U.S. patent application number 12/830947 was filed with the patent office on 2010-11-11 for method, apparatus and system for hosting information exchange groups on a wide area network.
Invention is credited to Brian Mark Shuster, Gary Stephen Shuster.
Application Number | 20100287368 12/830947 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42307137 |
Filed Date | 2010-11-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100287368 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Shuster; Brian Mark ; et
al. |
November 11, 2010 |
METHOD, APPARATUS AND SYSTEM FOR HOSTING INFORMATION EXCHANGE
GROUPS ON A WIDE AREA NETWORK
Abstract
A method and system for hosting information exchange groups on a
wide area network is disclosed, using various tools for promoting
topical organization and self-evolution of the information exchange
groups, and of a system of information exchange groups. These tools
include methods for providing user rating of posts within the
exchange group, for rating and ranking users of the exchange group,
for rating and ranking links to related information pages and
especially to related exchange groups operating according to the
methods of the invention, and for continuously updating rating and
ranking information. Additionally, methods are provided for users
to found exchange groups, to filter information in exchange groups
according to specified user preferences, and to protect private
information from inadvertent disclosure to other users of the
exchange group.
Inventors: |
Shuster; Brian Mark;
(Stateline, NV) ; Shuster; Gary Stephen; (Oakland,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
KNOBBE MARTENS OLSON & BEAR LLP
2040 MAIN STREET, FOURTEENTH FLOOR
IRVINE
CA
92614
US
|
Family ID: |
42307137 |
Appl. No.: |
12/830947 |
Filed: |
July 6, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
09648474 |
Aug 21, 2000 |
7752251 |
|
|
12830947 |
|
|
|
|
09548804 |
Apr 14, 2000 |
|
|
|
09648474 |
|
|
|
|
60129485 |
Apr 15, 1999 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
713/150 ;
707/751; 707/E17.014; 709/206; 726/26; 726/28 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/954 20190101;
G06F 15/16 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
713/150 ; 726/28;
707/751; 726/26; 709/206; 707/E17.014 |
International
Class: |
G06F 21/00 20060101
G06F021/00; G06F 15/16 20060101 G06F015/16; H04L 9/00 20060101
H04L009/00; G06F 17/30 20060101 G06F017/30 |
Claims
1. A method for concealing private information exchanged between
users, the method comprising: intercepting, by a computing device,
an original message sent from a first user to a second user, the
original message containing information associated with the first
user; accessing, by a computing device, a data structure storing
private information associated with respective users in order to
identify private information associated with the first user;
locating, by a computing device, any of the identified private
information associated with the first user in the original message;
generating, by a computing device, an altered message by concealing
at least a portion of the located private information; and sending
the altered message to the second user.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising concealing evidence of
generating the altered message.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the private information
associated with respective users comprises at least one of a phone
number, an address, and a name of respective users.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein concealing the located private
information comprises replacing at least a portion of the located
private information with a substituted string.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the substituted string comprises
information of the same type as the located private
information.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the substituted string comprises
located private information that has been encrypted.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the
original message to the first user without alteration.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified private
information is provided by a third user.
9. A method for private communication between users of an
information exchange group, the method comprising: authorizing one
or more users for access to an information exchange group;
receiving, by a computing device, a private electronic address for
a first authorized user; receiving, by a computing device, a
request from a second authorized user via one or more user
interfaces of the information exchange group to direct a message to
the first authorized user; receiving, by a computing device,
content for the message from the second authorized users via one or
more user interfaces of the information exchange group; and
sending, by a computing device, the message, including the content
received from the second authorized user, to the private electronic
address of the first authorized user, wherein the private
electronic address of the first authorized user is not revealed to
the second authorized user.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the private electronic address
of the first user comprises an electronic mail address.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving the request from the
second authorized user comprises receiving a selection of a user
interface object within another message authored by the first
authorized user within the information exchange group.
12. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the request from the
second authorized user comprises receiving a selection of the first
authorized user from a list of authorized users of the information
exchange group.
13. A method for rank ordering a list of links on a Web page, the
method comprising: measuring, by a computing device, an amount of
traffic to or from a first Web page generated by respective other
Web pages, wherein the first Web page includes links to at least
some of the other Web pages; assigning, by a computing device, a
rank for respective links of the first Web page according to the
respective amounts of traffic generated by the other Web pages
corresponding to the links; and ordering the links on the first Web
page according to the respective assigned ranks.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the amount of traffic comprises
at least one of: a number of times the first Web page is requested
from the respective other Web pages; and a number of times the
respective other Web pages are requested by accessing the links of
the first Web page.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising receiving one or
more ratings for the first Web page from users visiting the first
Web page.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more ratings each
comprise one or more categories.
17. The method of claim 15, further comprising assigning the rank
to respective links of the first Web page according to the
respective amounts of traffic and the one or more ratings for the
first Web page.
18. The method of claim 13, further comprising removing respective
links having a rank less than a first selected value from the first
Web page to a second Web page.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising removing respective
links having a rank less than a second selected value from the
second Web page.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 09/648,474, filed Aug. 21, 2000, which is a
continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
09/548,804, filed Apr. 14, 2000, now abandoned, and claims benefit
of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/129,485, which was
filed Apr. 15, 1999, each of which are hereby incorporated by
reference in their entireties.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to methods for exchanging and
locating information on computer networks, and more particularly,
to a method and system for hosting information exchange groups on a
wide area network.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Wide area networks, such as the Internet, provide a vast and
growing source of information to a large and growing number of
users on demand. One of the great advantages of exchanging
information on a wide area network is that users, and groups of
users, may readily exchange information with one another, both
contemporaneously and at different times. However, the quantity,
dynamics and decentralized nature of information on the Internet
and other factors create obstacles to the exchange of information
among the users.
[0006] Various ways of exchanging information within groups of
users, such as information exchange groups are known in the art.
For example, Web based bulletin boards, "usenet" news groups, and
chat rooms are forms of prior art information exchange groups.
Prior art information exchange groups do not realize the benefits
and advantages possible in consideration of the Internet, the World
Wide Web, Internet browsers, and human behavior. Prior art
information exchange groups do not provide a systematic method for
discriminating between desired and undesired information.
Therefore, prior art information exchange groups contain limited
quantities of desired information, which tends to be randomly
interspersed within a much larger collection of undesired
information having little or no information value.
[0007] For example, prior art information exchange groups are
intruded upon by advertisements and deluged by inappropriate posts
and arguments among posters. Knowledgeable users, i.e., "experts,"
on a particular topic are frequently unavailable, thereby limiting
the amount of useful information that can be obtained. Other
problems that exist include, for example, the inability of these
groups to be located by end users, the lack of specificity of the
topics discussed, or the lack of participation in the group by all
but a fraction of wide area network users due to the complexity of
locating a group with pertinent discussion topics and the
complexity of reading and participating in the posting. Further,
the nature of the groups, such as chat rooms, deters user
participation for a variety of reasons. For instance, users of
prior art groups, such as chat rooms, are subject to a loss of
anonymity. If the user desires to be contacted, the user must post
his email address. Frequently, users' email addresses are collected
for commercial use, and the user is then subjected to unwanted
contact from unrelated sources. Additionally, prior art groups do
not effectively supplement user communications with related
information, such as a list of hyperlinks to relevant sites. In
addition, prior art groups do not facilitate the use or direct
exchange of audio or visual information. Prior art information
exchange groups do not provide users a way to conveniently create
or join an information exchange group, for example, a chat room,
wherein the user's e-mail address is protected from other users and
from unwanted commercial use. Also, prior art groups do not provide
for control by the users of the scope of information exchanged
within the information exchange group. For the foregoing reasons,
information exchange groups are not as widely used as they could
be, nor has their full potential been realized.
[0008] Therefore, a need exists to provide for the operation of
information exchange groups on a wide area network that overcomes
the limitations of the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention provides a system and method for
hosting a new type of information exchange group, herein called a
Webroom, on a wide area network, such as the Internet. A Webroom is
a species of information exchange group, comprising a
computer-implemented, topically organized self-evolving exchange
group on a wide area network, according to the present invention.
The system and method provides Webrooms with properties and
features for harnessing the power of the Internet and a distributed
user community to build information exchange groups, and systems of
interlinked groups, with superior quantity and quality of
information content, and superior organization of information by
topic. The method and system provides for user participation and
user feedback that rewards the gathering and dissemination of
useful and desired topical information within Webrooms, while
discouraging and eliminating unwanted or less useful information.
The system additionally provides other features for attracting
users and encouraging user participation.
[0010] Thus, the system and method provides for promotion of
Webrooms by a powerful network effect. That is, as information
content and number of participating users of a Webroom grows, the
Webroom becomes more likely to attract additional users and to
contain more useful information. An additional advantage is that
the operating cost of hosting a Webroom, after the initial set-up
cost, is essentially limited to the system bandwidth and storage
needed to accommodate growth in usage, because substantially all of
the Webroom content is provided by the subscribing user
community.
[0011] The system and method make use of various
software-implemented processes, or "tools," to achieve the
advantages described above. Underlying these tools is a software
engine for enabling users to easily create their own topical
Webrooms, and to peruse, post and evaluate information within
Webrooms. A first tool rewards users, or groups of users, who
establish Webrooms (such users being called "founders") by
referring traffic from the Webroom Web site to a Web site of the
founders' choice. A second tool rewards users who refer other users
to the Webroom Web site in the same manner. A third tool ranks and
filters information presented on the site based on statistical user
evaluation and use data, and user specified preferences. A fourth
tool similarly ranks and filters information sources, such as
contributing users and related Web Sites or Web Pages. A fifth tool
provides users of a Webroom with anonymous messaging, or chat room
capability. A sixth tool provides user protection filters,
especially useful for protecting child users.
[0012] The system and method implements the above tools using a
graphical user interface having novel features. For example, the
graphical interface presents messages in threaded or unthreaded
format, according to the user's selection using a toggle button.
Other graphical features include a tolerance bar used for
information filtering according to user preferences, and pop-up or
pull-down lists of related Web pages or other information
sources.
[0013] A more complete understanding of Webrooms will be afforded
to those skilled in the art, as well as a realization of additional
advantages and objects thereof, by a consideration of the following
detailed description of the preferred embodiment. Reference will be
made to the appended sheets of drawings which will first be
described briefly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a computer system
for providing Webrooms according to the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating an alternative
embodiment of a computer system for providing Webrooms according to
the present invention, and further illustrating some features of
Webrooms according to the preferred embodiment of the
invention.
[0016] FIG. 2A is a concept diagram illustrating features of an
information exchange group according to the prior art.
[0017] FIG. 2B is a concept diagram illustrating in more detail
features of an information exchange group according to the prior
art.
[0018] FIG. 3A is a concept diagram illustrating features of a
Webroom.
[0019] FIG. 3B is a concept diagram illustrating features of a
Webroom in more detail. FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a
method for founding a Webroom.
[0020] FIG. 5A is a flow chart illustrating a method for operating
a Web page menu for a Webroom.
[0021] FIG. 5B is a flow chart illustrating a registration and
login method for a Webroom.
[0022] FIG. 5C is an illustration of an exemplary display of a Web
page for displaying posts grouped according to a subject thread,
with various Webroom menu objects.
[0023] FIG. 5D is an illustration of an exemplary display of a Web
page for displaying posts that are not grouped according to a
subject thread, with various Webroom menu objects.
[0024] FIG. 6A is a flow chart illustrating a method for providing
users an option to view, respond to, and individually rate
information posts stored in a Webroom memory.
[0025] FIG. 6B is an illustration of an exemplary display of a Web
page provided with features for providing users an option to rate
posts.
[0026] FIG. 6C is a flow chart illustrating further details of a
method for providing users an option to individually rate
information posts stored in a Webroom memory.
[0027] FIG. 6D is an illustration of a data structure for rating
data received from Webroom users.
[0028] FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method for providing
users an option to rate related Web pages for which links are on a
Webroom page menu.
[0029] FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a method for providing
users an option to rate a related Webroom pages for which links are
on a Webroom page menu.
[0030] FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a method of performing
Webroom maintenance.
[0031] FIG. 10A is a flow chart illustrating a method for rating
and ranking users of Webrooms.
[0032] FIG. 10B is an illustration of a data table containing
exemplary user rating data.
[0033] FIG. 10C is an illustration of an exemplary display of user
rating information on a Web page.
[0034] FIG. 11A is a flow chart illustrating a method for ranking
related Web pages for which links are on a Webroom page menu.
[0035] FIG. 11B is an illustration of a data table containing
exemplary Web page rating and ranking data.
[0036] FIG. 11C is an illustration of an exemplary display of Web
page rating and ranking information on a Web page.
[0037] FIG. 12A is a flow chart illustrating a method for ranking
related Webroom pages for which links are on a Webroom page
menu.
[0038] FIG. 12B is an illustration of a data table containing
exemplary Webroom page rating and ranking data.
[0039] FIG. 12C is an illustration of an exemplary display of Web
room page rating and ranking information on a Web page.
[0040] FIG. 13A is a flow chart illustrating a method for receiving
preference information from a Webroom user, and filtering posts
displayed on the user's Webroom page according to threshold
criteria specified in the preference information.
[0041] FIG. 13B is an illustration of an exemplary display of a Web
page for collecting user preference information.
[0042] FIG. 14 is a flow chart illustrating a method for providing
a private Webroom.
[0043] FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating a method for providing
protection of a user's private information using terminal
control
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0044] The present invention satisfies the need for a method and
system for providing an information exchange group that adds new
functions and improves upon prior art information exchange groups.
In the detailed description that follows, like element numerals are
used to describe like elements illustrated in one or more figures.
Various terms and acronyms are used throughout the detailed
description, including the following:
[0045] Application. Within the context of computer hardware and
software, an application is a set of one or more computer programs
that performs a function when executed within a computer hardware
device. If the set is comprised of plural programs, the programs
are coordinated to perform a function together; such programs may
also perform other functions individually. Similarly, a program may
be comprised of plural modules that perform certain functions
individually and other functions when combined in various ways.
[0046] Client-Server. A model of interaction in a distributed
system in which a program at one site sends a request to a program
at another site and waits for a response. The requesting program is
called the "client," and the program which responds to the request
is called the "server." In the context of the World Wide Web
(discussed below), the client is a "Web browser" (or simply
"browser") which runs on a computer of a user. The program which
responds to browser requests by serving Web pages is commonly
referred to as a "Web server."
[0047] Cookies. A technology that enables a Web server to retrieve
information from a user's computer that reveals prior browsing
activities of the user. The information item is stored on the
user's computer (typically on the hard drive) is commonly referred
to as a "cookie." Many standard Web browsers support the use of
cookies.
[0048] Distributable application. An application coded in a
language, such as the JAVA language developed by Sun Microsystems,
Inc., such that the application may be distributed over a wide area
network, such as the Internet, and be successfully executed on a
variety of computer hardware models running various operating
systems.
[0049] Flame. In the context of an information exchange group, a
flame is a user message of an offensive nature.
[0050] HTML (HyperText Markup Language). A standard coding
convention and set of codes for attaching presentation and linking
attributes to informational content within documents. (HTML 2.0 is
currently the primary standard used for generating Web documents,
although it should be appreciated that other coding conventions
could be used within the scope of the present invention.) During a
document authoring stage, the HTML codes (referred to as "tags")
are embedded within the informational content of the document. When
the Web document (or HTML document) is subsequently transferred
from a Web server to a browser, the codes are interpreted by the
browser and used to parse and display the document. Additionally,
in specifying how the Web browser is to display the document, HTML
tags can be used to create links to other Web documents (commonly
referred to as "hyperlinks").
[0051] HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol). The standard World Wide
Web clientserver protocol used for the exchange of information
(such as HTML documents, and client requests for such documents)
between a browser and a Web server. HTTP includes a number of
different types of messages that can be sent from the client to the
server to request different types of server actions. For example, a
`GET` message, which has the format GET <URL>, causes the
server to return the document or file located at the specified
URL.
[0052] Hyperlink. A navigational link from one document to another,
or from one portion (or component) of a document to another.
Typically, a hyperlink is displayed as a highlighted word or phrase
on a Web page that can be selected by clicking on it using a mouse
or other pointing device to jump to the associated document or
documented portion.
[0053] Hypertext System. A computer-based informational system in
which documents other types of computer files are linked together
via hyperlinks forming a user-navigable "Web."
[0054] Information Exchange Group. A general term encompassing a
particular set of protocols or rules for information sharing,
together with a particular set of shared information or data
collected or generated under the associated rules and protocols,
for use by users (or other sources) contributing information to, or
accessing information in, the shared set of information. As
implemented on the Web, information exchange groups include the
entire Web and subgroups located on the Web, such as newsgroups,
bulletin boards, message boards, chat rooms, and "Webrooms."
Webrooms are further described in the detailed description below,
and in the co-pending applications referenced therein.
[0055] Internet. A collection of interconnected (public and/or
private) networks that are linked together by a set of standard
protocols (such as TCP/IP and HTTP) to form a global, distributed
network. (While this term is intended to refer to what is now
commonly known as the Internet, it is also intended to encompass
variations which may be made in the future, including changes and
additions to existing standard protocols.)
[0056] Spam. In the context of an information exchange group, spam
is any unwanted user message or messages of a commercial
nature.
[0057] URL (Uniform Resource Locator). A unique address which fully
specifies the location of a file or other resource on the Internet.
The general format of a URL is protocol://machine
address:port/path/filename. The port specification is optional, and
if no port is specified, the browser defaults to the standard port
for whatever service is specified as the protocol.
[0058] World Wide Web ("Web"). Used herein to refer generally to
both (i) a distributed collection of interlinked, user-viewable Web
pages and other linked data and distributable applications that are
accessible via the Internet, and (ii) the client and server
software components which provide user access to such documents
using standardized Internet protocols. Currently, the primary
standard protocol for allowing applications to locate and acquire
Web documents is HTTP, and the Web pages are encoded using HTML.
However, the terms "Web" and "World Wide Web" are intended to
encompass future markup languages and transport protocols which may
be used in place of (or in addition to) HTML and HTTP.
[0059] Web Page. A hypertext file or document that is encoded using
a language such as HTML for viewing on a client computer using a
browser application. A Web page may include visible components,
such as text, images, hyperlinks, and a background, and/or
invisible components, such as meta tags and formatting
instructions. In comparison to the term "Web page," the more
general term "page" encompasses many other types of computer files
that are not necessarily encoded for viewing using a browser, e.g.,
text files, bit-maps, audio files, and so forth.
[0060] Web Site. A computer system that serves informational
content over a network using the standard protocols of the World
Wide Web. Typically, a Web site corresponds to a particular
Internet domain name, such as "electronsearch.com," and includes
the content associated with a particular organization. As used
herein, the term is generally intended to encompass both (i) the
hardware/software server components that serve the informational
content over the network, and (ii) the "back end" hardware/software
components, including any non-standard or specialized components,
that interact with the server components to perform services for
Web site users.
[0061] The foregoing definitions are not intended to limit the
scope of the present invention, but rather are intended to clarify
terms that are well understood by persons having ordinary skill in
the art, and to introduce new terms helpful for describing the
present invention. It should be appreciated that the defined terms
may also have other meanings to such persons having ordinary skill
in the art. These and other terms are used in the detailed
description below.
[0062] Referring to FIG. 1A, a block diagram is illustrated of a
wide area network employing a method and system according to the
invention. It is anticipated that the present information delivery
system 100 operates with a plurality of computers which are coupled
together on a wide area network, such as the Internet 102, or other
communications network. FIG. 1A depicts a network that includes at
least two user computers 120 and 130 that communicate with a
Webroom Web host 110 though communication links 104 that include
the Internet 102. The user computers 120 and 130 may be any type of
computing device that allows a user to interactively browse
Websites, such as a personal computer (PC) that includes a Web
browser 132 (e.g., Microsoft Internet Explorer.TM. or Netscape
Communicator.TM.). Suitable user computers, e.g., user computer 130
equipped with browsers 132, are available in many configurations,
including handheld devices (e.g., PalmPilot.TM.), personal
computers (PC's), laptop computers, workstations, television
set-top devices, multi-functional cellular phones, and so forth.
The Webroom Web host 110 includes a server computer 112 running
Webroom Web server application 114 and capable of selectively
delivering and receiving information, such as Web pages 126 and
136, to and from the user computers 120 and 130 using a protocol,
such as HTTP. Webroom Web host 114 uses database 116, containing
Webroom data, while performing functions according to the present
invention. Typically, Webroom Web server 114 is an application
coded in a programming language, such as C or C++, and is
customized to run on server 112. Webroom Web server 114 may
additionally incorporate a database engine, such as a SQL
Server.TM. engine from Microsoft Corporation or Oracle.TM. database
engine, as part of its architecture. Using user computers 120 and
130, user 128 and user 138, respectively, may communicate to one
another by sending commands and data using browsers 122 and 132.
User communication data is preferably accessible on Web pages 126
and 136, displayed on displays 124 and 134. Web pages 126 and 136
are preferably Web room pages.
[0063] Referring now to FIG. 1B, a block diagram illustrates an
alternative embodiment of a computer system for providing Webrooms
according to the present invention, and some features of Webrooms
according to the preferred embodiment of the invention. In the
alternative embodiment, in addition to the components and features
discussed previously in connection with FIG. 1A, the system
includes Web site 140. Web site 140 includes Web server 142
accessing a database of Web pages 144, and other electronic files
containing information of various types, such as distributable
applications and text files. Web pages 144 may be viewed on a
display or a user computer, e.g., display 124 of user computer 120.
For example, Web page 126 or other electronic files may be
presented on display 124 by a suitable application program residing
on user computer 120, such as browser 122, or by a distributable
application provided to user computer 120 by Web server 142. It
should be appreciated that many different user computers, many
different Web servers, and many different search servers of various
types may be communicating with each other at the same time.
[0064] Web pages are generally requested by communicating an HTTP
request from a browser application, such as browser 132. The HTTP
request includes the Uniform Resource locator (URI) of the desired
Web page, which may correspond to a Web page 136 stored at a
destination Web site, such as Webroom Web host 110, or Web site
140. The HTTP request is routed to the Webroom Web host 110 or Web
site 140 via the Internet 102. The Webroom Web server 114 or server
142 then retrieves the requested Web page, identified by a URL,
from database 116 or 144 and communicates the Web page across the
Internet 102 to the browser application 132 or 122. The Web page
may be communicated in the form of plural message packets as
defined by standard protocols, such as the Transport Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), although it should be
appreciated that communication using other protocols would be
within the scope of the invention.
[0065] To exemplify features of Webrooms, FIG. 1B illustrates a Web
page 126, containing information 121 and a hyperlink 127 to Webroom
Web page 136, delivered to user computer 120 for viewing on display
124 using browser 122. At the same time, a Web page comprising
Webroom Web page 136 is delivered to user computer 130 and
displayed on display 134 using browser 132. Webroom Web page 136
contains posts 133 pertaining to topic 131, and a top list 135
including hyperlink 137 to Web page 126. Topic 133 pertains to
information 121 on page 126, and thus Web page 126 may be of
interest to someone viewing Webroom Web page 136. If so, hyperlink
137 may be selected which will cause server 142 to send a copy of
Web page 126 to user computer 130. Similarly, Webroom Web page 136
may be of interest to someone viewing Web page 126, and if so,
hyperlink 127 may be selected. Selecting hyperlink 127 causes
Webroom Web server 112 to send a copy of Webroom Web page 136 to
user computer 120. In connection with the request, Webroom Web
server application preferably records the identity of the referring
page, i.e., the page on which hyperlink 127 is located, for later
use in determining placement of hyperlink 137 on top list 135,
relative to other hyperlinks in the top list.
[0066] A principle advantage of the present invention is that it
tends to provide information exchange groups that are topically
organized and self-evolving. These features are illustrated and
compared to prior art groups in FIGS. 2A-3B. FIG. 2A illustrates
numerous prior art information exchange groups 300 located in an
Internet space 102. Each prior art group 300 contains information
posts 312, and a topic 322, such as topics 322a and 322b. Each post
312, shown in FIG. 2B, is received from a contributing user 310 on
the Internet or other wide area network. Each post has a greater or
lesser degree of relevance to the group's topic. The posts 312 are
stored in one or more memories 320 connected to Internet 102.
Memory 320 may be distributed over one or more memory devices, and
is managed by a server device according to methods known in the
art. To users 310, the posts 312 appear as objects on a Web page
displayed on each user's client computer by a group server.
Typically, the group server provides users 310 with an opportunity
to receive, read, and respond to selected posts 312, and records a
sequence of responses for each posting.
[0067] In prior art groups 300, the information posts are not
organized according to their relevance to topic 322. This lack of
contextual information is diagrammed in FIG. 2B as a random
distance between each of posts 312 and the topic 322. Some of the
posts 312 may be connected by a thread 340, which is essentially a
record of a sequence of posts and responses. For example, a first
post by a first user, and a second post by a second user, sent in
response to a first post, are linked by a single thread. A third
post, posted in response to the first message, would begin a second
thread between the third post and the first post. In the
alternative, a third post in response to the second post would
continue the first thread from the first post, to the second post,
and then to the third post. Any number of posts may be connected,
or "threaded," in this manner. Although threading provides a
limited amount of self-organizing information, in that the posts on
a thread are more likely to relate to the same topic, prior art
groups 300 do not provide a way for users to rate the relatedness
of single posts or threaded posts to any particular topic.
Consequently, information is randomly distributed among the posts
312, making searching for particular topical information a
haphazard process for users 310.
[0068] Prior art groups 300 also do not provide for organizing
links to other information exchange groups, Web pages, or other
information located within the Internet space 102. Although some of
the posts 312 may. contain references 330 to external information,
the references 330 are randomly scattered throughout posts 312,
which posts 312 are themselves poorly organized with respect to the
group topic 322. Because of their poor organizing properties, prior
art groups 300 do not encourage or reward users 310 for submitting
informative and relevant posts. For example, a user 310 is less
likely to invest time and effort into submitting information,
because the user's post will quickly become lost and forgotten.
Hence, prior art groups 300 have tended to evolve into
recreational-oriented communities with relatively little useful
information content compared to Web sites operated by organized
entities.
[0069] In contrast, an information exchange group according to the
present invention (a Webroom) has self-evolving properties that
provide for topical organization within the Webroom, and within a
structure comprised of multiple interconnected Webrooms. These
properties are illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B. In FIG. 3A, a
portion of a system 302 comprised of multiple interconnected
Webrooms is shown. Webrooms 301a, 301b, 301c, 301d, and 301e,
residing in an Internet space 102, are interconnected with multiple
links 326 and 326'. Any particular Webroom, for example, Webroom
301d, may have one or more paired links, comprising a link to an
external Webroom, such as shown between Webrooms 301d and 301b.
Each paired link comprises a link to an external site 326 and a
link back from the site 326'. As seen from the perspective of
Webroom 301b, 326' is the link to the external site and 326 is the
complementary link back. Webrooms may have one-way links, such as
link 326 shown between Webrooms 301a and 301e, links to other Web
pages 324 such as shown from Webroom 301a, links to prior art
information groups 300f such as shown from Webroom 301d, and links
to any other object having a network address. Each link 326 and
326' is preferably a hyperlink.
[0070] Webrooms are preferably provided with any number of defined
topics, such as topics 322a, 322b, 322c, 322d, and 322e. The topics
may be at any level of particularity or generality, and may be
capable of grouping into any number of, and any levels of, subject
groups, such as the subject groups illustrated by the areas 340a
and 340b. Subject groups may be overlapping, or non-overlapping. In
FIG. 3A, the subject groups 340a and 340b are shown as overlapping
with respect to topics 322b and 322d. The configuration illustrated
in FIG. 3A might arise, for example, if subject area 340a is
"dogs," subject area 340b is "cats," and topic 322b is "pet toys"
and 322d is "veterinary medicine."
[0071] It should be understood that the self-evolving
interconnections of the present invention make it unnecessary to
objectively define any subject areas. Rather, subject areas are
conceptual constructs that arise from the nature of the
interconnected structure provided by the present invention.
Webrooms with the most closely related topics are directly linked,
and more distantly related Webrooms are linked by a number of
intervening links, the number of links being inversely proportional
to the relatedness of connected Webrooms. That is, more closely
related Webrooms are connected by fewer links. Thus, any particular
subject area, although not objectively defined and having no
distinct boundary, will nonetheless be perceived as a collection of
Web rooms that are closely linked to each other. The present
invention provides a method, as described in detail below, for
providing Webrooms with inherent, self-evolving properties ensuring
that only Webrooms with closely related topics will be directly
linked to each other, and that each Webroom will grow or evolve
links to all Webrooms having closely related topics. As a result,
the topically organized, interconnected Webroom system 302 is
capable of emerging from the participation of many individual,
self-interested users, and evolving to higher levels of information
and organization without the application of any external organizing
agent or externally applied function.
[0072] The present invention also provides for topical,
self-evolving organization within a Webroom defined by a topic, as
illustrated in FIG. 3B. Webroom 301a, like prior art groups 300
discussed above, has a defined topic 322a, receives numerous
information posts 312 from users 310 and stores them in a memory
320. Users 310 may receive, read, and respond to any of posts 312,
and posts may be threaded, as shown with thread 340, or unthreaded.
Unlike prior art groups 300, however, Webroom 301a ranks each post
312 according to its relevance to topic 322a. This ranking is
illustrated by the concentric orbits 322, each orbit representing a
discrete level of relevance to topic 322a. It should be understood
that for simplicity, only two orbits 322 are illustrated, but a
Webroom may have any number of orbits, and typically will have
numerous orbits. Alternatively, posts 312 may be ranked according
to an arithmetic system that does not use discrete relevance
levels, and further may be ranked with respect to numerous ranking
categories. Various ranking schemes are further described in more
detail later in the specification.
[0073] Similarly, users 310 of Web room 301a are preferably ranked
according to various schemes. FIG. 3B illustrates an orbit system,
having one founding user 314 on a founder's orbit, a number of
users 310 on an expert orbit 316, and a greater number of users 310
on a contributing user orbit 318. Only three orbits are shown for
simplicity, but a typical Webroom will have more numerous orbits,
or a more sophisticated ranking scheme, which is described in more
detail later in the specification, Users are provided an option to
rate selected posts 312. Rating information pertaining to selected
posts 312 is received from users according to methods discussed
below, and used to rank the posts 312 and users 310. As a result of
the ranking scheme, users compete for a favorable position for
their posts with respect to topic 322a by submitting posts of
superior information value, by providing links to desired
information resources, and by providing rating information.
[0074] An advantage of the invention is that users are rewarded for
contributing high quality information by achieving highly ranked
positions. In general, one skilled in the art will recognize that
the prominence and recognition associated with a high ranking among
a group of many users may readily be used to bring benefits of many
types, e.g., to draw traffic to a commercial site. Thus, by its
ranking and reward system, the Webroom 301a tends to attract more
desirable and relevant information pertaining to topic 322a, and
ranks the best information highly so it may easily be found by
users. This in turn attracts more users, who in turn provide still
more and better information and assist with organizing the Webroom,
and so forth. Additionally, ranking users makes it easy to identify
experts and request information from them. Thus, by ranking
information and users, Webrooms, such as Webroom 301a, tend to
promote themselves and grow to become increasingly more useful
information resources through a powerful network effect.
[0075] Like prior art groups 300, Webrooms, such as the illustrated
Webroom 301a, also may have posts with external references 330.
However, the present invention provides a method for providing,
organizing, and ranking links to outside references, as described
above in connection with FIG. 3A. In FIG. 3B, one such pair of
links 326 and 326' is illustrated to a founder's page 324a. A
founder's page is a Web page or other document designated by a
founding user 314, as indicated by the dashed line 315. By
providing a link to a site designated by user 314, and ranking the
link highly or displaying it prominently, user 314 is rewarded for
investing the time and effort required to found Webroom 301a.
Similarly, other users 310 may be rewarded for contributing to the
Webroom 310a, for directing traffic to a Webroom through a linked
Web page, for sponsoring the Webroom host, or for other desired
behavior, by being permitted to designate or nominate a link to
another Web site, such as 324b. External sites preferably have a
return link 326' to the Webroom 301a, and the usage of each return
link 326' is preferably measured. External sites with links to and
from Webroom 301a preferably include other Webrooms, as illustrated
in FIG. 3A and discussed above.
[0076] Like posts and users, links 326 are preferably ranked using
rating data provided by users 310. Additionally, it is preferable
to include the amount of Web traffic provided by a site's return
link 326' to the Webroom 301a as a ranking factor, to encourage and
promote Webroom traffic. Commercial factors, such as payment and
contractual terms, may also be considered in ranking, preferably
using a weighted system as described in the co-pending U.S. patent
application, Ser. No. 09/548,803, "METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SEARCHING
A WIDE AREA NETWORK," filed Apr. 14, 2000, which application is
specifically incorporated herein, in its entirety, by reference. In
this manner the costs of hosting Webrooms may be defrayed, and a
profit motive for hosting and promoting Webroom growth may be
provided. However, to ensure that external sites with the most
closely related topics and best information receive the highest
ranked links, thereby optimizing the topical organization and
information content of the system 302, the highest importance in
the rating scheme is preferably assigned to topical rating
information.
[0077] The general characteristics of Webrooms, and systems of
Webrooms, are preferably achieved on a wide area network, such as
the Internet, by implementing the method steps of the invention
using computer hardware, network connections, and software
according to techniques known in the art. Various method steps are
illustrated in FIGS. 4-15, beginning with steps for founding a
Webroom illustrated in FIG. 4.
[0078] It is preferable to the harness the power of a volunteer
user base for founding Webrooms, for the same reason it is
preferable to harness a volunteer user base for providing rating
data. Namely, the vast number or users connected to the Internet
comprises a resource of enormous size and power, and volunteers do
not need to be paid. In some cases, it may be desirable to pay or
contract with founders to found Webrooms, or some combination of
paid contractors and unpaid volunteers may be used for founding
Webrooms. The method illustrated in FIG. 4 may be adapted for use
with these various types of founders.
[0079] The process begins by issuing prospective founders an
invitation to found a Webroom at step 402. An invitation is
extended by various advertising techniques known in the art, for
example, using a banner advertisement on a search engine site, or
by any mode of communication. However, it is preferable to extend
invitations by direct messaging to persons searching for a Webroom
using a search method, such as disclosed in the previously
referenced U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 09/548,803. An
invitation is preferably extended when a user is unable to locate a
Webroom for a particular topic, because no Web room having that
particular topic exists. Such persons are more likely to be
interested in the topic and in Webrooms, and therefore are more
likely to accept an invitation to found a Webroom covering the
particular topic. Additionally, the invitation/acceptance process
can readily be handled automatically using techniques known in the
art, without any need for a human on the Webroom host side, thereby
reducing the cost of founding Webrooms.
[0080] At step 404, the founder applicant applies for founder
status and the applicant's application is received, beginning a
dialog between the applicant and the Webroom host. An applicant may
apply by sending a message to the Webroom host, which may be
comprised simply of a mouse click or other simple response, and
preferably includes, or is linked to, other application data
including the identity of the applicant and the applicant's client
terminal, name and electronic address information, the topic, and
selected founder resume information, such as other Webrooms the
applicant has founded. If the applicant is already a registered
Webroom user, most of this information is preferably already stored
in a user database 406, from which it may readily be retrieved. The
Webroom processes the application information at step 408 to ensure
the application is complete, and stores new information in user
database 406 for later use.
[0081] The topic submitted by the applicant, or otherwise
associated with the application, is preferably processed at step
410 for recognition of the language the topic is submitted in,
identification of misspellings, and identification of
non-dictionary words, and other topic problems. For example, the
host may screen for words deemed too offensive to appear as topics,
or words that are otherwise likely to be used for Webrooms that the
Webroom host does not desire to host. However, it is anticipated
that in general, topic processing is preferably limited to
identifying common spelling defects, semantic inconsistencies, and
duplicate topics, in order to avoid placing unnecessary
restrictions on topic creation and to facilitate the founding
process. Elimination of undesirable and unused Webrooms takes place
later during the Webroom cycle, by a user-driven rating process
described in more detail later in the specification. Topic database
424, and/or a database containing dictionary information (not
shown) may be consulted during the topic processing step.
[0082] If a problem with the topic is identified during processing,
the topic is deemed not qualified at decision step 412, and the
topic problems are presented to the applicant at step 414.
Depending on the nature of the topic problems, the applicant is
invited to correct the problems and resubmit the topic for
processing at step 410, or to accept the topic as is, which may be
appropriate, for example, if the topic includes a word or phrase
that is not in the system dictionary database, as may occur with
new slang terms. In such cases, the applicant is preferably invited
to supply a meaning for the undefined term, so that the term may be
added to the topic and dictionary databases with a defined meaning.
The topic is then preferably reprocessed at step 410 using the
corrected terms and/or new definitions.
[0083] If the topic is deemed qualified at step 412, then at step
416, the topic is tested to determine if a Webroom with the same
topic already exists. Unlike many prior art information exchange
groups, it is preferable to prevent the formation of duplicate
Webrooms, i.e., two or more Webrooms having essentially the same
topic, to promote topical organization within a Webroom system, and
to concentrate all possible information pertaining to a topic
within a single Webroom. Thus, in performing testing for duplicate
Webrooms, it is preferable to check for and prevent founding of
Webrooms with synonymous topics. For example, two Webrooms, one
with the topic "quadruped bovines", and one with the topic
"four-legged cows" would be undesirable. At the same time,
overlapping, partially synonymous topics are permissible and often
arise because of a genus-species relationship, for example, "Jersey
cows" and "cows." If it is determined at step 416 that a Webroom
already exists for the topic, at step 418, the applicant is
referred to the existing Webroom, for use according to the method
500 illustrated in FIG. 5.
[0084] If there is no pre-existing Webroom for a topic, a Webroom
infrastructure for the topic is set up at step 418. Infrastructure,
for the purposes of step 418, comprises a defined topic stored in
topic database 424, and one or more linked Webroom pages, including
any associated or embedded applications, stored in Webroom page
database 432 (or more generally, in a host memory comprising
Webroom database 116 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2). Web room pages are
Web pages having certain features, some of which have already been
described, and which will be described in more detail later in the
specification, including graphical objects and embedded
applications for receiving posts of information from users,
providing users an option to receive posts, and displaying or
otherwise outputting posts to users, providing users an option to
individually rate each post, receiving rating data from users
regarding selected posts, and providing users an option to receive
rating data in various formats. Being a species of Web page,
Webroom pages may be generated according to methods known in the
art, using a variety of known methods to build Web pages having
features with the characteristics and functionality as disclosed
herein. It is anticipated that only a limited number of Webroom
infrastructure pages, i.e., template pages, need be developed for
this purpose. Such template pages are essentially empty forms and
will be the same or similar for a wide variety of assigned topics,
for a given user language and programming environment. The
applicable template pages are then copied, assigned a unique
address, associated with and modified for the defined topic, and
stored in a host memory.
[0085] At this point, the Webroom pages are ready to serve as the
user interface for receiving, rating, ranking, linking, storing,
and performing other operations on information, and providing
options to users, according to the methods of the present
invention. It should be noted that steps 402 through 418 discussed
thus far comprise a process for, among other things, defining a
topic prior to receiving posts of information. It will be evident
to one skilled in the art that many variations on the described
defining process are possible. Whatever particular process is used,
it is preferable to define a unique topic for each Webroom that has
a clear and recognized meaning. Also, it is preferable to draw upon
a general user base to assist with topic definition, using an
automated or semi-automated process, for the reasons explained
above.
[0086] At step 420, an initial list of preferred links to related
external sites, called a "toplist," is generated and stored in
database 432 for display on the Webroom pages. Preferably, the
content of the toplist will change during the life of the Webroom,
based on new links and rating data provided by the users.
Initially, the toplist may be left empty, but it is preferable to
provide an initial list. An initial list may be provided based on a
search for related Web pages using the topic words as keywords. A
search may be performed automatically by submitting the topic words
to one or more search engines known in the art, and selecting a
portion of the search results, for example, the top twenty-five
results, on the top list. In addition, it is preferable to provide
the Webroom founder with an opportunity to provide addresses for
inclusion in the initial toplist.
[0087] Preferably, the founder is also provided with an option to
designate an address for a Web page of the founder's choice, called
a "founder's link," for inclusion in the toplist. At step 422, the
address is received from a founding user and added to the toplist
in the manner described above, thereby providing a link on the
Webroom page comprising the founder's address. The founder's link
preferably receives more favorable treatment relative to other
links on the Webroom page. For example, the founder's link may be
displayed more prominently than other links, or may be exempted, at
least during an initial period, from a ranking and review system
that is used to remove unused links from a toplist. In this way, a
founder may be rewarded for the time and effort invested in
founding a Webroom. At the same time, as a Webroom grows in
popularity and users over time, it is preferable that the founder
no longer be provided more favorable treatment, and be required to
compete evenly with other users. A "level playing field" encourages
participation from all users and continued addition of new
information to the Webroom. Also, as a Webroom grows in popularity,
founder status becomes more and more valuable. At some point, the
value of founder's link and other forms of preferential treatment
greatly exceeds the value of the founder's original contribution.
This provides an additional reason and incentive for requiring new
contributions of some type to justify a continuing preferential
status.
[0088] As a final step in the infrastructure set up process, an
initial list of links to related Webrooms is generated, similarly
to the toplist. The Web room topic database 424 is searched
according search methods known in the art, and a list of related
Webrooms is identified. A portion of the Webrooms are selected, for
example, the top twenty-five, for inclusion on the initial list. As
with the toplist, the content of the Webroom list is anticipated to
change over time, depending on relative use and rating information
for each related Webroom.
[0089] With a defined topic, a toplist, and an initial Webroom
list, the newly established Webroom is ready to be opened to the
public, in an opening step 430. Network access for the general user
community to the Webroom pages is enabled, as is access to the
Webroom databases using the Webroom pages. Network traffic is
directed to the Webroom pages using a variety of methods known in
the art for directing traffic to a particular page. For example,
the Webroom page may be registered with numerous search engines.
Additionally, links, such as banner ads, may be placed on other
popular pages, particularly those dealing with related topics. It
is further anticipated that many founders will be interested in
directing traffic to their Webrooms, and will do so by contacting
their respective communities in various ways. When set-up is
complete and users begin linking to the Webroom page, the Webroom
preferably operates according to the method 500 illustrated in
FIGS. 5A and 5B.
[0090] It should be appreciated that a Webroom may be established
in other ways than described above, and need not always start with
an empty template. For example, an existing chat room or news group
may be converted into a Webroom by the addition of Webroom features
described above. In such case, objects for receiving and responding
to posts would already be present on the Web page, and would be
linked to a database of pre-existing posts. However, it is
anticipated that even if some Webrooms are formed by converting
existing, prior art information exchange groups, it will be
necessary to create new Webrooms to meet user demand for new
topics, and to expand the range of topics covered by a Webroom
system.
[0091] Referring to FIG. 5A, at step 502, the Webroom server
receives a request for a Webroom home page from a user. The server
then initiates a login process 550, shown in more detail in FIG.
5B. At 552, the requesting user is identified. This may be handled
by a login script and password, which is preferred for more secure
systems or to accommodate users accessing the system other than
from the users' usual computer. Alternatively, the user may be
identified by reading a cookie or other identifying information on
the user terminal, or by any other identifying method known in the
art. After the user is identified, a database of user data 406 is
checked to determine if the user is authorized for full system
access, at step 554. Preferably, a user is authorized to view a
portion or all of the Webrooms on the system after registering only
once. Portions of the Webrooms may be restricted or open to
particular users, depending on the identifying information. For
example, if the identifying information indicates that the user is
a minor, access to Webrooms with adult-only content could be
restricted. For further example, a particular group of users may
set up one or more private Webrooms for access only by members of
the group, in which case access to the private Webrooms will be
blocked unless the user is identified as a group member.
[0092] If the user is identified as a registered user, user
preferences for the requested Webroom are established at 562. In
most cases, the user will adopt a set of default preferences to
begin with, and will retain the option of modifying the default
preferences for each particular Web room. User preferences are
stored in a database 564 of user preference information. Further
discussion of user preferences is provided later in the
specification in connection with FIGS. 13A, 13B and 13C.
[0093] If the user is not identified as already existing in the
user database 406, at 556, the user is provided with an option to
register as a new user. If the user selects the option, a user
profile is established at step 560. Various amounts of identifying
information may be collected for the user profiles, depending on
the objectives of the system. In general, it is preferable to
balance various considerations, such as ease of use, privacy, and
accountability, in determining how much information to collect. It
is also possible to link a user status with the amount of
information provided; for example, users who provide little
identifying information could be prevented from attaining a high
user status in the system. After the identifying information has
been collected and stored in user database 406, the login process
resumes at step 552, as before.
[0094] If the user does not wish to register as a new user, the
user is provided an option to register as a visitor at step 564. If
the user does not wish to register as a visitor, the user is
preferably directed to one or a series of exit Web pages according
to the preferences of the Webroom operator. For example, the user
may be directed to a Webroom welcome page that explains the
benefits and operation of Webrooms and contains advertising
messages. If the user elects to receive visitor status at step 564,
then a temporary identification and a set of visitor preference
data are assigned at step 568, typically by reference to a default
database, similarly to step 562. To encourage visitors to register
as users, visitors are preferably prevented from accessing the full
Webroom feature set, and receive a message encouraging them to
register as users when they attempt to use a restricted
feature.
[0095] After the login process is complete and user or visitor
preferences are established, at step 504, shown in FIG. 5A, a first
Webroom page (a "root menu" page) is displayed at the user
terminal. The root menu page preferably displays a summary of one
or more postings in the Webroom database, a list (or a link to a
list) of toplinks, and a list (or a link to a list) of related
Webrooms. Additionally, the root menu page preferably has a menu
providing users with various Webroom options, for example, options
for setting user preferences, and may include one or more
advertising messages. Various options are diagrammed as steps 506,
508, and 510 in FIG. 5A. It should be noted that, although the
foregoing steps are diagrammed as sequential steps, one skilled in
the art will recognize that the steps may be selected in any
sequence from the root menu.
[0096] A substantial portion of the root menu page is preferably
used for displaying a sequence of user posts. A "post" typically
comprises a text message composed or provided by a user, but may
include or comprise an audio file (such as a recording of the user
speaking), graphical files, such as video or still photographs in
various file formats, application files, such as content files for
use with word processing and spreadsheet applications, and other
forms of user content files. However, depending on the bandwidth,
processing and memory constraints imposed by the Webroom server, it
is preferable to limit the file size of user posts, and/or to
require that posts be submitted in one or more designated file
formats, e.g., as text files. The summary of posts displayed on the
root menu page preferably displays summary information about each
post, such as the contributing user identification, date and time
submitted, subject line information, and length of the posting.
[0097] Textual posts are preferably displayed in their entirety, or
in summary, depending on whether or the display is organized
chronologically (i.e., is unthreaded) or as threaded on subject
threads. Chronological postings are preferably displayed in their
entirety, to permit rapid scanning of all material submitted within
a given time frame. Threaded postings are preferably displayed in
summary, so that more of the subject threads can be viewed on a
single screen. Depending on user preferences, various other
combinations of summarized or entire posts may be displayed.
[0098] Additionally, the root menu page preferably provides for
display of the posts, or summary of posts, in various orders and
groupings, as shown in FIGS. 5C and 5D. Webroom page 570 is
preferably comprised of one or more frames 571 and 573. Posts 585,
comprising subjects 580 and messages 582, are summarized in a
format showing various summary objects such as a post ID number
574, the contributing user 576, post date 578, post time 579,
subject 580, and an initial portion of the message 582, for each
post. In FIG. 5C, the posts 585 are grouped and ordered according
to their position on a subject thread 572. For example, post No.
290, by user "MaryM," is in response to post No. 273, by user
"DrJones," regarding the subject of measles. Post No. 296, by
DrJones, is in response to the post by MaryM, and post No. 304 is
in response to the initial post by DrJones. Thread 572 displays the
relationship of posts and responses giving rise to the subject
thread. The summary of posts 585 may preferably be scrolled using a
familiar interface device, for example arrow keys on a keyboard, a
computer mouse, and/or a graphical device such as scroll bar 584.
One skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety of
formats for displaying posts grouped according to a subject thread
are possible, wherein each format groups posts and their associated
responses in order of response.
[0099] Page 570 preferably includes a toggle object 586, for
providing users an option of selecting a variety of formats for
displaying the posts 585. Object 586 is preferably a graphical
object, such as a button or radio box, that can be selected and
activated by "pointing and clicking" using a pointing device, such
as a computer mouse. Object 586 may be located in the same frame
571 as posts 585, or it may be located in a separate frame 573,
which preferably contains other command menus and command objects,
such as objects 590, 591, and 592.
[0100] By activating toggle object 586, a user can toggle between
two or more formats for displaying posts 585. For example, a user
may select to view posts 585 in reverse chronological order of
submission, as shown in FIG. 5D. In this view, frame 571 contains a
summary of the Webroom posts, beginning with the most recently
submitted posts and proceeding to the oldest posts. The post
summary objects are preferably the same, or similar to the summary
objects as displayed in threaded format. However, the unthreaded
(i.e., not grouped according to a subject thread) format preferably
includes one or more rating icons 588 and subject icons 593
associated with each post. The rating icons 588 preferably indicate
rating information pertaining to each post. For example, rating
icon 588 might reveal five stars for the most highly rated posts,
with a lesser number of stars for lower rated posts; one or more
iconic candle flames indicating the degree to which users have
rated the post to be a flame; and one or more orange blobs
indicating the degree to which users have rated the post to be
spam. In the alternative, rating icon 588 might reveal a numeric
score for various rating categories.
[0101] Subject icon 593 may be provided to indicate a particular
subject thread that pertains to the post. For example, all posts
relating to a particular thread may be coded with a particular
color. In the alternative, each post background is preferably
provided with a colored background 589, color coded to relate to a
particular subject thread. Color coding permits a user to view all
postings in chronological order as they are submitted (or other
order), while retaining subject thread information for each post.
It should be noted that a wide variety of formats for coding rating
information and subject threads for a list of postings may be used
within the scope of the present invention. Additionally, posts may
be summarized in a variety of orders, for example, according to a
rank determined by post rating data, or as a combined function of
date and time submitted and a post rank based on user-provided
data.
[0102] Page 570 is preferably provided with a related Webrooms
button 590. Upon actuation, button 590 displays other Webrooms
which are deemed to be related to the currently viewed Webroom. In
preferred embodiments, users who have passwords and can post in the
Webroom are eligible to nominate and vote on whether a Webroom is
related to another Webroom. Users who believe that one Webroom
should have a link from another Webroom (and thus be related) can
nominate the Webrooms to be related via a nominated Webroom button
591. In one embodiment, nominated related Webrooms both appear on a
list that exists on each respective site (thus, site A appears on
the list of nominated related Webrooms on site B, and vice versa).
Members of both Webrooms then have the opportunity to review the
other Webroom and determine if that Webroom should appear on the
list of related Webrooms, by rating the Website accordingly. The
ratings from both Webrooms are then aggregated, and, once a minimum
amount of rating data is received, a determination is made as to
whether the rooms will be listed on the "related Webroom" list or
link, as discussed later in the specification. If a Webroom (A) is
found to be related to another Webroom (B), both Webrooms may
appear on a list of related Web rooms when a user views one or the
other Webroom, depending on various factors such as the amount of
traffic the Webroom receives and the number of links already listed
on the Webroom related links list. For example, if Webrooms (A) and
(B) are related, and (A) relates to a general topic receiving a
large amount of traffic, while (B) relates to a narrowly defined
topic with relatively little traffic, then a link to Webroom (A)
may appear on Webroom (B), while Webroom (A) does not contain a
link to (B). In the alternative, if Webroom (A) has relatively few
links (which may occur, for example, when it is relatively new),
then the link to (B) may appear on the (A) list until the (A) list
contains a predetermined number of links.
[0103] Page 570 preferably includes a toplink button or menu object
592 for presenting links to related Web pages (that are not
Webrooms), similar to the process described for Webrooms in
connection with Webroom button 590. The process of linking to, and
rating links to, related Web pages (and Webrooms) is described in
more detail later in the specification. Additionally, a button (not
shown) for nominating related Web pages, similar to button 591 for
Webrooms, may be provided. In general, it should be understood that
Webroom page 570 is not limited to display of the objects discussed
in connection with FIGS. 5C and 5D, and may contain various other
objects, such as advertising messages, help buttons, search
objects, text objects, and graphical objects of various kinds.
Additionally, the arrangement of the objects is not limited to the
arrangement described, and one skilled in the art will recognize
that various other arrangements of the above elements will be
within the scope of the invention.
[0104] Referring again to FIG. 5A, at step 506, users are provided
an option to receive posts. If a user selects the option, a post
display step 602 is initiated, as shown in FIG. 6A, for displaying
the full posting at the user's terminal. Preferably, every post
summary format provides each post with at least one object that may
be selected to view the entire post, preferably in a new window or
frame. It should be noted that "display" is used in a general
sense. For example, if the post comprises an audio or video file,
the audio or video file will be played at the users terminal, along
with a display of any supplemental information. Additionally, users
may be provided with an option to receive text messages in an
audible format by incorporating a text-to-speech engine, of which
several are known in the art, as part of the Webroom application
package. Posts may be displayed in numerous ways familiar to those
skilled in the art, for example, using a distributable application
window that is continually updated as new posts are added to the
Webroom database.
[0105] At step 604, users are provided an option to individually
rate each post viewed.
[0106] An exemplary Web page showing features for providing users
this option is shown in FIG. 6B. Webroom post page 650 contains a
display of at least one post 676. Adjacent to each post 676, a
respond button 658 and one or more voting objects 660 are
displayed. Webroom page 650 additionally includes a subject line
652, a general post button 654, a scrolling object 656, and a
tolerance bar 670, which is discussed in more detail later in the
specification in connection with FIGS. 13A and 13B. Users may
scroll through the postings by using scroll objects 656, may post a
response to any particular posting using a respond button 654, and
may submit a general posting (not in response to any particular
posting) using post button 654. Score display bar 672 provides
users an option to receive rating data. Scores may be displayed
directly on bar 672, which preferably is programmed to provide
additional rating data when selected by a user, for example, when
double-clicked on.
[0107] Vote objects 660 provide users an option to rate posts
according to at least one predetermined criteria. Several different
rating criteria (also called categories), for example, spam, flame,
and relevance are preferably used. Various formats of vote objects
may be provided. For example, a voting bar comprised of a decrease
button 664, a score field 666, and an increase button 668 may be
provided. In this case, a user can rate each post by increasing or
decreasing the score in the score field using the increase button
668 and the decrease button 664, or by entering a score directly in
score field 666. Voting objects may be tailored for the intended
Webroom user community, for example, more sophisticated voting
objects and rating schemes may be presented in an
academically-oriented Webroom, as opposed to a Webroom for young
children.
[0108] Whatever specific rating scheme is used, the scheme is
preferably designed to be fun and easy to use, while at the same
time collecting information about each post that is as accurate and
complete as required to reliably reflect the information value of
posts with respect to each designated Webroom topic. To accommodate
scoring and ranking of posts, it is preferable for at least a
portion of rating data received from users to comprise a
quantitative rating. For example, a numeric ranking of relevance
between zero and ten, with ten indicating the highest possible
relevance, and zero indicating no relevance whatsoever, is an
example of a quantitative rating. Additionally, an alphabetic
rating system, such as grading from "A" to "F," is also a
quantitative rating system, because each letter grade can be
readily assigned a numeric value. In addition to spam, flame, and
relevance categories, scoring categories may include credibility,
accuracy, clarity, wit, or any category of interest to the user
community. An overly complex scoring system will tend to discourage
use, so the scoring system should be limited to scoring categories
of interest to each particular Webroom user community. It is
anticipated that the categories of spam, flame, and relevance will
be of interest to most Webroom users. Furthermore, at least one
relevance category is needed for developing a relevance scoring and
ranking system that promotes topical organization and
self-evolution as described above.
[0109] In order to prevent misuse of the rating system, it is
preferable to limit the number of times a user may rate any
particular post. Preferably, each user may only rate each post a
maximum of once, and no user may rate his or her own posts.
Additional limitations may be placed on rating. For example, each
user may be limited to a predetermined number of votes per Webroom
within a given time period. Such limits may be based on a user
ranking, for example, users identified as providing only spam could
be prevented from rating any posts, and highly ranked users could
be rewarded with additional rating privileges. Basing rating rights
on user status has the advantage of providing more control over the
Webroom content to the most interested and knowledgeable users,
thus facilitating growth and organization of higher-quality
information.
[0110] Each post 676 in Webroom page 650 preferably includes a
private e-mail button 674. E-mail button 674 provides a convenient
way for users to send e-mail directly to authors of posts, without
requiring the authors to make their e-mail address public. Using
the private e-mail button 674 and associated method, communication
between members of the forum is enabled, while "harvesting" of
e-mails by others (such as would-be "spammers") is prevented.
Preferably, the only way to contact the member using the Webroom
page 650 is by selecting the e-mail button 674 from within a post
authored by the intended recipient, thus preventing mass mailings
such as are typically used for unwanted commercial solicitations.
When a user selects e-mail button 674, an e-mail message authoring
window (not shown) as known in the art is provided to the user.
After completing the message to the selected author, the user sends
the message to the Webroom server. The server then forwards the
message to the post author by referencing a database of private
e-mail addresses provided by the forum members.
[0111] Referring again to FIG. 6A, if a user elects to provide
rating data for a particular post at step 604, then the rating data
provided by the user is recorded in post rating database 608, and
indirectly in user-associated rating database 610. Before recording
the data in user database 610, the rating data is preferably
processed according to a process illustrated in more detail by FIG.
6C. The process 620 shown in FIG. 6C may be initiated at any time,
that is, it may be performed synchronously or asynchronously with
the posting process. Process 620 is preferably repeated
continuously to process new rating data as it is added to the
system. Process 620 preferable executes in the system background
without interrupting user actions, such as searching, receiving, or
rating posts. It should be noted that steps 624-632 of process 620
all require access to post rating database 608. The details of
process 620 will vary depending on variations in the desired output
and the data structure used for post rating data.
[0112] An exemplary data structure for post rating data is
illustrated in FIG. 6D. Data structure 680 is preferably realized
in a relational database organized according to a database
standard, for example SQL. Any number of user levels 682 are
present, with each user level having any number of rows 686 and
columns 688. It should be noted that the terms "level," "row," and
"column" represent dimensions that are not topographically distinct
in the context of a relational database. A data structure according
to the present invention is, of course, not a physical structure,
and may have any number of dimensions. The illustration of three
dimensions in FIG. 6D is for simplicity of explanation. In the
example illustrated, each row 686 represents rating data for a
particular posting, for example, post 1, post 2, etc. Each column
688 represents rating data in a particular category, for example,
category 1, category 2, etc. Each level 682 represents rating data
contributed by a particular user, for example, user 1, user 2, etc.
Level 684 represents an aggregate of rating data from multiple
users. An aggregate is any statistical measure that reflects the
overall value of a set of quantitative ratings, such as a sum, a
weighted average, a simple average, a rolling average, a median
value, or similar measure. Each cell, for example, cell 690, is
defined by a row-column intersection on a particular layer. Each
layer contains corresponding cells, as indicated by the dashed
vertical lines 692. For example, cell 685 of level 684 contains an
average of rating data contained in the cells defined by the
intersection of row 1, column 1, on all user levels 682, and
indicates a simple average of the user ratings for post 1, category
1.
[0113] One skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety of
aggregate statistical data may be developed across and within
levels of the data structure for use in the process 620. Referring
again to FIG. 6C, at step 622, the post rating data is read from
post rating database 608 to begin the process.
[0114] In an alternative embodiment, to account for variability
between users' rating tendencies (for example, some users will tend
to assign scores that are consistently higher or lower, on an
aggregate basis, than other users in any given category), a step
624 of computing a relative weighting factor for each user is
performed, to be applied to the user data provided by that user.
For example, user weighting data for each user may be developed by
aggregating columns on each user level 682 shown in FIG. 6D. To
reduce system load, user weighting factors may be computed less
often than post rating and scoring data; for example, step 624 may
be performed periodically, such as once per day, and during
off-peak hours. At step 626, the computed user weighting factors
are applied to the user rating data, for example, by performing a
matrix multiplication or other transformation operation on the
rating data, to obtain weighted rating data. At step 628, the
weighted data ratings are aggregated for each category of rating
and each posting to obtain a post score in each category, which is
recorded in the rating database 608 at step 630. One skilled in the
art will recognize a variety of other weighting schemes designed to
correct for variability among rating agents, which may be usefully
employed to operate on user data within the scope of the present
invention. One skilled in the art will further recognize that steps
624 and 626 may be omitted entirely, to provide
single-vote-per-user, single-unit-per-vote rating, which provides
the advantages of simplicity and ease of implementation.
[0115] The post scores are used to compute and record a post rank
at step 632. A post rank measures the posts' relative scores with
respect to other posts in the Webroom. It is anticipated that as
the number of posts in a Webroom grows, a higher score will be
required to maintain a given ranking. Additionally, it is
preferable to time-stamp rating data and discount older data in the
ranking scheme. Thus, older posts must continue to be viewed and
rated in order to maintain their ranking relative to newer posts.
Posts that fail to achieve pre-established minimum rankings, i.e.,
a "community standard" for posts, may be removed from the Webroom.
Community standards for posts may be established by default at the
time of Webroom founding, and may be modified as desired by users
or a system administrator. However, setting standards too high will
tend to cause posts of interest to some users to become
unavailable. Thus, it is preferable that standards for posts be
kept relatively low. Users not wishing to view lower-ranked posts
may filter them out using a user preference process as described
elsewhere in the specification.
[0116] As previously discussed, maintaining an accurate ranking for
posts can provide an important impetus for evolution towards more
highly organized Webroom systems, by organizing the best
information closest to each identified topic. Both post ranks and
post scores may be associated with each post, and made available to
users by a variety of selection methods. For example, one method
enables searching posts by keyword and rank (or score), so a user
could search for, for further example, the posts containing the
word "Jersey cows," having a relevance score greater than five and
a spam score less than two. By searching among higher-ranked posts
only, i.e., by setting user preferences to filter out lower-ranked
posts, a user may selectively reject posts that do not meet the
user's threshold criteria. Another method is to display posts
according to rank within a Webroom, as discussed above. However,
displaying posts in a ranked order, or omitting lower-ranked posts
from a display, has the disadvantage of disrupting the
chronological or threaded display schemes described above.
Disruptive effects may be reduced by using a placeholder, which
indicates the presence of an omitted item, as previously described.
In the alternative, the ranked post ordering is presented in an
alternative display that may be selected by activating a user
command, such as a toggle button. Still another method, which
avoids the disadvantage of disrupting chronological or threaded
displays, is to display scores adjacent to each posting, as done
with the score display bar 672 discussed previously.
[0117] At step 634, each post for which a score has been newly
computed during process 620 has its new score recorded in a
database 610 of user-associated rating data. A data structure
similar to data structure 680 may be used for user-associated
rating data, in that a level for each user may be defined, having
columns corresponding to categories, and rows corresponding to
posts. The principal difference resides in the cell content. In the
user-associated rating data structure, each cell contains an
aggregate score of the posts contributed by the particular user,
instead of a userprovided rating of another user's post, as
previously described. In other words, rating data is associated
with each contributing user. For example, a record for a user who
had contributed three posts would contain the rated post scores for
the user's three posts, as developed from rating data contributed
by other users. Each score is recorded in a record for the
contributing user, preferably superseding any prior aggregate
scores recorded for the same post and user. The user rating scores
may be aggregated in a similar manner to post rating data, for
developing a user score. The users may be ranked like posts, based
on relative scores, principally for providing an incentive to users
to contribute high-quality posts. As indicated at step 636, process
620 may be repeated for each unscored post until finished.
[0118] Having thus described a process for receiving rating data
pertaining to selected posts, the description of user interaction
with Webroom posts is continued. Returning to FIG. 6A, if the user
does not elect to provide rating data at step 604, the user is
provided an option to post a response at step 612. If the user
elects to post a response, for example, by activating a response
object 658, then at step 614, the response is received and recorded
in database 616 containing post data. It is preferable to
automatically refresh the user's Web room page after storing the
post, so the user may view it on Webroom page 650. If the user does
not elect to post a response, and after completing a response, the
user is provided the option of continuing to receive and review
posts at step 618. If the user elects to continue, the process may
be repeated any number of times, beginning with step 602. If the
user is finished viewing the postings, the user is returned to the
root menu page 570.
[0119] Returning to FIG. 5A, a second option on the root menu page
570 comprises an option 508 to select and rate links to related Web
pages from a list of Web pages (toplist) provided on the root menu
page 570. Selecting a link to a related web page initiates a
process 700 for viewing and rating related Web pages. Related Web
pages add an important component to the topical information
presented by each Webroom. Furthermore, links to a Webroom page on
related Web pages provide for increased traffic to the Webroom that
compensates for the links to the related Web pages provided by the
Webroom. Thus, the toplinks provide for a mutually beneficial and
cooperative relationship between Webroom pages and other
information resources on the network. In general, tracking incoming
traffic from a related page, or a potentially related page, is
important for creating and maintaining toplists, because traffic
exchange and cross-promotion is central to this mutually beneficial
relationship.
[0120] Process 700 begins at step 702, when the requested related
Web page is delivered to and reviewed by the user. In an embodiment
of the invention, if the related Web page is not reached using an
existing link on a toplist, the address of the page is noted in a
Webroom database, and a count of incoming traffic from the page is
initiated. In an alternative embodiment, page requests for
potentially related pages are also counted. Additionally, users may
be provided with an option to nominate other Web pages for
inclusion in the toplist, similarly causing the address of the page
to be stored and page requests to be tracked. Pages receiving a
sufficiently high number of requests may be promoted to the
toplist, and conversely, pages with too little activity may be
removed from the toplist.
[0121] At step 704, the user is provided an option to rate the Web
page. Preferably, the related Web page is presented in a frame of
the Webroom page, so that the option to rate the related Web can
readily be provided in an adjacent frame of the Web room page. In
the alternative, the user may elect to rate a related Web page by
selecting a link on the toplist in conjunction with a "vote" or
"rate" command selected using a menu or other selectable
object.
[0122] At step 706, the page rating data from the reviewing user is
received and stored in a database 708 of page rating data. If the
Web page is provided by a Webroom user, for example, a founder, the
rating data is also stored in the database of user-associated
rating data 610, similarly to the process described above with
respect to post rating data. In many respects, rating a Web page is
similar to rating a user post, the principal difference (for rating
purposes) being that related Web pages may contain links back to
the Webroom page. Also, different or additional rating categories
may be appropriate, for example, the criteria of "spam" and "flame"
are less appropriate for a Web page, whereas other categories, such
as response time or page organization, may be of more interest to
users. Of particular importance to rating Web pages are traffic
data, such as the number of times the Webroom page is requested
from the related Web page (incoming traffic), and the number of
times a page is requested from a Webroom page (outgoing traffic).
In particular, users who create related Web pages that refer a
relatively large amount of traffic to the Webroom are preferably
recognized and rewarded (for example, by designating the related
Web page as a toplink) based on comparative ranking of traffic
data. Furthermore, the higher the number of page requests, the more
likely it is that the related page contains relevant or useful
information, thus making outgoing traffic worthy of consideration
also. However, at present, implementation of outgoing traffic
tracking requires a more involved technical scheme than tracking
incoming traffic, and is therefore omitted in some embodiments. One
skilled in the art will recognize that the process 620 for
receiving and analyzing rating data for posts may be adapted for
related Web pages rating data without great difficulty. Further
details concerning rating related Web pages, and using rating data,
are provided below in connection with FIGS. 11A-C.
[0123] At step 712, the user is presented with an option to receive
another related Web page. If the user selects the option, process
700 is repeated, beginning at step 702. If the user declines to
receive another page, the user is returned to the root menu page
570, as exemplified by process 500 of FIG. 5A. A third option on
the root menu page 570 comprises an option 510 to select and rate
links to related Webroom pages from a list of Webroom pages
provided on the root menu page 570. Selecting a link to a related
Webroom page initiates a process 800 for viewing and rating related
Webroom pages. Providing links to related Webroom pages is one of
the essential features for providing a system of related topically
organized, self-evolving information exchange groups, as discussed
above. To promote a high level of organization, links to the most
closely related Webroom pages are continually established and
maintained, and links to Webroom pages that are not as closely
related are continually deleted. Similarly to related Web pages,
user rating and use" data, as received from a process such as
process 800, is the primary basis for the establishment and
maintenance of links to related Webrooms.
[0124] Process 800 begins at step 802, when the requested related
Webroom page is delivered to and reviewed by the user. If the
related Webroom page is not reached using an existing link on the
referring Webroom page, the topical cross link is preferably noted
in a Webroom database and a count of cross link use is initiated.
This may be accomplished using a nominating button as described
previously, or otherwise providing users an option to link to
Webroom pages that are not on a current list of links, for example,
through a Webroom search process. Webroom pages receiving a
sufficiently high number of requests are promoted to a list on the
referring page, and conversely, cross links with too little
activity are removed from the referring page. At step 804, the user
is provided an option to rate the Webroom page, which may be
accomplished as discussed above with respect to rating related Web
pages.
[0125] At step 806, the Webroom rating data from the user is
received and stored in a database 808 of page rating data. In
virtually all respects, rating a Webroom page is similar to rating
a related Web page, the principal difference (for rating purposes)
being that different or additional rating categories may be
appropriate for related Webroom pages. For example, the criteria of
response time or page organization are less appropriate for
Webrooms, which are typically delivered from the same or related
servers as the referring Webroom, and are organized in a
standardized fashion. One skilled in the art will recognize that,
similarly to related Web pages, the process 620 for receiving and
analyzing rating data for posts may be adapted for Webroom data
without great difficulty. Further details concerning rating
Webrooms, and using rating data, are provided below in connection
with FIGS. 12A-C.
[0126] At step 810, the user is presented with an option to
continue viewing the related Webroom page (which is likely to
contain a link back to the referring Webroom). If the user elects
to continue viewing the Webroom, at step 812, a process 500 of root
menu operation, as illustrated in FIG. 5A, is initiated. However,
if the user is already registered, login process 550 is preferably
abbreviated by automatically registering the user in the new
Webroom, and accepting the original login (unless a special
security consideration applies to the new Webroom). If the user
decides to return to the referring Webroom, the user is returned to
the root menu page 570, as exemplified by process 500 of FIG. 5A.
Thus, a user may preferably freely surf between Webrooms, as if
perusing different topics within a single Webroom. In effect, a
system organized in this manner operates as if it were a single
Webroom with multiple topics.
[0127] Returning to FIG. 5A, the root menu contains an exit option
512, which may be exercised by linking to another site, or by
inactivity for a proscribed period of time. However, the root menu
is preferably always available, and the chief consequence of
exiting is triggering a requirement to repeat the login process 550
when access to the Webroom is again desired by the user.
[0128] Periodically, maintenance process 900 is preferably
performed, as illustrated in FIG. 9. Regular performance of process
900 on each Webroom of a system of Webrooms operated and used as
described above will result in self-evolution of the system to a
higher level of topical organization. Process 900 is preferably
executed as a background operation. Like maintenance procedures
generally, it is preferable to execute process 900 when the demand
on system resources is otherwise low, as during off-peak hours. At
step 902, the process is initiated by a timer or other system
parameter set to indicate an appropriate time for performing the
process 900. Initially, the subroutines 1000, 1100, and 1200,
diagrammed in more detail in FIGS. 10A, 11A, and 12A, respectively,
are run in sequence.
[0129] Referring to FIG. 10A, subroutine 1000 comprises a process
for ranking users. As previously described in connection with step
634 of process 620, each Webroom preferably has a database of user
associated rating data 610. Database 610 preferably comprises an
aggregate score for each post contributed by the user. At step
1002, rating information is obtained from database 610. At step
1004, each user's aggregate score for each category is computed.
For example, if in any given rating category, such as relevance,
the user's ten posts had each been rated ten times, an aggregate
value, such as an average, would be computed for the one-hundred
ratings (also called votes) received. Other statistical measures,
such as a median value and a standard deviation, may also be
computed at step 1004. A rolling average may be useful for tracking
changes in the user's performance over time. One skilled in the art
will recognize that various other statistical measures may be
computed, depending on the parameter to be measured. For example,
statistical measures may be employed to detect aberrations in
rating data that may indicate misuse of the voting process, or
other data errors. For the purpose of promoting topical
organization, aggregate scores that fairly reflect the value of
ratings received by each user, and user activity, are preferred.
Thus, it is preferable to identify and disregard aberrant data
using statistical tools as known in the art.
[0130] At step 1006, the users are preferably ranked according to
their scores in each category and according to their activity (for
example, the number of posts contributed). Preferably, an overall
ranking is determined. Additionally, a ranking in one or more
rating or activity categories may be determined. For example, users
may be separately ranked according to their scores in a relevance
category, or according to the number of posts contributed. Ranking
may be continuous, for example, in a group of one-hundred users,
assigning everyone a unique number between one and one-hundred; or
discrete, grouping closely-ranked users into discrete ranking
levels; or any combination of discrete and continuous ranking may
be used. Also, rating and activity information may be combined
across categories to classify users into different types and
levels. Whatever ranking system is used, it should be designed to
facilitate the central purpose of motivating users to provide
high-quality information. Thus, desirable behavior should be
recognized with high ratings, and undesirable behavior with low
ratings. Preferably, users with favorable ratings are rewarded with
privileges, such as additional or enhanced voting privileges, the
right to designate one or more toplinks of their choice, public
recognition on Webroom pages, and other rights or recognition
tending to increase desirable users' influence on Webroom content
and traffic direction. Incentives such as prizes of merchandise or
cash may also be awarded, if desired. Conversely, extremely
negative scores (such as high spam scores) should be discouraged by
imposing restrictions on access and use of the Webroom.
[0131] At step 1008, the user ranking and scores are recorded in
database 610. A table 1020 exemplary of ranking and scoring data
that may be recorded is provided in FIG. 10B. Table 1020 comprises
rows 1022 and columns 1024. Each row of rows 1022, for example,
rows 1031-1034, is assigned to a unique user. Each column, for
example, columns 1041-1050, is assigned to a rating or activity
category. It should be noted that table 1020 contains a section of
columns (e.g., columns 1041-1050) for data pertaining to a
particular first Webroom, and another section of columns (not
shown) for general user data, such as the user name and e-mail
address. A different table 1020 containing unique rating data may
be generated for different Webrooms, reflecting that a user is
rated differently in different Webrooms. Exemplary data is provided
in each cell of the table 1020 to illustrate how different rating
and activity information may be used to classify users.
[0132] For example, column 1041 contains a count of the posts
contributed by each user, and column 1042 contains the average post
length in words. Columns 1043 through 1046 contain each user's
aggregate score in the respective categories of flame, spam,
relevance, and accuracy. Column 1047 contains a count of the number
of votes received, that is, the number of times the user's posts
have been rated by other users. Column 1048 contains a count of the
number of times each user has requested posts from the server.
Column 1049 contains the number of linked Web pages relating to the
Webroom topic that each user has provided. Column 1050 contains a
classification, or rank, assigned to each user on the basis of
other information in the table. A comparison of the users is made
using the exemplary data. Row 1031 pertains to USER1, showing
relatively moderate levels of activity and ratings as compared to
the other users. Accordingly, USER1 is assigned a status of "Active
Member." Data for USER2 is shown on row 1032. USER2 has relatively
few lengthier posts, which are highly rated for accuracy and
relevance, and which have received a proportionally high number of
votes. USER2 also has fifty linked Web pages. Thus, USER2 is
assigned a status of "Expert." In contrast, data for USER3 in row
1033 clearly indicates a large number of spam postings with no
rated relevance, so USER3 is assigned a status of "Spammer." Such a
status preferably will result on restrictions on USER3, for
example, USER3 may be prevented from submitting or rating posts.
Data for USER4, in row 1034, indicates post viewing activity with
no contribution of posts, so USER4 is assigned a status of
"Lurker." One skilled in the art will recognize from the foregoing
example that a wide variety of rating and activity data may be
recorded, and used to classify and rank users in numerous ways,
without departing from the scope of the invention.
[0133] Preferably, selected user ranking information may be viewed
by Webroom users.
[0134] For example, a user directory page 1060 may be provided, as
illustrated in FIG. 10C, preferably accessed from a link on root
menu page 570. User directory 1060 is preferably available in a
variety of formats, for example, in alphabetical order, or
according to user classification or rank in various rating
categories, which may be selected using format button 1062. In FIG.
10C, a format showing users classified in discrete levels is shown.
Each user is represented by an object 1064 on directory 1062. Each
object 1064 preferably comprises a hyperlink. Preferably, by
selecting any object 1064, a user may access a detailed user
information page 1070. Information page 1070 contains the user name
1072 and user status 1074. Additional information may include a
graph 1076 or other presentation of user activity and rating
information, specific activity information, such as last date of
use 1078 and average use level 1080. Users are preferably provided
an option to submit information 1082 of a biographical nature for
display on information page 1070. Page 1070 is preferably provided
with a directory button 1084 for accessing the user directory page
1060.
[0135] The presence of user rating data lends itself to various
possibilities. In one embodiment of the instant invention, the
Webrooms contain a setting allowing members to be exiled based, in
part, upon their user rating information. That is, in the event
that a user's rating falls below certain pre-established "community
standards" for users, the user's access and use rights to the
Webroom are restricted, up to and including termination of all
access rights. Community standards are established by a founding
user, or in the alternative, determined by all users, or a selected
portion of the users, such as higher-ranking users. In another
alternative embodiment, no community standards are set, but each
user sets personal standards using preference information as
discussed below in connection with FIGS. 13A and 13B. Using
personal preference information, members may in effect be exiled by
individual users, for those users only, such that no posts made by
the exiled member will be displayed to the self-selected users. It
should be understood that members can be exiled, or have their
rights partially restricted, from individual Webrooms or across
groups of Webrooms (or groups of related Webrooms) or from all
Webrooms, depending on system settings. In the usual case, however,
users are rated, ranked, and if necessary, restricted with respect
to particular Webrooms only.
[0136] In addition to process 1000 for ranking users, maintenance
process 900 preferably includes a process 1100 for ranking
toplinks, illustrated in FIG. 11A. As previously described in
connection with step 706 of process 700, each Webroom preferably
has a database of related Web page rating data 708. Database 708
preferably comprises rating and activity information for each
linked Web page, and for Web pages that are not on the toplist but
are otherwise identified as prospective Webrooms for placing there.
At step 1102, rating and activity information is obtained from
database 708. At step 1104, an aggregate score is computed for each
rating and activity category. As discussed in connection with
process 1000, aggregate scores may be derived using a variety of
different statistical measures.
[0137] At step 1106, the Web pages are assigned a score in each
rating and activity category. At steps 1108 and 1114, Web pages
that fail to achieve a predetermined minimum score in one or more
categories are identified and their links are removed from the
toplist. Also at steps 1108 and 1114, Web pages that have newly
achieved a predetermined minimum score are added to the toplist. At
step 1110, the links in the toplist are ranked. Preferably, an
overall (or default) ranking is determined for the toplist.
Additionally, a ranking in one or more rating or activity
categories may be determined for providing users an option to view
alternative rankings. For example, Web pages may be separately
ranked according to their scores in a relevance category, or
according to the number of times the page is linked to from the
Webroom, i.e., according to their popularity. Ranking is preferably
continuous, that is, toplinks are preferably ranked in a sequence.
Whatever ranking system is used, it should be designed to promote a
central purpose of identifying the best incoming traffic
generators, and the most closely related and useful Websites. Pages
that fail to meet minimum standards, which may vary depending on
the quality of other pages on the toplist, are removed from the
toplist.
[0138] Pages that are removed from the toplist may be retained on a
list of nominated related pages, according to an embodiment of the
invention. Pages on a nominated list may be similarly scored and
ranked as pages on the toplist. Pages on a nominated list that
achieve a sufficiently high score may be promoted to the toplist.
Pages with a score below a minimum standard for the nominated list
may be periodically removed from the nominated list. One skilled in
the art will recognize that, although two levels of lists (a
toplist and a nominated list) have been described, any number of
levels of lists may be implemented according to the methods of the
present invention. Furthermore, separate lists may be maintained in
different categories, for example, "best reference information,"
"humorous links," and so forth.
[0139] At step 1112, the page rank and scores are recorded in
database 708. A table 1120 exemplary of ranking and scoring data
that may be recorded is provided in FIG. 11B. Table 1120 comprises
rows 1122 and columns 1124. Each row of rows 1122, for example,
rows 1131-1132, is assigned to a unique page. Each column, for
example, columns 1141-1151, is assigned to a rating or activity
category. It should be noted that table 1120 contains a section of
columns (e.g., columns 1141-1149) for data pertaining to a
particular first Webroom, and another section of columns (e.g.,
column 1150) for general page data, such as the user associated
with the page, page size, and so forth. Each Webroom has its own
table 1120 containing data unique to the Webroom, reflecting that
pages are rated differently with respect to different Webrooms.
Exemplary data is provided in each cell of the table 1120 to
illustrate how different rating and activity information may be
used to classify pages.
[0140] For example, column 1141 contains a count of the number of
times the Webroom has been accessed from a link (if present) on the
related Web page, and column 1142 contains a count of the number of
votes received, that is, the number of times the page has been
rated by users. Columns 1143 through 1147 contain each page's
aggregate score in the respective categories of relevance,
accuracy, ease of use, server responsiveness, and fun. Column 1148
contains a classification assigned to each page on the basis of
other information in the table. Column 1149 contains the page rank
relative to other pages in the same classification. Column 1150
contains the identity of a Webroom user who owns the page, if there
is any such user for the page. A comparison of the pages is made
using the exemplary data. Row 1131 pertains to PAGE1, showing
relatively moderate levels of activity, high relevance, accuracy,
ease of use, and responsiveness ratings, and a relatively low fun
rating as compared to the other pages. Accordingly, PAGE1 is
assigned a status of "Expert Page." Data for PAGE2 is shown on row
1132. PAGE2 has a relatively high level of activity, and good
relevance, ease of use, and responsiveness scores, while not being
rated for accuracy. PAGE2 also has a relatively high fun rating.
Thus, PAGE2 is assigned a status of "Fun Page." One skilled in the
art will recognize from the foregoing example that a wide variety
of rating and activity data may be recorded, and used to classify
and rank pages in numerous ways, without departing from the scope
of the invention.
[0141] Preferably, selected toplink ranking information may be
viewed by Webroom users. For example, toplink menu 1160 is
preferably provided on root menu page 570, as illustrated in FIG.
11C. Menu 1160 preferably contains a list 1164 of toplinks in a
ranked order. Each toplink in the list comprises a hyperlink 1161
to its related Web page (or Web site), and is preferably provided
with a hyperlink 1162 to a toplink information page 1170. Each
toplink may additionally be provided with a way to vote on the
linked Web site, such as a vote button (not shown) similar to those
used for voting on posts. Information page 1170 is preferably
provided with graph 1174 or other presentation of page activity and
rating information, specific activity information, such as last
revision date 1175 and average use level 1176. A brief summary 1178
of page content is also provided. Additionally, page 1170
preferably includes a hyperlink 1180 to a Web map page 1181. A Web
map is a page for mapping a Web page or web site, as described in
the co-pending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 09/549,505,
"METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MAPPING A SITE ON A WIDE AREA NETWORK,"
filed Apr. 14, 2000, which application is specifically incorporated
herein, in its entirety, by reference. Toplink menu 1160
additionally includes more button 1166 for scrolling forward
through the toplink list, and a back button 1169 on applicable
displays 1168 of the toplist, for scrolling backwards. In an
embodiment of the invention, a different toplink menu 1160 is
provided for different, categorized lists of links; for example, a
list of "expert" links and a list of "fun" links. Additionally,
lists of nominated links are preferably provided in a format
similar to the toplink menu 1160.
[0142] Lists of links, such as toplist 1160, may be displayed in a
variety of ways, but are preferably accessible through a pull-down
or pop-up menu on a home frame of the Web room page. This format of
display removes the lists from the display when they are not
wanted, while at the same time allowing for ready viewing and
accessing of the links. One skilled in the art will recognize that
the functions described above may be implemented in a wide variety
of graphical formats, without departing from the scope of the
invention.
[0143] In addition to process 1100 for ranking toplinks,
maintenance process 900 preferably includes a process 1200 for
ranking related Webrooms, as illustrated in FIG. 12A. As previously
described in connection with step 806 of process 800, each Webroom
preferably has a database of related Webroom rating data 808.
Database 808 preferably comprises rating and activity information
for each linked Webroom page, and for Webrooms that are not linked
but are otherwise identified as prospective Webrooms for linking.
At step 1202, rating and activity information is obtained from
database 808. At step 1204, an aggregate score is computed for each
rating and activity category. As discussed in connection with
process 1000, aggregate scores may be derived using a variety of
different statistical measures.
[0144] At step 1206, the Webroom pages are assigned a score in each
rating and activity category. At steps 1208 and 1214, Webroom pages
that fail to achieve a predetermined minimum score in one or more
categories are identified and their links are removed from the
toplist. Also at steps 1208 and 1214, Webrooms that have newly
achieved a predetermined minimum score are linked to the Webroom
undergoing maintenance. At step 1210, the linked Webrooms are
ranked. Preferably, an overall (or default) ranking is determined
for the linked Webrooms. Additionally, a ranking in one or more
rating or activity categories may be determined for providing users
an option to view alternative rankings. For example, Webroom pages
may be separately ranked according to their scores in a relevance
category, or according to their popularity. Ranking is preferably
continuous, that is, Webrooms are preferably ranked in a sequence.
Whatever ranking system is used, it should be designed to
facilitate a central purpose of identifying the most closely
related and useful Webrooms. Webrooms that fail to meet minimum
standards, which may vary depending on the topics of other Webrooms
linked to the Webroom undergoing maintenance, have their links
removed. Standards may change, for example, when new Webrooms are
created and linked that are focused on narrower topics more closely
related to the Webroom. For example, in an initial stage of
evolution, a Webroom having a topic of "dogs" may be linked to a
Webroom with a topic of "cats," but as the Webroom system evolves,
and many more dog-specific Webrooms are created, the link to the
cat Webroom may be removed.
[0145] At step 1212, the page rank and scores are recorded in
database 808. A table 1220 exemplary of ranking and scoring data
that may be recorded is provided in FIG. 12B. Table 1220 comprises
rows 1222 and columns 1224. Each row of rows 1222, for example,
rows 1231-1232, is assigned to a unique Webroom. Each column, for
example, columns 1241-1249, is assigned to a rating or activity
category. It should be noted that table 1220 contains a section of
columns (e.g., columns 1241-1242 and 1244-1249) for data pertaining
to a particular related Webroom, and another section of columns
(e.g., column 1243) for general related Webroom data, such as
number of related Webroom member users. Each Webroom will have
different data in its own table 1220, reflecting that Webrooms are
rated with respect to their relationship to other Webrooms.
Exemplary data is provided in each cell of the table 1220 to
illustrate how different rating and activity information may be
used to classify pages.
[0146] For example, column 1241 contains a relatedness rank, and
column 1242 contains a measurement of the number of times the
related Web room has been linked to A column (not shown) may
additionally be provided for a count of the number of votes
received, that is, the number of times the Webroom has been rated
as related to its target Webroom by its users. Column 1243 contains
a count of the number of members for each related Webroom. Columns
1244 through 1246 contain each page's aggregate score in the
respective categories of relevance, depth, and breadth. Column 1247
contains a count of the number of posts in the Webroom. Column 1248
contains a classification optionally assigned to each Webroom on
the basis of other information in the table. Column 1249 contains
the Webroom rank relative to other linked Webrooms in the same
classification.
[0147] A comparison of the Webrooms is made using the exemplary
data. Row 1231 pertains to Webroom1, showing relatively high
relevance and depth of information, but relatively low rating for
breadth of information (indicating the posts are narrowly focused
on the topic, which promotes good topical organization).
Accordingly, Webroom1 has a relatively high rank of nine. Also,
Webroom1 is classified as an "Academic" Webroom, and is ranked
fifth in its classification. Data for Webroom2 is shown on row
1232. Webroom2 has a relatively high level of activity, and good
relevance, but a low depth rating with a corresponding high breadth
rating, indicating a poor focus on the topic and relatively little
information. Accordingly, Webroom2 has a low ranking of fifty-six.
However, Webroom2 is classified as a children's page, and has a
relatively higher rank of ten in its own class, indicating that it
may be of interest to children. One skilled in the art will
recognize from the foregoing example that a wide variety of rating
and activity data may be recorded, and used to classify and rank
Webrooms in numerous ways, without departing from the scope of the
invention.
[0148] It should be generally noted that the topical focus of
Webrooms will change over time, and thus relationships between
Webrooms is subject to change. Therefore, users preferably rate
related Webrooms (and related Web pages and posts) continually.
Also, the weight of rating information is preferably related to its
age. That is, older information is of less value for rating
purposes. In preferred embodiments of the invention, rating data is
time stamped, and is analyzed on a variety of time frames and other
measures of duration. For example, data may be analyzed only for
the past week, month, 100 votes, 5000 accesses, 2000 posts, and so
forth. Thus, data received prior to the selected duration measure
would be discounted or discarded for the purpose of determining
current rankings
[0149] Webrooms which do not achieve a necessary minimum ranking
and thus are not listed as related, are also subject to change in
topical focus and may, at some future point, become related. Thus,
in one preferred embodiment, a Webroom that fails to become listed
as related is held in suspense for an appropriate period of time,
and once the time has passed, the Webroom can again be nominated as
related to the Web room for which the relation ranking had
previously failed. The duration measures may be increased based on
the number of such failed nominations. For example, if a Webroom
(A) has been nominated and failed to be voted as related to another
Webroom (B) on several occasions, that Webroom (A) may need to wait
much longer before it can again be nominated as related to Webroom
(B), although it may immediately be nominated as related to Webroom
(C). One skilled in the art will recognize that other variations on
determining related Webrooms are possible, without departing from
the scope of the invention.
[0150] Preferably, selected Webroom rating information may be
viewed by Webroom users. For example, Webroom directory 1260 is
preferably provided on root menu page 570, as illustrated in FIG.
12C. Menu 1260 preferably contains a directory 1264 of Webrooms.
The directory may be presented in various formats, such as a tree
format as depicted in FIG. 12C, or as a list in a ranked order (not
shown). A user preferably may select different formats using a
selection tool, such as format button 1262. Each entry in the
directory 1264 preferably comprises a hyperlink 1261 to its related
Webroom page, and is preferably provided with a hyperlink 1262 to a
Webroom information page 1270. Information page 1270 is preferably
provided with graph 1274 or other presentation of Webroom activity
and rating information, and specific information, such as topic
1273, average use level 1275, founder identity 1276, age 1277, and
progeny (spun off Webrooms) 1278. Additionally, page 1270
preferably includes a hyperlink 1279 to directory page 1260.
Directory 1260 may additionally include scrolling tools for
scrolling through the directory (not shown).
[0151] Returning to FIG. 9, after completion of the processes for
ranking users, related Web pages, and related Webrooms have been
completed, at step 904, the Webroom pages are regenerated to
reflect any changes in user, toplist, or Webroom rankings. At step
906, the databases of posts 616, post ratings 608, and page ratings
708 are searched to identify related topics in the postings or
linked Web pages. The search 906 may use rating patterns to
identify groups of postings or linked pages having relatively low
relevance rankings, but relatively high rankings in other
categories, such as activity, that reflect user interest. Any
groups of pages and postings with these rating patterns are
searched to identify common keywords. If a common set of repeated
keywords is identified, at step 908, a determination of whether the
postings relate to a new topic is made. Preferably, the
determination is made with the help of a user, such as the founding
user, or some other person with an interest in the Webroom and
competent for making a topic determination. Various guidelines and
predetermined criteria may be used to guide decisions on whether a
new topic is present, using similar considerations as discussed
above with respect to step 416 of process 400 (founding a
Webroom).
[0152] If a new topic is identified, at step 910, a determination
of whether to found a new Webroom with the new topic, or divide the
existing Webroom, is made. Again, this determination is preferably
made with assistance from a human operator, using automatically
generated data revealing the prospective new topic. If the posts
and other information relating to the new topic can easily be
separated from the existing Webroom, at step 912, the Webroom is
divided in two, with one part retaining the old topic (or the old
topic modified by subtraction of the new topic) along with its
related information, and the other part assuming the new topic and
its related information. In the case of Webroom division, the two
new Web rooms begin with the same user base as the original
Webroom, and gradually evolve distinct user sets.
[0153] It should be noted that Webrooms with identical topics may
be readily merged, and the division process may lead to separate
Web rooms with identical topics. For example, if the new topic is
separable from the original Webroom, but already covered by a
second existing Webroom, the information pertaining to the new
topic is preferably removed from the original Webroom and merged
into the second Webroom. In this event, the member users of the
original Webroom are also added to the second Webroom. Any newly
divided or merged Webrooms are then processed beginning at step 902
of the maintenance process 900. If at step 910 it is determined
that the Webroom may not be divided because the posts and pages
pertaining to the new topic also contain information pertaining to
the original topic, then a new Webroom is preferably created for
the new topic using a method 400 as discussed above, and the
original Webroom resumes the maintenance process at step 914.
[0154] At step 914, the activity scores of the Webroom as a whole
are analyzed and compared to predetermined criteria, to determine
if enough activity exists to warrant remaining active. If it is
determined at step 916 that there is insufficient activity, the
Webroom goes into hibernation at step 918, meaning that its
databases are archived and the Webroom is inactivated until a
renewed interest in the Webroom topic "awakens" it from
hibernation. Conversely, if sufficient activity is found, then the
Webroom resumes normal operation until the next maintenance cycle
900 is initiated at step 902. Thus, the foregoing process 900
provides for preserving and increasing the topical organization of
the Webroom system, and of individual Webrooms within the system,
even as the amount of information in the Webroom system grows.
[0155] Users are preferably provided with an option to customize'
their interface with Webroom content by specifying preferences for
filtering Webroom posts using post rating data, according to a
process 1300 illustrated in FIG. 13A. At step 1302, user
preferences are received from a user. Preference data may be
obtained using a preference form, such as form 1340 illustrated in
FIG. 13B. Preference information is preferably gathered at the time
a user registers for Webroom access, and may be changed at any time
upon request of the user.
[0156] Form 1340 preferably has various data entry fields for
entering preference data, including a keyword field 1342, an author
field 1344, a series of post rating fields 1346, a series of user
rating fields 1348, and date fields 1350. Any combination of the
fields may be selected. For example, using the keyword field 1342,
the user can specify one or more phrases or keywords for filtering
the posts. Similarly, the user can restrict posts by author, by
post rank or score, by rank or score of the post authors, or by
date, using the aforementioned fields. Additional fields may be
provided for filtering posts by any criteria that is measured.
Preferably, preferences may be expressed as Boolean expressions,
for example, "cat AND NOT dog," as is known in the art for
permitting complex queries. In the alternative to form 1340, a
relatively small tolerance bar 670 may be provided adjacent to the
posts, as illustrated in FIG. 6B, for permitting filtering by
preferences that may readily be modified. It is anticipated that
filtering posts by user preferences will greatly enhance the
utility of prior art information exchange groups. By specifying
preferences, users will be able to quickly view those portion of
the posts that pertain to their specific interests. Users are also
able to prevent the display of posts that they find offensive or
uninteresting, such as flames and spam. At the same time, other
users who are interested in viewing such posts are able to do so by
specifying different preference information. One skilled in the art
will recognize that various methods may be used for obtaining user
preferences without departing from the scope of the invention.
[0157] For example, in an embodiment of the invention pertaining to
Webrooms which provide for exiling of members, a default user
preference is created for tolerance of exiled members. Users are
permitted to change this default preference to increase or decrease
their tolerance for viewing posts by other members who have had
posts rated to be spam, flames or otherwise inappropriate. Thus, a
member may be exiled from the vast majority of the group, but
viewers who have set a high tolerance for the offense resulting in
the exile would nevertheless be able to view posts by the offending
member.
[0158] Referring again to FIG. 13A, at step 1305, the user
preferences are stored in a database 1308. At step 1306, a portion
of the Webroom posts are obtained from post database 616 and tested
against the preference threshold criteria at step 1312. Posts which
do not meet the threshold criteria are rejected (filtered) at step
1314, and at steps 1316 and 1310, steps 1312 and 1314 are repeated
until all desired posts have been filtered. At step 1320, the
filtered posts are displayed to the user in a manner customary for
Web rooms.
[0159] The present invention preferably provides for establishment
of private Webrooms. Private Webrooms are restricted to specified
users, but otherwise operate like Webrooms described above, as
illustrated by FIG. 14, providing for organized, private messaging.
Private Webroom process 1400 comprises a first step 1402 of
receiving a request for a private Webroom. At step 1404, a Webroom
is founded according to the process 400 illustrated in FIG. 4A, but
specifying a private topic and a group of permitted users. It
should be noted that private Webrooms for distinct user groups are
preferably permitted to have duplicate topics, unlike public
Webrooms. At step 1408, the specified users are notified that the
private Webroom is open for operation. At step 1408, the private
Webroom is operated and maintained like a public Webroom, except
that access is restricted to the specified users.
[0160] In an embodiment of private Webrooms, a messaging function
is performed. For example, a user request for a private Webroom
with specified users can cause a scrolling bar to be displayed
across the top of any Webroom page viewed by the specified users
which states "You have a private message." Each specified user can
click on the notice, which directs the user to the private Webroom
where the requesting user's message is located. Access to the
Webroom is limited to the requesting user and the specified sender.
In this manner, users can receive messages without posting their
e-mail address, or without having an e-mail account. To they extent
that it is desired, private Webroom users may also make use of the
organizing features of regular Webrooms.
[0161] Additionally, as previously described in connection with
FIG. 6B, an e-mail forwarding method is preferably provided to
allow direct e-mailing between members, without requiring members
to publicly disclose their e-mail address. In preferred
embodiments, members provide their e-mail address at the time of
registration. The member e-mail addresses are stored in a secure,
private database by a Webroom mail server. Each post 676 of the
Webroom pages 650 preferably includes an e-mail button 674, as
previously described. To send an e-mail message to another member,
a member may open a post authored by the desired recipient, and
select the button 674 (or other command feature). In an alternative
embodiment, a private e-mail function is accessed by selecting a
member name from a member list. After the function is accessed, a
messaging window is provided in which the desired message may be
entered. The entered message is then forwarded to the intended
recipient at the recipient's private address, without disclosing
the address to the sender.
[0162] As a further privacy feature, the present invention provides
for controlling terminals to conceal private information from,
other Webroom users, according to a method 1500 illustrated in FIG.
15. At 1502, the Webroom system receives a request for terminal
control from a user. For example, a supervising user, such as a
parent, registers for a parental control by providing the phone
numbers, names, addresses, or any other private information that
the supervising user does not wish revealed, for example, by a
child. The Webroom software then stores the private information in
a database 1506 at step 1504. Control software is set up at step
1508 that automatically filters posts by any user of that terminal,
unless an appropriate password is entered to disable the filter.
The software operates by intercepting messages from the terminal at
step 1510, and parsing the messages looking for private information
(including misspellings and abbreviations of private information)
at step 1512. If any private information is found at step 1514,
then the message is altered to conceal the private information by
replacing it with a substituted string at step 1516. The altered
message is then sent to the Webroom server in the usual manner at
step 1518.
[0163] Method 1500 preferably operates so that the terminal, e.g.,
a child's computer, properly displays the information as provided
by the child, however, an altered string that contains no sign of
alteration is sent to the server, and therefore, the Webroom
community. For example, "123" and "Green Street" are designated as
control strings by a parent of a child user named "Josh", and the
substituted strings are "141" and "Spring Street." In this
instance, an exchange between Josh and another user would be as
follows:
[0164] User: What is your address, little boy?
[0165] Josh responds and his screen displays: "My address is 123
Green Street."
[0166] The server receives and broadcasts: "My address is 141
Spring Street." In this instance, a potentially undesirable user
has not received any useful information. In another preferred
embodiment, the information is scrambled in line through the use of
a public key/private key modality, such as PGP software.
[0167] Having thus described a preferred embodiment of Webrooms, it
should be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain
advantages of the within system have been achieved. It should also
be appreciated that various modifications, adaptations, and
alternative embodiments thereof may be made within the scope and
spirit of the present invention. For example, a method for
providing a computer-implemented, topically organized self-evolving
exchange group on a wide area network has been illustrated, but it
should be apparent that the inventive concepts described above
would be equally applicable to other information exchange groups on
wide area networks. The invention is further defined by the
following claims.
* * * * *