Controlled access system for online communities
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A group permissions system that minimizes the knowledge needed by a group administrator of other users and allows for new members previously outside the system, implemented using email and the World Wide Web with a sign up system involving a special URL which contains a group sign up cookie which is passed in the web browser through the log in or sign up to add the permissions for the group to that user.
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Abstract
A system for granting group permissions to specific resources to users in online communities such as the Internet.
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Citations
21 Claims
- 1. A group permissions system that minimizes the knowledge needed by a group administrator of other users and allows for new members previously outside the system, implemented using email and the World Wide Web with a sign up system involving a special URL which contains a group sign up cookie which is passed in the web browser through the log in or sign up to add the permissions for the group to that user.
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8. A photosharing community where users share albums with groups of friends or associates through invitations which do not require invited members to use unique passwords on each shared album.
- 9. A photosharing wide area computer network comprising a web server storing digital images associated with particular users and allowing each particular user to authorize others to access the digital images of the particular user, said web server providing each user with an invitation procedure for inviting others to access the images controlled by the user, said invitation procedure including creating an invitation which includes an authorization segment and forwarding the invitation electronically to a designated invitee at a particular address, said designated invitee using said invitation to contact the web server and provide access to said images controlled by the user in accordance with said authorization segment.
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12. A method of providing controlled access to a common resource to be shared by a plurality of users where said common resource is available on a Web server available on the world wide web, said method comprising
recording a group sign up authorization cookie associated with said common resource with said Web server, creating a customized URL which contains said group sign up authorization cookie, providing said customized URL to a new user, using a Web browser and said customized URL to initiate access to said common resource provide on said Web server and passing said group sign up authorization cookie through said Web browser to said Web server, confirming said passed group sign up authorization cookie has been previously recorded and allowing access to said common resource associated with said group sign up authorization cookie.
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19. A method of providing controlled access to a common resource to be shared by a plurality of users where said common resource is available on a computer server available on the world wide web, said method comprising
an initiating user communicating with said computer server and requesting thereof the creation of a common resource with controlled access administered by said initiating user, said initiating user establishing said common resource with said computer server, recording a group sign up authorization cookie associated with said common resource with said computer server, creating a customized URL which contains said group sign up authorization cookie, providing said customized URL to said initiating user for distribution to new users of his choice, said initiating user providing said customized URL to new users, said new users using a Web browser and said customized URL to initiate access to said common resource provided on said computer server and passing said group sign up authorization cookie through said Web browser to said computer server, said computer server confirming said passed group sign up authorization cookie has been previously recorded and allowing access to said common resource associated with said group sign up authorization cookie.
Specification