coc-hotline

Code of Conduct Hotline

Requirements

Python 3.13, previously 3.6+ because F strings are the best strings.

How it works

When the hotline is called, it will ring the phones listed in the COC_NUMBERS env variable. The caller will be connected to the first person who responds.

It may also post to a private slack channel if COC_SLACK_URL is configured to have a record of who called, who answered, how long was the call, and when.

Why a hotline?

It is easier to share one consistent phone number to call, as opposed to listing various phone numbers. We can repurpose the same number year after year, and have the flexibility to add/remove people who will answer the call.

Installation

1. Create and activate a virtual environment.
2. Run pip install -r requirements.txt to install the dependencies
3. (Optional) Add the "Incoming Webhooks" integration to your slack team of choice
   • Follow the configuration instructions and write down your WebHook URL
4. Set the following environment variables:
   • COC_NUMBERS: A comma separated list of phone numbers prefixed with +, numbers should include country code. Optionally add a ;Name to each number to show the name of the responder rather than their number in logs.
   • COC_HTTP_SCHEME: either http or https
   • COC_SLACK_URL: (Optional) The WebHook URL provided by the Incoming Webhooks Slack integration.
5. Run python coc-hotline.py

Deployment

This tool was built to be run on AWS Lambda, but could easily be adapted to run anywhere you can run Python 3.13. To deploy to AWS Lambda follow the below instructions:

1. Create an AWS account and configure your AWS credentials file.
2. Create and activate a virtual environment.
3. Run pip install -r requirements.txt
4. Install zappa pip install zappa
5. Run zappa init
6. Answer all of the questions asked.
7. Add an environment_variables attribute to your zappa config and fill out the environment variables listed in the installation instructions above.
8. Run zappa deploy [your environment name here]

Configuring Twilio

You'll need to purchase a phone number for use on Twilio, and configure the following webhooks:

Voice Configuration

• Select "Configure with > Webhook, TwilML Bin, Function..."
• Set "A call comes in" to an HTTP POST Webhook pointed at your service like https://app.example.com/incoming_call
• Set "Call status changes" to an HTTP POST pointed at your service like https://app.example.com/call_status

Messaging Configuration

• Select "Configure with > Webhook, TwilML Bin, Function..."
• Set "A message comes in" to an HTTP POST Webhook pointed at your service like https://app.example.com/incoming_sms