-channel permissions.
- More per-channel configuration: timezones?
- Time reminders during the meeting.
#time N to give a time reminder in N minutes.
Features
- All in python
- Multiple Chairs
- Posts direct links when done
- Stores and restores topic
- Sets topic in the channel
- Can restrict permissions on published logs.
- Counts lines spoken by attendees
- Tabulates action items by assigned person, including unassigned items.
- Flexible command definitions, simply add another method.
- Can replay logged meetings and re-generate the minutes from that.
- Can run meetings on multiple channels and servers concurrently.
Pingall command. MeetBot: pingall <ping message>. Open question: should permissions on this be restricted?
- Configurable timezone. Open question: make it configurable per-channel.
Configurable via meetingLocalConfig.py file.
- admin supybot commands (addchair, deletemeeting).
- Switch to a persistent cache: that won't be erased on reload.
- %(meetingname)s configuration
Code
Meetbot runs on python2.4 or greater. It depends on supybot (meetbot a supybot plugin) and pygments (for IRC log highlighting). (Debian packages: supybot, python-pygments) To get the code, do:
darcs get http://darcs.debian.org/darcs/collab-maint/MeetBot/ # stable code darcs get http://code.zgib.net/MeetBot/ # dev code
To update the code thereafter, use this from the repo directory:
darcs pull
After you have a change you like, just send me a diff (darcs diff -u). (Alternatively, you can darcs record and darcs send. The manual contains more development hints. Join #meetbot on irc.oftc.net to talk.