Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Identifying and Using Identities Deemed to be
Known to a User
CLAIM OF PRIORITY
This application claims priority under 35 USC ~ 119(e) to U.S. Provisional
Patent
Application Serial No. 60/457,320, filed on March 26, 2003, and U.S.
Provisional Patent
Application Serial No. 60/488,376, filed on July 21, 2003, both of which are
hereby
incorporated by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
This description relates to network communications.
BACKGROUND
With the advent of the Internet and a decline in computer prices, many people
are
communicating with one another through computers interconnected by networks. A
number of different communication mediums have been developed to facilitate
such
conununications between computer users.
SUMMARY
hl one aspect, a, list of people associated with a user is maintained An
inference
that a person is associated with the user is made based, at least in part, on
inclusion of the
person in a contact list of a second person, where the second person is not
the user. The
2o inferred person is added to the list of people associated with the user and
the list is used to
control aspects of communications between the user and others based on whether
the
others are included on the list.
In another aspect, a list of people associated with a user is maintained An
inference that a person is associated with the user is made based, at least in
part, on a
membership of the first person in a contact list that is associated with
another person,
wherein the contact list is not configured for direct access by the user. The
inferred
person is added to the list of people associated with the user and the list is
used to control
aspects of communications between the user and others based on whether the
others are
included on the list.
1
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In another aspect, a list of people associated with a user is maintained An
inference that a person is associated with the user is made based, at least in
part, on the
characteristics of one or more contact lists associated with other users,
wherein the
contact lists associated with the other users include communication
identifiers selected by
the other users. The inferred person is added to the list of people associated
with the user
and the list is used to control aspects of communications between the user and
others
based on whether the others are included on the list.
Implementations may include one or more of the following. For example, the
person may be include in a contact list of the user and the contact list of
the user may be a
o buddy list.
The communications may include e-mail communications and the inference that a
person is associated with the user may be based, at least in part, on positive
user actions
related to e-mail communications from the person. The positive actions may
include
sending an e-mail to the person; replying to, forwarding, saving, or printing
an e-mail
received from the person; moving an e-mail from a first folder to a second
folder; or
maintaining an e-mail from the person in an open state for a predetermined
period of
time. When the positive actions include moving an e-mail from a first folder
to a second
folder, the fret folder may be an inbox folder and the second folder may be a
folder other
than a delete folder or a spam folder.
2o An inference that a person is associated with the user may be based, at
least in
part, on detecting a communication between the user and the person. The
communication
may be an instant messaging communication.
The inference that a person is associated with the user may include detecting
user
actions that mitigate against factors that otherwise are used to infer a
person is associated
with the user. The user actions may include the user taking steps to report a
communication from the person as seam; the user taking steps to add a person
to a
blacklist; or the user taking steps to move a communication from the person to
at least
one of a spam folder or a delete folder.
People associated with the user may be people not distrusted by the user.
People
so associated with the user may be people known to the user.
Using the list may include using the list as a white list such that
communications
received from people on the list are exempt from spam filtering. Using the
list may
include using the list to restrict received communications to those
communications from
people on the list. The communications may be e-mails or instant messages.
2
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Using the list may include using the list to filter a display of e-mail such
that e-
mails from people on the list are shown on the display and e-mails from people
not on the
list are absent from the display. Using the list may include using the list to
filter a display
of e-mail such that e-mails from people not on the list are shown on the
display and e-
mails from people on the list are absent from the display Using the list may
include
using the list to restrict which instant messaging interfaces display an
online presence of
the user to those instant messaging interfaces associated with people on the
list.
Using the list may include using the list as a white list operating in
conjunction
with parental controls to filter communications from people not on the list
when the
o communications include indicia that the content of the communication is
inappropriate
for a teen or child account user. Filtering communications may include
blocking the
communications from people not on the list when the communications include
indicia that
the content of the communication is inappropriate for a teen or child account
user.
Filtering communications may include placing communications from people not on
the
list in a seam folder the communications include indicia that the content of
the
commmication is inappropriate for a teen or child accowt user. The span folder
may be
locked from the teen or child account user.
Inferring that a person is associated with the user may be based, at least in
part, on
inclusion of the person in a contact list of a person who is listed in a
contact list of the
2o user. Inferring that a person is associated with the user may be based, at
least in part, on
inclusion of the person in a contact list of a person who is listed in a buddy
list of the user.
Inferring that a person is associated with the user may be based, at least in
part, on the
inclusion of the person in a contact list of a person who the user has added
to a buddy list
of the user.
Implementations of the described techniques may include hardware, a method or
process, or computer software on a computer-accessible medium. a
The details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying
drawings and the description below. ~ther features will be apparent from the
description
and drawings, and from the claims.
ao DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary networked computing environment.
FIG 2 is a flow chart showing a process for maintaining and using a list of
known
people.
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FIG 3 is an illustration showing an interface for manually specifying white
and
black lists.
FIG 4 is an illustration showing an interface for an address book.
FIG 5 is an illustration showing an interface for an instant messaging client
program.
FIG 6 is an illustration showing an interface for reading e-mail messages.
FIG 7 is an illustration showing an interface for writing e-mail messages.
FIG S is a flow chart showing a process for inferring contacts of other users
as
known.
1 o FIGS. 9, 10, and 11 are illustrations showing an interface for managing e-
mail
messages.
FIG 12 is an illustration showing an interface for setting and modifying mail
and
seam controls.
FIGS. 13-15 are illustrations showing environments in which online presence
15 information can be restricted using the list of known people.
FI(a: 16 is a flow chart showing a process for filtering communications sent
to a
teen or child account.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The people a user is presumed to know or be associated with may be determined
o using a number of techniques. The user may specify the people known to him
manually,
for example, by making manual changes to an address book, buddy list, or white
list.
Alternatively, or additionally, the people known to a user may be inferred by
monitoring
the actions of the user. For example, people to whom the user sends e-mail may
be
considered as known to the user. Likewise, saving a message from a person may
signal
2s that the user knows that person.
This information about people that the user knows is used in relation to the
user's
communications. For example, a display of e-mail may only show the user e-
mails from
people on the list of known people. The names on the list also may be added to
a white
list, whereby the list of known people may be used to restrict accepted e-mail
to only
3o those people the user knows or otherwise. The list also may be used to
restrict instant
messages or chat request to only those people who the user knows. In addition,
the list
may be used to restrict access to a user's presence, such that access to
presence may be
provided only to those people that the user knows.
4
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Referring to FIG 1, an exemplary networked computing environment 100
supports communications between computer users. Computer users are distributed
geographically and communicate using client systems 102. A network 104
interconnects
client systems 102. Client systems 102 are connected to network 104 through
various
s communication mediums, such as a modem connected to a telephone line (using,
for
example, serial line Internet protocol (SLIP) or point-to-point protocol
(PPP)) or a direct
internetwork connection (using, for example, transmission control
protocol/internet
protocol (TCP/IP)).
Each of the client systems 102 may be implemented using, for example, a
general-
1 o purpose computer capable of responding to and executing instructions in a
defined
manner, a personal computer, a special-purpose computer, a workstation, a
server, a
device, a component, or other equipment or some combination thereof capable of
responding to and executing instructions. Client systems 102 may receive
instructions
from, for example, a software application, a program, a piece of code, a
device, a
15 computer, a computer system, or a combination thereof, which independently
or
collectively direct operations, as described herein. These instructions may
take the forn~
of one or more conlinunications programs that facilitate communications
between the
users of client systems 102. For instance, such communications programs may
include e-
mail programs, instant messaging (IM) programs, file transfer protocol (FTP)
programs,
2o and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) programs. The instructions may be
embodied
perma~lently or temporarily in any type of machine, component, equipment,
storage
medium, or propagated signal that is capable of being delivered to the client
systems 102.
Client systems 102 include a communications interface (not shown) used by the
communications programs to send communications through network 104. The
2~ communications may include e-mail, audio data, video data, general binary
data, or text
data (e.g., encoded in American Standard Code for Information Interchange
(ASCII)
format). Client systems also include one or more input devices, such as a
keyboard,
mouse, stylus, or microphone, as well as one or more output devices, such as a
monitor,
touch screen, speakers, or a printer.
3o The network 104 typically includes a series of portals interconnected
through a
coherent system. Examples of the network 104 include the Internet, Wide Area
Networks
(WANs), Local Area Networks (LANs), analog or digital wired and wireless
telephone
networks (e.g. a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)), an Integrated
Services
Digital Network (ISDN), or a Digital Subscriber Line (xDSL)), or any other
wired or
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wireless network. The network 104 may include multiple networks or
subnetworks, each
of which may include, for example, a wired or wireless data pathway.
A host server 106 also may be connected to network 104 and may be used to
facilitate some direct or indirect communications between the client systems
102. As
with the client systems 102, host server 106 may be implemented using, for
example, a
general-purpose computer capable of responding to and executing instructions
in a
defined manner, a personal computer, a special-purpose computer, a
workstation, a server,
a device, a component, or other equipment or some combination thereof capable
of
responding to and executing instructions. Host server 106 may receive
instructions from,
for example, a software application, a program, a piece of code, a device, a
computer, a
computer system, or a combination thereof, which independently or collectively
direct
operations, as described herein. These instructions may take the form of one
or more
communications programs. For instance, such communications programs may
include e-
mail programs, IM programs, FTP programs, VoIP programs, etc. The instructions
may
be embodied permanently or temporarily in any type of machine, component,
equipment,
storage medimn, or propagated signal that is capable of being delivered to the
host server
106.
Further, host server 106 includes a communications interface (not shown) used
by
the communications programs to send communications through network 104. The
2o communications may include e-mail, audio data, video data, general binary
data, or text
data (e.g., encoded in American Standard Code for Information Interchange
(ASCII'
format).
Each client system 102 has one or more associated users, and a user of a
client
system 102 may desire to have aspects of his or her communications with other
users
controlled based on whether the other users are known. In order to facilitate
such control,
a list is maintained. The list contains the people the user is presumed to
know. The list
may be maintained on a client system 102, host server 106, or another device
connected
to network 104.
The term "people" is used throughout to refer to the entities with which
3o communication occurs. However, communication can occur with entities that
are not
individual human beings. Communications can occur with a company, an
organization,
or a system that is not itself a human being. For example, e-mail can be sent
to the
technical support group at a computer software company. The term "people" is
used
throughout to more generally refer to all entities with which communications
can occur,
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including entities that are not natural people. In addition, when "people" are
described as
known, it means that at least one of the various communication identifiers
associated with
them are known, whether or not the people/entities themselves are actually
known.
A communication identifier is an identifier of the "person" used to
communicate
s with the "person." Communication identifiers can be, for example, an
address, such as an
e-mail address, a screen name, or an Internet protocol (1P) address, or it can
be a number,
such as a telephone number or a VoIP number. In one implementation, these
communication identifiers are stored in the list of known people. Storing the
communication identifier in the list facilitates easy recognition of
communications from a
1 o known person, thereby facilitating control over aspects of such
communications based on
whether the sender is known. Thus, the term "people" or "person" should be
understood
as having a meaning that includes any identifier of a person or organization.
Referring to FIG 2, a process 200 is used to maintain and use the list of
people
known to the user. A list of people known to the user is stored (202).
Communication
15 identifiers are stored in the list to indicate the known people.
The user can make manual additions to the list of known people (210). To that
end, the user is enabled to expressly designate communication identifiers as
known (212).
For example, a graphical user interface (CaLJI) that allows the user to enter
communication
identifiers may be provided. There may also be a speech-based interface that
allows the
2o user to add communications identifiers to the list of known people by
saying them. These
interfaces may allow the user to augment the list of known people indirectly
by allowing
them to make additions to a contact list such as, for example, a custom sender
list, an
address book, or a buddy list.
However, the user may want to manually add a person to a contact list but not
to
25 the list of known people. An interface optionally may be presented to
enable the user to
confirm that the manually entered communication identifiers should be added to
the list
of known people (214). The confirmation may be enabled by way of a GLJI that
allows
the user to select the entered communication identifiers that the user
actually wants to be
included in the list of known people. This confirmation may occur after a
predetermined
3o number of communication identifiers have been entered, or at login or
logoff to seek
confirmation of any people entered during the previous online session. Those
identifiers
that the user confirms then are added to the list (216). When a confirmation
interface is
not presented, all entered communication identifiers are added to the list of
known
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people. Alternatively, there may be an interface that allows the user to
directly enter
identifiers into the list of known people.
On the other hand, communication identifiers may be inferred as being known
based on the actions of the user (220). First, the communication identifiers
known to the
user are inferred (222). For example, a communication identifier may be
inferred as
known if an e-mail message to that communication identifier is sent. When an
instant
messaging program is used, the communication identifier of the person with
whom the
user is communicating may be designated as known to the user.
Known communication identifiers may be inferred based on user interactions
with
1 o a received message. For example, a communication identifier also may be
inferred as
known if a message from that communication identifier is read, replied to,
forwarded,
saved, or printed. Likewise, the communication identifier that sent the e-mail
message
may be designated as known if the message is moved from the "inbox" to a
folder that is
not marked for deletion or for spam, or if the message is left open for a
predetermined
amount of time.
Known communication identifiers also may be inferred based on indicia other
than user actions. As an example, the people designated as known to the people
the user
knows may be designated as being "known" to the user. For instance, if a
person B is
designated as someone user A knows, then the people designated as known to
person B
2o also may be designated as "known" to user A. One way this may be
implemented is, for
example, to designate the people in an address book and/or buddy list of
person B as
known to user A.
When inferring known people, some actions may be taken into account to negate
an inference that the person is known (224). For instance, if an e-mail
received from a
2~ person is forwarded to an e-mail address that has been designated for
reporting spam,
then the inference that the user knows the person may be negated. As another
example,
an inference that a person is known may be negated if the person is included
on an
explicit black list of people with which communication should not occur,
created by the
user or the network administrator.
3o After known communication identifiers are inferred, an interface optionally
may
be presented to enable the user to confirm that the inferred communication
identifiers are
in fact known (226). The confirmation may be enabled by way of a GUI that
allows the
user to select inferred communication identifiers that the user actually knows
or wants to
be included in the list of known people. This confirmation may occur after a
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predetermined number of communication identifiers have been inferred as known,
or at
login or logoff to seek confirmation of any people identified in the previous
online
session. Those identifiers that the user confirms then are added to the list
(228). When a
confirmation interface is not presented, the inferred identifiers are added to
the list.
The list of inferred communication identifiers may be stored as a part of the
user's
address book or other contact list. That is, the user's address book or other
contact list
may be passively personalized based on the inferred communication identifiers.
For
instance, the inferred communication identifiers may be added to a transparent
group (i.e.,
on that is not seen by the user) in the user's address book or other contact
list.
Alternatively, the inferred communication identifiers may be added to a group
that is
shown to the user.
Branches 210 and 220 may occur simultaneously or sequentially. After at least
one of the branches has occurred, the user optionally may view the list of
known people,
and he or she may delete those users that are no longer known or needed (230).
In
15 addition, communication identifiers in the list ~f known people can be used
optionally to
find other communication identifiers for that person (232). For example, a
person's e-
mail address may be obtained from a profile associated with a screen name.
Similarly, if
the e-mail address is known, it may be used to obtain the screen name. The
screen name,
e-mail, or other determined communication identifiers may be used to determine
other
2o ways in which the known person may communicate with the user or in which
the user
may corm~nunicate with the known person.
At this point, the list can be used to control aspects of the electronic
communications between the user and other users based on whether the
communication
identifiers of the other users are known or unknown (234). For example, in an
e-mail
2s system that performs seam filtering, the e-mail addresses of known people
may be added
to a white list, which designates e-mail addresses that should not be filtered
or otherwise
treated as seam. As another example, when a user's address book or other
contact list has
been passively personalized, the list of inferred communication identifiers
that were
added to the address book or other contact list may be used as a white list
for spam
3o filtering, along with the communication identifiers explicitly entered into
the contact list
by the user.
The e-mail addresses of the known people also may be used to filter or sort a
display of e-mail such that e-mails from people on the list are shown more
prominently
than e-mails from people not on the list. For instance, the user may be able
to indicate
9
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that only e-mails from known people are shown. In this case, only e-mails from
people
on the list of known people are shown in the display of e-mail. Alternatively,
or
additionally, e-mails from known people may be displayed in bold, while e-
mails from
people not on the list are not displayed in bold. Another manner of displaying
known
people prominently includes grouping all of the e-mail from known people in
one
position of the display, for example, at the beginning or at the end of a list
of e-mails.
The e-mail addresses of known people may be used to restrict accepted e-mail
to
only those people the user knows. Similarly, the IM screen names of known
people may
be used to restrict instant messages or chat requests to only those people who
the user
o knows.
Further, the list of known people may be used to restrict displays of online
presence information t those people on the list. For example, the IM screen
names of
known people may be used to restrict who can view presence information of the
user to
those people the user knows. That is, other users may be restricted from
viewing whether
15 the user is online unless the other users are people the user knows. Also,
some services
such as ICS (which is an instant messaging service) and America Online display
online
presence information through channels other than an IM buddy list. Such
displays of
online presence information also may be restricted, as described further
below.
Additionally, by determining multiple communication identifiers, as described
2o above, aspects of the user's communication on multiple different messaging
mediums can
be controlled. For example, aspects of the user9s coimmunication using a
combination of,
for example, e-mail and instant messaging clients can be controlled using the
list of
known people.
FIGS. 3-5 show exemplary manners in which known people can be expressly
2s designated by putting them in a contact list. The contact list may be, for
example, a white
list, an address book, or an instant messaging buddy list. The people added to
one or
more of the contact lists then are added to the list of known people.
Refernng to FIG 3, a custom sender list interface 300 allows for manual
addition
of communication identifiers to the list of known people through specification
of a white
30 list and a black list. A white list designates the e-mail addresses that
should not be filtered
such that e-mail messages from those addresses are delivered to the user
without, e.g.,
subjecting the e-mails to spam filtering. On the other hand, a black list
designates the e-
mail addresses that should be filtered such that e-mail messages from those
addresses are
treated as spam and are not shown to the user. The custom sender list
interface 300
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enables the user to expressly designate communication identifiers as known by
adding
them to the white list. The identifiers placed on the white list then are
added to the list of
known people.
Selecting radio button 302 signals specification of a black list, while
selecting
s radio button 304 signals specification of a white list. Only one of radio
buttons 302 and
304 may be selected at once. A communication identifier can be typed into the
text field
306. The communication identifier entered in the text field 306 can be added
to the black
list or white list, depending on whether radio button 302 or radio button 304
is selected,
by clicking on the "Add" button 30~. This action will add the entered
communication
1 o identifier, along with all other previously entered communications
identifiers, into the text
box 310.
A communication identifier can be selected from the list contained in the text
box
310 by clicking on the communication identifier. Subsequently clicking on a
"Remove"
button 312 will eliminate that communication identifier from the list. Any
changes made
15 to the black list or the white list can be saved by clicking on a "Save"
button 314, and any
changes can be undone and discarded using a "Cancel" button 316.
Referring to FIG. 4, an address book interface 400 allows for manual addition
of
people to the list of known people through the addition of entries to an
address book.
Each entry in the address book contains information about a specific person,
including the
2o communication identifiers for that person. The address book interface 400
enables the
user to expressly designate communication identifiers as known by adding them
to entries
within the address book. These identifiers are then added to the list of known
people.
The address book interface 400 may provide the user with an option for
preventing the
addition of communication identifier to the list of kno~m people when the
identifier is
25 added to the address book. The option may prevent the addition for the
identifier
currently being added, or when the option is selected, may prevent all entered
identifiers
from being added to the list of known people.
The address book interface 400 contains a contact list 406 in which the
contacts in
the address book are listed. All entries in a selected category and/or
matching a current
3o searching criteria are listed by name in the contact list 406. The contact
list 406
illustrated contains three entries, entry 40~a for "Kevin Greene," entry 40~b
for
"quoteomatic," and entry 40~c for "zolaonaol."
The address book interface 400 also contains a personal information list 410
for
displaying the personal information for an entry in the address book.
Selecting an entry
11
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from those listed in the contact list 406 causes the information for the
corresponding
person to be displayed in personal information list 410. For example,
selecting entry
408a for Kevin Greene lists his personal information in the personal
information list 410.
The personal information includes his contact name 412 (Kevin Greene), an e-
mail
address 414 (kg@somewhere.com), and a category 416 (Uncategorized, which means
the
entry 408a was never placed into a category). Other pieces of information,
including
other communication identifiers, may be included in the personal information
list 410.
Address book interface 400 also includes buttons 418-422 for adding, deleting,
and modifying entries in the address book. Entries may be added to the address
book by
clicking on the "Add" button 418. This will invoke a dialog box in which the
necessary
information for a new entry in the address book can be entered. Existing
entries can also
be modified by selecting an entry from those listed in text box 406 and
subsequently
clicking on the "Edit" button 420. This will invoke a dialog box populated
with
information from the existing entry. This information can be changed, and
information
~ 5 can be added to it. Finally, existing entries can be removed from the
address book by
selecting am entry from those listed in text box 406 and subsequently clicking
on the
"Delete" button 422. Any communication identifiers added to the address book
through
use of the address book interface 400 are considered to be known, so they are
added to the
list of known people.
2o Entries in the address book may be filed into different categories. The
address
book interface enables the user to view all entries in a specific category it
also enables
the user to view all entries in the address book, regardless of category. The
available
categories are listed in a drop down category selection box 402. Selecting a
category
name from the category selection box 402 will filter the set of entries in the
address book
25 to include only those belonging to the selected category. Selecting "All"
from the
category selection box 402 will include all entries in the address book. The
set of entries
in the address book can be searched using the search text box 404. The search
criteria can
be entered into the search text box 404. The set of entries is filtered to
contain only those
entries meeting the search criteria entered into the search text box 404. The
illustrated
3o entries are the total entries may in the address book because the option
"All" was selected
from the selection box 402, and no search criteria have been entered into
search text box
404. Thus the address book only contains the three entries listed in contact
list 406.
Referring to FIG 5, a buddy list interface 500 allows for manual addition of
people to the list of known people through addition of screen names to a buddy
list. A
12
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screen name is a communication identifier for a person in an instant messaging
system.
Messages are addressed to users of the instant messaging system using their
screen
names. The buddy list for a user of the instant messaging system is a list of
screen names
for people with which the user communicates. The buddy list interface 500
enables the
user to expressly designate communication identifiers as known by adding them
to his or
her buddy list. These identifiers are then added to the list of known people.
The buddy list interface 500 contains a text box 502 that contains the buddy
list
for a screen name "InternetAnn". The buddy list includes multiple screen
names. The
buddy list in buddy list interface 500 contains the screen name 504a,
"randomcontact2,"
the screen name 504b, "Boss," the screen name 504c, "Mom," the screen name
504d,
"Dad," and the screen name 504e, "Brother."
The buddy list may be separated into one or more buddy groups, and each buddy
may belong to one of the buddy groups. When an IM client program for a person
appearing in the buddy list is available to receive communications (i.e., a
state commonly
referred to as "present"), the screen name of the buddy in the buddy list is
displayed or
visually distinguished from other buddies not presently available to receive
communications or otherwise not having an equivalent state. In the interface
shown,
present buddies have their screen names displayed under a buddy group heading
for the
buddy group to which they belong. The buddy group headings also contain the
number of
screen names from that buddy group currently logged into the instant messaging
system
and the total number of people in that buddy group. For example, the buddy
group
heading 506a says that one out of the ten members of the buddy group named
"Buddies"
is logged into the system. That one member is the user with screen name 504a,
since that
screen name 504a is listed under the buddy group heading 506a. Likewise, buddy
group
heading 506b says that one out of three members of the "Co-Workers" buddy
group is
logged in, and that member is the user with screen name 504b. Similarly, the
users with
the screen names 504c, 504d, and 504e are logged into the system and are
members of the
buddy group named "Family," which only has one member currently not logged in,
according to buddy group heading 506c. The buddy list interface 500 contains a
"Setup"
3o button 508, which, when selected enables the user to add screen names to
the displayed
buddy list. The screen names added to a user's buddy list using the buddy list
interface
500 are considered to be known to the user, and are added to the list of known
people.
The address book interface 400 may provide the user with an option for
preventing the
addition of communication identifier to the list of known people when the
identifier is
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added to the address book. The option may prevent the addition for the
identifier
currently being added, or when the option is selected, may prevent all entered
identifiers
from being added to the list of known people.
Exemplary techniques for inferring known people from the actions of the user
are
described in conjunction with FIGS 6-9. Actions of the user while reading,
sending and
managing e-mail can lead to the inference that the people sending and
receiving that e-
mail axe known to the user. In addition, the contacts of those people known to
the user
may be inferred to be known directly by the user. Inferred people are added to
the list of
known people after an optional user confirmation.
1 o Referring to FIG 6, use of an e-mail reading interface 600 can lead to the
inference of people as known to the user. In using the e-mail reading
interface 600, the
user may perfornl certain actions while reading a message that signal that the
user knows
the person who sent the message. Conversely, the user may perform certain
actions that
signal that the user does not know the person who sent the message. If the
sender of the
e-mail is inferred to be known to the user based on these actions, the person
who sent the
e-mail is added to the list of known people.
The e-mail reading interface 600 has two major sections, 602 and 604, that
show
the details of the message that is currently being read. Section 602 lists the
header
information for the message that is currently being read. The header
information includes
2o the sender's address 606, the recipient's address 60~, the subject 610 of
the message, and
the time 612 the message was received. The message shown was sent to
IntemetAnn ear aol.com with a subject of "I~i" by kg~somewhere.com at 10:24
Allil on
9/4/2003. Section 604 contains the body of the message, which in this case is
"So, how
are you?"
2s To the right and below the contents of the displayed message are a series
of
buttons 614-630 that enable activity based on the displayed message. For
example, a
"Reply" button 614 invokes an interface for writing a reply to the sender of
the displayed
message. Similarly, a "Forward" button 616 invokes an interface for forwarding
the
displayed message. A "Reply All" button 61 ~ has the same function as the
"Reply"
so button 614, except that the reply message is addressed to all recipients of
the displayed
message.
An "Add Address" button 620 adds an entry to the address book for the sender
of
the displayed message. The entry includes the sender's address 606. A "Report
Spam"
button 622 sends a message to a service responsible for blocking spam e-mail
messages.
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A "Print" button 624 sends the message to the printer. A "Save" button 626
expands into
two options, one for saving the message on a host server, and one for saving
the message
locally A "Keep As New" button 62~ marks the displayed message as never having
been
read, and a "Delete" button 630 may immediately delete the message, or it may
move the
message to a temporary holding place for deleted messages.
The actions of the user while interacting with the e-mail reading interface
600
may lead to the inference that the user knows or does not know the sender of
the
messages that he is reading. In cases where the user is believed to know the
sender of the
message, the sender's e-mail address is added to the list of known people. For
example,
o replying to the message by clicking on the "Reply" button 614 may support
the inference
that the sender is known. In addition, pressing the "Forward" button 616 to
forward the
message may support an inference that the sender, as well as all people to
which the
message is forwarded, are known. Similarly, pressing the "Reply All" button
618 may
lead to an inference that the sender and all other recipients are known.
Pressing the "Add Address" button 620 to create an entry in the user's address
book for the sender of the e-mail may lead to the inference that sender is
known. ~n the
other hand, clicking on the "Report Spam" button 622 may negate an inference
that the
sender is known to the user. Ticking the "Print" button 624, using the "Save"
button
626, or marking the displayed message as not read with the "Keep As New"
button 62S
2o also may support an inference that the sender is known.
Leaving interface 600 open for a predetermined period of time (e.g., 30
secondsa
is another action that may support an inference that the sender is know.
A number of techniques may be used to determine when a sender is inferred as
known based on the above described actions. For example, a sender may be
inferred as
known based simply on the user performing a single one of the actions that
support an
inference that the sender is known. Alternatively, or additionally,
combinations of actions
may result in the inference that the sender is known. For example, some number
of
actions greater than one may be required to add the sender to the list of
known people.
Also, certain fixed combinations of actions may result in the addition of the
sender to the
so list of known people. That is, certain combinations may be designated as
indicating that
the communication identifier is know and, when those combinations occur, the
identifier
is added to the list of known people. For example, replying to and saving the
message
may cause the sender to be added to the list of known people, but keeping the
message as
new and printing it may not.
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As another example, each of the different possible actions may have an
associated
score indicative of how strongly the action suggests the identifier is known,
and a certain
aggregate score (a threshold score) may be required to add the sender to the
list of known
people. That is, the actions may be detected, an aggregate score may be
determined from
s the associated scores, and a comparison to a threshold score may be made to
infer
whether the person is known to the user and, consequently, is added to the
list of known
people. An implementation of this technique may assign positive scores to
actions
supporting an inference, assign negative scores to actions negating an
inference, and
require a particular positive aggregate score before the identifier is
inferred as known.
1 o Other methods of combining the actions of the user to infer that the
sender is known to
the user are possible.
When replying to a message using the "Reply All" button 618, all recipients of
the
message may not be known, especially when there is a large number of people to
whom
the original message was carbon copied. Additional actions may be required to
show that
75 the people to whom the message was carbon copied are known even though a
message is
sent to them, which might normally lead to the inference that the people are
known. The
number of people to whom the original message was carbon copied may influence
the
number or combinations of actions further needed to add the carbon copied
recipients to
the list of known people.
2o Referring to FICa 7, use of an e-mail writing interface 700 can lead to
people being
added to the list of known people. In using the e-mail writing interface; 700,
the user may
perform certain actions while writing a message that will signal that the user
knows the
people to whom the message will be sent. If the recipients of the e-mail are
inferred to
be known to the user, they are added to the list of known people.
2s The e-mail writing interface 700 contains multiple text fields 702-708 that
can be
used to specify the different parts of the message to be sent. For example,
the user can
specify the recipients of the message using a text field 702, labeled "Send
To," and a text
field 704, labeled "Copy To." The user can also specify the subject of the
message in a
"Subject" text field 706. Finally, the user can type the body of the message
in a body text
so field 708.
A series of buttons 710 to 716 to the right of the text fields 702-708 govern
how
the message specified by the text fields 702-708 is processed. Clicking on a
"Send Now"
button 710 immediately processes and sends the message to the specified
recipients.
Clicking on a "Send Later" button 712 processes the message for sending to its
intended
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recipients at a later time. An "Address Book" button 714 will invoke an
address book
interface 400. The address book interface 400 may be used to specify the
recipients of the
message. E-mail addresses from entries in the address book can be used to
populate the
text fields 702 and 704 that contain the recipients of the message. Clicking a
"Print"
button 716 sends the message to the printer.
The actions of the user while using the e-mail writing interface may lead to
the
inference that the intended recipients of the message that is being written
are known to
the user. The people entered in these text boxes 702 and 704 will be added to
the list of
known people if the user is inferred to know the people to whom the message
will be sent.
For example, using either the "Send Now" button or the "Send Later" button to
send the
message that is being written leads to the inference that the recipients of
the message
listed in text fields 702 and 704 are known. Likewise, printing the message
with the
"Print" button 716 leads to the inference that the intended recipients are
known. In
addition, the address book interface 400 that was invoked by the "Address
Book" button
714 can be used to manually add entries to the address book, which will result
in
additions to the list of known people, as was described above.
If the recipients are inferred to be known, then they are added to the list of
known
people. Individual actions of the user while using the e-mail writing
interface 700 that
lead to the inference that the recipients are known may cause the recipients
to be added to
2o the list of l~~own people, or a combination of actions may signal that the
recipients should
be added to the list of known people, as was described above.
The e-mail reading interface 600 and the e-mail writing interface 700 may also
contain a button that enables the user to manually add the people with whom
the user is
communicating to the list of known people if the people are not added
automatically in
the manners described above. For example, clicking on the button in the e-mail
reading
interface 600 would cause the sender of the message to be added to the list of
known
people. Likewise, clicking on the button in the e-mail writing interface 700
would cause
the recipient of the e-mail to be added to the list of known people.
Referring to FIG 8, a process 800 may be used to infer people within a certain
3o number of degrees of separation from the user as known to the user. The
degree of
separation between two entities describes a relationship between those
entities. Typically,
the characteristics of user contact lists (e.g., address book, buddy list,
and/or white list)
are evaluated to determine the number of degrees (or hops) that are required
to link or
relate two users.
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For example, recipient A may list user B in recipient A's address book, user B
may
list user C in user B's address book, and user C may list sender D in user C's
address
book. Here, sender D is linked to recipient A by two degrees of separation
(with user B as
the first degree and user C as the second degree). Recipient A is related to
user C by one
degree of separation (user B) and user B is separated from sender D by one
degree of
separation (user C). Recipient A and user B, users B and C, and user C and
sender D are
each respectively separated by zero degrees of separation.
A list of contacts is maintained for the user (802). The list of contacts may
be any
personally maintained list or lists, for example, an address book, a buddy
list for instant
messaging, and/or a white list. The rest of process 800 will be described
using an address
book as an example of a list of contacts. The contacts in the user's address
book are
added to the user's list of known people (804).
Next, the contacts linked to the user (i.e., up to a desired degree of
separation) are
identified and added to the user's list of known people. To do so, the address
books of
each contact in the user's address book are accessed (806). These address
books are not
normally configured for direct accessed by the user. That is, the user does
not normally
have access to other user's address books such as the address books of the
contacts in the
user's address book (the user's address book is configured for direct access
lay the user).
The other users' address books typically include communication identifiers
selected by
2o the other users.
The contacts in the user's contacts' address books (i.e., the contacts
separated by
one degree) then are added to the list of known people (808). If another
degree of
separation is desired (810), the degree of separation is incremented (812)
such that the
address books of the contacts that are separated from the user by one degree
are accessed
(806) and the contacts in those address books are added to the list of known
people list
(808). When a contact is added to the list of known people list, the contact's
degree of
separation from the user also may be added. The addition of contacts continues
until the
desired degree of separation is reached (810). Once the desired degree of
separation has
been reached, all of the contacts within that desired degree of separation
from the user
3o have been inferred as known to the user (814).
The desired degrees of separation may be a system parameter or, in some
implementations, the user may be provided the user with the ability to set the
desired
degrees of separation. For example, the user may be provided with an interface
that
allows the user to decide whether degrees of separation will be used, and, if
so, how many
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degrees should be used. Alternatively, the desired degrees of separation may
be both a
system parameter and able to be set by the user. For example, the system may
include a
default degrees of separation, which can be adjusted by the user if he or she
so desires.
Process 800 may result in the list of known people not being updated when any
users related to the intended user update their contact lists. That is, if a
user related to the
intended user adds a contact to the user's contact list, the new contact may
not be
reflected in the intended user's list of known people. This situation may not
be overly
detrimental, particularly in implementations where the list of known people is
used as a
white list to exempt certain e-mails from spam filtering. However, repeating
process 800
on a periodic or aperiodic basis may mitigate this situation. Another manner
of mitigating
this situation is to use an update system in which changes to contact lists
are tracked and
lists of known people are updated accordingly in an incremental fashion or by
triggering
an update or re-initiation of process 800 when an update occurs.
Refernng to FIG 9, using an e-mail managing interface 900 may result in
additions to the list of known people. The actions of the user while
interacting with the e-
mail managing interface 900 may lead to the inference that certain people are
known to
the user. Conversely, the user may perform certain actions that signal that
the user does
not know certain people. If people are inferred as known to the user from
these actions,
the people are added to the list of known people.
2o Two main components of the e-mail managing interface 900 are the folder
list 902
and the message list 904. The folder list 902 contains the different folders
into which
messages can be filed. V~lhen a folder is selected from the folder list 902,
its contents are
listed in the message list 904. In this case, the folder called "New" has been
selected
from the folder list 902, and its contents are listed in the message list 904.
Drop down
selection box 906 allows for the filtering of the messages shown in the
message list 904
based on their sender. In this case, "Everyone" is chosen in the selection box
906, so all
messages in the "New" folder are shown in the message list 904. These include
a
message 908 from kg@somewhere.com, and a message 910 from noone@fr.com, both
sent on September 4, 2003. Clicking and dragging a message from the message
list 904
so to the folder list 902 with the mouse files that message in the folder
whose name is under
the current position of the mouse, thus removing the message from the folder
selected in
the folder list 902.
A series of buttons below the message list 904 allow the user to work with the
messages in the message list 904. For example, a "Read" button 912 will create
an e-mail
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reading interface 600 for the message selected in the message list 904.
Clicking on a
"Save" button 914 will save the message selected in the message list 904,
either to the
hard drive of the local machine or to a remote server. A "Keep As New" button
916 will
mark the selected message as never having been read. Clicking on a "Report
Spam"
button 918 will send a message to a service responsible for blocking spam
messages with
regards to the message selected in the message list 904. A "Delete" button 920
either
immediately deletes the selected message or temporarily moves the selected
message to a
holding place for deleted messages.
The user's actions while using folders, messages, and buttons present in the e-
mail
1 o managing interface 900 may result in the addition of people to the list of
known people.
Moving a message between the different folders of the folder list 902 may lead
to the
inference that the sender or recipients of the message are known. For example,
dragging
message 908 from the "New" folder to another folder, except for a spew or
delete folder,
may result in the inference that the sender of message is known to the user.
Opening a
message with the "Read" button 912 may support an inference that the sender of
the
message is known. Pressing the "Save" button 914 or the "Keep AS New" button
916
also may result in the inference that the sender of the message is known to
the user. On
the other hand, use of the g'Report Spam" button 918 and the "Delete" button
920 may
negate an inference that the senders or recipients are known to the user.
Similar to what
2o was described above with respect to FIG. 6, individual actions or a
combination of actions
when using the e-mail managing interface 900 may lead to the inference that
people are
known to the user. Those people that are inferred to be known to the user are
added to the
list of known people after an optional confirmation by the user.
FIGS. 10-12 illustrate exemplary uses of the list of known people in
controlling
aspects of the user's communication. The list of known people can be used to
control
aspects of the user's communication using, for example, an e-mail or instant
messaging
client.
Referring to FIG 10, the list of known people can be used to control the e-
mail
messages displayed on an e-mail managing interface 900. The e-mail managing
interface
3o contains a folder list 902 into which messages can be filed. When a folder
is selected
from the folder list 902, its contents are listed in the message list 904. In
this case, the
folder called "New" has been selected from the folder list 902, and its
contents are listed
in the message list 904.
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Drop down selection box 906 allows for the filtering of the messages shown in
the
message list 904 based on their sender. In this case, the option "People I
Know" has been
selected from the selection box 906. This causes the displayed messages to be
filtered
against the list of known people for the user. Messages from people that are
in the list of
known people are displayed in the message list 904, while messages from
senders that are
not in the list of known people do not appear in the message list 904.
For example, the message list 904 from FIG 9, which also displayed the
messages
in the "New" folder, had two messages: message 908 from kg@somewhere.com and
message 910 from noone@fr.com. The e-mail address kg@somewhere.com is in the
list
of known people for the user, while noone@fr.com is not. When "People I Know"
is
selected from the selection box 906, message 910 is filtered out from the set
of messages
shown to the user in the message list 904. The only message that is displayed
is message
908 from kg@somewhere.com. Therefore, the list of known senders was used to
limit the
e-mail messages shown to the user to only those coming from people on the
list.
Referring to FIG 11, the list of known people can be used to control the e-
mail
messages displayed on an e-mail managing interface 900 in the opposite manner
as was
done with respect to FIG 10. The e-mail managing interface contains a folder
list 902
into which messages can be filed. When a folder is selected from the folder
list 902, its
contents are listed in the message list 904. In this case, the folder called
"New" has been
2o selected from the folder list 902, and its contents are listed in the
message list 904.
Drop down selection box 906 allows for the filtering of the messages shown in
the
message list 904. based on their sender. In this case, the option "TJnknown
Senders" has
been selected from the selection box 906. This causes the displayed messages
to be
filtered against the list of known people for the user in the opposite manner
as was done
with respect to FICi: 10. In other words, messages from people that are not in
the list of
known people are displayed in the message list 904, while messages from
senders that are
in the list of known people do not appear in the message list 904.
For example, the message list 904 from FIG 9, which also showed the messages
in the "New" folder, had two messages: message 908 from kg@somewhere.com and
3o message 910 from noone@fr.com. The e-mail address kg@somewhere.com is in
the list
of known people, while noone@fr.com is not. When "Unknown Senders" is selected
from the selection box 906, message 908 is filtered out from the set of
messages shown to
the user in the message list 904. The only message that is displayed is
message 910 from
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noone@fr.com. Therefore, the list of known senders is used to limit the e-mail
messages
shown to the user to only those coming from people not on the list.
Refernng to FIG 12, an e-mail control interface 1200 enables further control
over
a user's e-mail messages based on the list of known people. The e-mail control
interface
contains a user selection box 1202. The user to which the controls specified
in the e-mail
control interface 1200 will apply is selected with user selection box 1202. A
series of
options 1204-1224 provide for different manners of filtering received e-mail.
Options 1204-1212 allow the user to define the senders from whom the selected
user will receive e-mail. Option 1204 enables the user to receive e-mail from
all senders.
Selecting option 1204 will cause the selected user to receive e-mail from
anyone,
regardless of whether they appear on the list of known people. Option 1206
enables the
user to receive e-mail only from America Online (AOL) members. Selecting
option 1206
will cause the selected user to receive e-mail messages only from customers of
the
America Online Internet service provider, while all other messages are
blocked. Option
1208 enables the user to receive e-mail only from known people. Selecting
option 1208
causes the selected user's e-mail to be filtered against the list of known
people. Messages
from people appearing on the list are accepted, while all other messages are
blocked.
Option 1210 enables the user to block e-mail from all senders. Selecting this
option 1210 will cause all of the e-mail messages addressed to the selected
user to be
2o blocked. Option 1212 enables the user to use a custom sender list to
determine what mail
is received. The custom sender list contains a white list and a black list.
T~lessages from
those people appearing on the white list are shown to the user, while messages
from
people appearing on the black list are blocked from the user. Options 1204-
1212 may be
mutually exclusive.
Option 1214 enables blocking any e-mail messages containing pictures or files.
Selection of option 1214 causes all messages containing pictures or files to
be blocked.
Options 1216 and 1218 allow the user to define what happens to blocked
messages.
Option 1216 enables permanently deleting blocked messages. Selecting option
1216
causes all blocked messages to be deleted immediately, leaving no opportunity
for the
3o user to view them. Option 1218 enables delivery of blocked messages to a
folder
designated for spam. Selecting option 1218 causes blocked messages to be
placed in the
folder designated for seam. The user has the option of viewing these messages
after they
have been placed in the spam folder. A third option (not shown) may cause the
blocked
messages to be maintained in a temporary holding folder. The messages stored
in the
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temporary holding folder may be deleted after a certain amount of time that
may be
selected by the user. Options 1216, 1218, and the third option are mutually
exclusive.
Options 1220-1224 control what mail is received by the user selected in the
selection box 1202. Option 1220 enables filtering of the incoming e-mail
messages with
a spam filter. Selecting this option 1220 will cause a user's e-mail messages
to be filtered
based on whether or not the messages are seam messages or not. The list of
known
people may be used by the spam filter when determining if a message is a spam
message.
For example, the spam filter could use the list of known people as a white
list when
determining which messages to keep. Messages from people on the white list may
be
accepted, while messages from people that are not on the list are rejected.
Alternatively,
the white list may be used to exempt communications from people on the white
list from
spam filtering, while communications from people not on the white list are
subjected to
spam filtering. As another example, the seam ftlter could use the list of
known people to
assign a spam score to incoming messages. Messages from people that are not on
the list
Of known people may receive a higher spam score than those messages from
people on
the list. Those messages that are deten~ined to be spam are delivered to the
user's span
mailbox, and those messages that are not spam are delivered to the user's main
mailbox.
Option 1222 enables filtering the incoming e-mail messages based on whether
they contain one or more clickable hyperlinks or uniform resource locators
(ZJRLs). If
2o this ~ption 1222 is selected, messages with clickable I~s are delivered to
the user's
seam folder, and those messages that do not are delivered to the user's main
mailbox. A
second option (not shown) for handling messages with clickable ITI~LLs enables
delivering
messages with LTRLs directed to inappropriate or parentally controlled content
to the
user's seam folder and delivering all other messages to the user's main
mailbox. Option
1224 enables filtering of the user's incoming e-mail messages based on whether
they
contain any of the words contained in a custom word list. If this option 1224
is selected,
messages that contain words from the custom word list are delivered to the
user's spam
folder, and those messages that do not are delivered to the user's main
mailbox.
The list of known people may be used in conjunction with the filtering
performed
3o by options 1222 and 1224 by exempting messages from known people from these
controls. In other words, messages meeting the criteria indicated by options
1222 and
1224, when selected, may be sent to a seam folder, except for when the sender
of the
message is on the known list. For example, a message with a URL may be
received.
Normally, when option 1222 is selected, the message with the URL is place in a
spam
23
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folder. When the message with the URL is from a known person, however, the
message
is not sent to the spam folder, but rather is delivered as normal.
A save button 1226 and a cancel button 1228 are also present on the e-mail
control
interface 1200. The save button 1226 saves any changes made to the options
1204-1224
for the user selected in the selection box 1202, while the cancel button 1228
discards any
changes that have been made and restores the options to their previous
settings.
In addition to the uses of the list of known people discussed with respect to
FIGS.
10-12, there are other uses related to a user's communications with an instant
messaging
client. For example, the IM screen names of known people may be used to
restrict instant
messages or chat requests to only those people who the user knows. The IM
screen
names of known people also may be used to restrict who can view presence
information
of the user to those people the user knows. That is, other users may be
restricted from
viewing whether the user is online (i.e., logged into the IM system) unless
the other users
are people the user knows. Referring again to FIG 5, presence information for
"randomcontact2" is shown because "InternetAnn" is on the list of known people
for
"randomcontact2." Other people that do not have "InternetAnn" on their list of
known
people do not appear in the buddy list interface 500 because "InternetAnn" is
restricted
from viewing their presence information.
The list of known people also may be used to restrict displays of online
presence
2o information more generally FIGS. 13, 14 and 15 show additional environments
in which
online presence infonnation can be restricted using the list of known people.
Referring to FIG. 13, some services, such as America Online, allow users to
search
for other members. The list of members matching the users search criteria
includes
indications as to whether a member is online. As shown, an interface 1300
includes a
window 1310 that displays search results for a person's search criteria (e.g.,
members
who have John Doe somewhere in their profile). The search results include a
list of
members matching the search criteria. The results include the screen name, the
member
name, and the location of each member matching the criteria. An icon 1314
provides
online presence information. Icon 1314 is displayed in window 1310 next to
members
so who are currently online.
Referring to FIG 14, some services such as America Online display online
presence information in a user's member profile. A user's member profile may
be
displayed as the result of selecting a member from search results such as
those shown in
FIG 13, or, for example, the member profile may be invoked by a user when the
user
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comes across a screen name while using a communication service such chat or
message
boards. Other manners manner of invoking the member profile may be available
depending on the service.
When a user invokes another user's member profile, an interface 1400 is
provided.
s The interface includes the screen name 1402 of the user whose profile is
being shown.
Interface 1400 also includes a number of buttons 1404 that allow the invoking
user to
interact with the user whose profile is being shown. Interface 1400 also has
an area 1406
that provides online presence information. In the exemplary profile
illustrated, the
member is currently online an in the chat room "louisianam4m." Area 1406
indicates that
1o the member is not online when the member is not online.
Referring to FIG 15, some instant messaging and other online services provide
web pages that display online presence information. As shown, a web browser
1500
displays a search page 1502 for ICQ in which a person can search profiles of
ICQ users.
Profiles 1510 and 1520 are shown as a result of a search using the criteria
"John Doe"
15 anywhere in the profile. Icons 1512 and 1522, which are part of profiles
1510 and 1520
respectively, provide online presence information. Icons 1512 and 1522 are
shown in one
color when the user is online and in a different color when the user is not
online.
In any of these en vironments, the online presence information may be
restricted
based on the list of known people. The online presence information may be
restricted
2o such that only some or all of the people known to a user may view the
user's online
presence information. For instance, icon 1314. may be absent when the person
viewing
the search results is not a person known to the user whose screen name is
"H~txJOCk2~."
Likewise, area 1406 may not provide any online presence information when the
person
viewing the profile is not known to the user whose screen name is
"Hotxjock2~." Lastly,
25 icon 1512 or 1522 may indicate the user is not online, or indicate that the
online presence
information is unavailable, when the person viewing the profile 1510 or 1520
is not
known to the user whose profile information is shown.
Further, the online presence information may be restricted or not provided to
a
potential receiver of the online presence information when the potential
receiver requests
3o the online presence information through an application such as an instant
messaging
application, or by virtue of displaying a web page, member profile, or member
search
result. In some environments that provide online presence information, the
information
may be provided in response to a request to receive the online presence
information. In
such environments, when the request is received, a determination as to whether
the online
CA 02520419 2005-09-26
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presence information is communicated may be based on whether the potential
receiver is
included in the list of known people. The online presence information may be
restricted
or not provided to the potential receiver when the potential receiver is not
included in the
list.
In other implementations, the online presence information may be restricted or
not
provided to a potential receiver of the online presence information absent a
request for the
online presence information. In some environments, online presence information
may be
broadcast generally to users. Certain users may be excluded from the broadcast
of online
presence information when those users are not on the list of people known to
the user.
1 o Another use of the list of known people may include filtering out
communications
with questionable content sent to teens or younger individuals when the
communication is
from someone unknown to the teen or younger individual. Many times,
inappropriate
(e.g., pornographic) communications such as e-mail is sent to teens or younger
individuals. There may be certain indicia that a communication is
inappropriate, or that it
15 may lead to inappropriate content. ~ne such indicia, for instance, is the
presence of a
Uniform Resource Locator (L1RL) located in the body of an e-mail. ~ther
indicia may
include certain words or phrases, such as vulgar or lewd words, included in
the
communication. such indicia may be a stronger indicator that the commuucation
is
inappropriate when the e-mail is from someone unknown to the teen or young
adult.
2o Some Internet Service Providers (ISPs), e.g. America ~nline, Inc. (A~L),
allow a
master account omler to designate associated accotmts as teen or child
accounts. Indicia
of inappropriate communications, along with the list of known people, can be
used to
filter out potentially inappropriate content sent to a teen or child account.
FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing a process 1600 for filtering communications
sent
25 to a teen or child accomit. A list of people known to the user of the teen
or child account
is maintained for example, using the techniques described above (1605). When a
communication sent to the teen or child account is received (1610), the sender
of the
communication is determined (1615). The communication may include, for
example, an
e-mail or an instant message.
3o A determination also is made as to whether the communication contains
indicia
that the communication is inappropriate for the user of the teen or child
account (1620).
As described above, such indicia may include a URL located in the body of the
communication and/or certain words being included in the body of the
communication.
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When the communication contains such indicia and the sender is not on the list
of
known people, the communication is filtered (1625). Filtering may include
blocking or
deleting the communication. Alternatively, or additionally, filtering may
include placing
the communication in a secured place that the master account owner can access,
but the
s teen or child user can not. For example, the communications may be placed in
a secure
spam folder. The seam folder may be secured, for example, by preventing the
teen or
child account user from seeing the folder or by password protecting the
folder.
Thus, for example, emails that contain URLs or certain words or phrases and
that
are sent to a teen or child account by someone not known to the teen or child
(i.e.,
someone not on the list of known people) may be automatically deleted or
blocked.
Alternatively, such e-mails may be sent to a seam folder. When the spam folder
is
designed to be locked from teens or younger adults (e.g., by preventing them
from seeing
the folder or requiring a password to access the folder), this can potentially
prevent them
from being exposed to inappropriate content.
15 The techniques described above are not limited to any particular hardware
or
software configuration. lather, they may be implemented using hardware,
software, or a
combination of both. The methods and processes described may be implemented as
computer programs that are executed on programmable computers comprising at
least one
processor and at least one data storage system. The programs may be
implemented in a
2o high-level programming language and may also be implemented in assembly or
other
lower level languages, if desired.
Any such program will typically be stored on a computer-usable storage medium
or device (e.g., CIA-Rom, RAM, or magnetic disk). When read into the processor
of the
computer and executed, the instructions of the program cause the programmable
25 computer to carry out the various operations described above.
A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it will be
understood that various modifications may be made. Accordingly,
implementations other
than those specifically described are within the scope of the following
claims.
27
