Tele

Ft defines a call handling protocol similar to the one that has evolved with voice telephony since the late 19th Century. It is based on a canonical flow of the states below which will be the color of the primary button. There are manifold exceptions which the network and subscriber cooperatively manage:

1.   DOWN/OFFHOOK/REJECT 

   All subscribers are initially are in this state and may move to it by personal selection or involuntarily due to network events.

2.    AFK/ASIDE/BUSY  

   A subscriber controlled state which blocks calls until the subscriber toggles to READY. Double click can be used to check for and view messages.

3.   ACCEPT/ANSWER/READY 

   A subscriber moves to this state after connecting assuming no event, such as their or the network having set a different state. Blinking indicates at least one incoming message (slow) or call (rapid) is active. Toggles to BUSY. Double click answers calls, view messages.

4.   BUFF/WAIT 

   A network controlled state which indicates incoming events for the subscriber. It is normal for some such events not to result in actual incoming as for example when the remote subscriber cancels a message before sending it. The button is inhibited if it is solidly this color rather than a ring on another color.

5.   CALL/LOOKUP/PAGE  

   A state in which the subscriber has initiated a call, or can lookup a remote subscriber or group. Entry/exit from/to BUSY or READY by menu or gesture depending on device.

Visual cues, such as blinking, frame highlighring, fade-in/out indicate attention/opportunity or operation in progress.

The overall Ft GUI operates with elements such as the taskbar, main screen, and conferees array with elements in modal focus to constrain which subscriber pairs are involved and which gestures the subscriber has available. For example single click on a call state prompts for a subscriber lookup, whereas double click when paired with a selected subscriber initiates a call/page. Similary a device and state dependent gesture will determine the scope of an action, a single pair, the whole conference or a selected proper subgroup.

A distinguished subscriber in a conference call at any one time is the moderator, with overall control. A special case is the second joiner to a call after the initiator who is implicitly a co-moderator without the ability to transfer moderation (unless the user becomes moderator). Initially it is the initiator, the first caller but thereafter it may be transferred to any party to the call who will then have the following functions available:

1. Terminate the conference
2. Play a recorded stream to a set of conferees.
3. Mute, Call, or Disconnect any other conferee
4. Make the co-moderator an ordinary conferee.
5. Transfer moderation to another user. If the moderator disconnects from the call and goes OFFHOOK, without transferring moderation, the call/conference is automatically ended.

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Conferences may have asides of up to four subscribers and these may survive the man call.