Instant message user management

• US 20050071435A1
• Filed: 09/30/2003
• Published: 03/31/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Karstens, Christopher K.
• Granted Patent: US 7,499,974 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/207
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed for improving management of user information in instant messaging systems. Expiration criteria are defined, whereby one or more users or user groups may be considered as having “expired” from consideration by instant messaging functions such as presence determination. In particular, instant messaging activity is preferably used as an expiration criterion. Absence of inbound or outbound messages for a specified amount of time (or since a particular date/time) can therefore be used as a trigger for treating a user or group of users as expired. As a result, efficiency of an instant messaging system is improved by omitting the expired users and groups from subsequent management operations. Optionally, an expired user or group may be revived upon occurrence of certain events (such as a newly-arriving instant message from, or a change in presence status of, the user or group). “On-demand” expiration and revival are preferably provided as well.

Claims

1. A method of managing user information in an instant messaging (“

IM”

) system, comprising steps of;

determining, for an IM client, whether users remembered by the IM client should be treated as expired; and

omitting those users which are to be treated as expired when performing selected IM management functions.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the omitting step omits the users when performing presence determination.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining step further comprises the step of using expiration criteria selected by a user of the IM client.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining step further comprises the step of comparing a first date when an instant message last arrived from a particular user to a second date selected by a user of the IM client.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining step further comprises the step of determining whether an instant message last arrived from a particular user more than a specified length of time before a current time.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining step further comprises the step of comparing a first date when an instant message was last sent by a user of the IM client to a particular user to a second date selected by the IM client user.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining step further comprises the step of determining whether an instant message was last sent by a user of the IM client user to a particular user more than a specified length of time before a current time.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining step further comprises the step of selecting, by a user of the IM client, one or more users that will then be automatically treated as currently expired.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining step is performed by analyzing expiration information for each presently-unexpired user upon occurrence of a configured interval.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining and omitting steps are also performed for user groups remembered by the IM client.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining step uses default expiration criteria and further comprising the step of enabling a user of the IM client to selectively override the default expiration criteria.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of

receiving an inbound message from a particular user who is being treated as expired;

and

automatically treating the particular user as no longer expired, responsive to the receiving step.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

sending an outbound message from the IM client to a particular user who is being treated as expired; and

automatically treating the particular user as no longer expired, responsive to the sending step.

14. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of using a distinct visual indicator for those users who are being treated as expired when presenting those users'"'"' names on a display to a user of the IM client.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the users remembered by the IM client are those users having entries in an address book used by the IM client.

16. A method of managing user information in an instant messaging (“

IM”

) system, comprising steps of;

evaluating, for an IM client, which of the users remembered by the IM client should be treated as expired;

providing, for the IM client, an indication for those users which are to be treated as expired; and

charging a fee for carrying out the evaluating and providing steps.

17. A method of managing user information in an instant messaging (“

IM”

) system, comprising steps of;

determining, for an IM client, whether users remembered by the IM client should be treated as expired; and

providing a different visual representation for the remembered users who are to be treated as expired, as contrasted to the remembered users who are not to be treated as expired, when displaying an IM client display to a user of the IM client.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the different visual representation comprises using an italicized font when displaying names or nicknames of the remembered users who are to be treated as expired, as contrasted to a non-italicized font used when displaying names or nicknames of the remembered users who are not to be treated as expired.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein the different visual representation comprises automatically moving, to a selected location that is distinct from the IM client display, the names or nicknames of the remembered users who are to be treated as expired when displaying the IM client display to the IM client user.

20. A system for managing user information in an instant messaging (“

IM”

) system, comprising;

an IM client;

means for determining, for the IM client, whether users remembered by the IM client should be treated as expired; and

means for omitting those users which are to be treated as expired when performing selected IM management functions.

21. The system according to claim 20, wherein the means for omitting omits the users when performing presence determination.

22. The system according to claim 20, wherein the means for determining further comprises means for comparing a first date when an instant message last arrived from a particular user to a second date selected by a user of the IM client.

23. The system according to claim 20, wherein the means for determining further comprises means for determining whether an instant message last arrived from a particular user more than a specified length of time before a current time.

24. The system according to claim 20, wherein the means for determining further comprises means for selecting, by a user of the IM client, one or more users that will then be automatically treated as currently expired.

25. The system according to claim 20, wherein the means for determining is performed upon occurrence of a scheduled action that analyzes expiration information for each presently-unexpired user.

26. The system according to claim 20, wherein the means for determining and means for omitting are also performed for user groups remembered by the IM client.

27. The system according to claim 20, further comprising:

means for receiving an inbound message from a particular user who is being treated as expired; and

means for automatically treating the particular user as no longer expired, responsive to the means for receiving.

28. The system according to claim 20, further comprising:

means for sending an outbound message from the IM client to a particular user who is being treated as expired; and

means for automatically treating the particular user as no longer expired, responsive to the means for sending.

29. The system according to claim 20, further comprising means for using a distinct visual indicator for those users who are being treated as expired when presenting those users'"'"' names on a display to a user of the IM client.

30. The system according to claim 20, wherein the users remembered by the IM client are those users having entries in an address book used by the IM client.

31. A computer program product for managing user information in an instant messaging (“

IM”

) system, the computer program product embodied on one or more computer-readable media and comprising;

computer-readable program code means for determining, for an IM client, whether users remembered by the IM client should be treated as expired; and

computer-readable program code means for omitting those users which are to be treated as expired when performing selected IM management functions.

32. The computer program product according to claim 31, wherein the computer-readable program code means for omitting omits the users when performing presence determination.

33. The computer program product according to claim 31, wherein the computer-readable program code means for determining further comprises computer-readable program code means for comparing a first date when an instant message was last sent by a user of the IM client to a particular user to a second date selected by the IM client user.

34. The computer program product according to claim 31, wherein the computer-readable program code means for determining further comprises computer-readable program code means for determining whether an instant message was last sent by a user of the IM client user to a particular user more than a specified length of time before a current time.

35. The computer program product according to claim 31, wherein the computer-readable program code means for determining further comprises computer-readable program code means for selecting, by a user of the IM client, one or more users that will then be automatically treated as currently expired.

36. The computer program product according to claim 31, wherein the computer-readable program code means for determining further comprises:

computer-readable program code means for scheduling an expiration action for each of one or more of the remembered users; and

computer-readable program code means for treating each of the remembered users as expired upon executing the scheduled expiration action for that remembered user.

37. The computer program product according to claim 31, wherein the computer-readable program code means for determining and the computer-readable program code means for omitting are also performed for user groups remembered by the IM client.

38. The computer program product according to claim 31, wherein the computer-readable program code means for determining uses default expiration criteria and further comprising computer-readable program code means for enabling a user of the IM client to selectively override the default expiration criteria.

39. The computer program product according to claim 31, further comprising computer-readable program code means for using a distinct visual indicator for those users who are being treated as expired when presenting those users'"'"' names on a display to a user of the IM client.

40. The computer program product according to claim 31, wherein the users remembered by the IM client are those users having entries in an address book used by the IM client.