System and method for adaptive forums communication

• US 20050125504A1
• Filed: 01/13/2005
• Published: 06/09/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Computer Products for Education Incorporated
• Original Assignee: NeonGeckocom Incorporated (NeonGecko.com)
• Inventors: Leeds, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 7,424,516 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1831 Tracking arrangements for later retrieval, e.g. recording contents, participants activities or behavior, network status
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A system and method for adaptive forums provides multiple communication forums in a single instance of a web browser application that actively adapts to conversations therein. In a preferred embodiment, a server system acts as a master controller of a plurality of communication forums. An agent running in the background on the server system monitors the conversations of each forum. When the conversations of different forums sufficiently converge, a temporary communication link is formed. A communication link may be a two-way real-time interaction between users of different forums or simply automated responses using messages stored in a database and associated with the linked forum. Furthermore, establishing the link may entail opening another communication forum on the client computer or directing the messages to a currently open forum. Once a user has connected to one forum controlled by the server system, access to all the other forums controlled by the server system is provided. Embodiments of the present invention provide increased usability over conventional single forum communication, thereby providing users with quick and efficient access to vast amounts of information.

Claims

1. A method to provide adaptive forums within a single instance of a web browser application, the method comprising:

sending an indication of a first uniform resource locator (“

URL”

) from a client computer to a server computer across a network communicatively linking the client computer and the server computer;

collecting stored data from at least one of the client computer and the server computer;

collecting personalized data about a user of the client computer;

displaying a screen including one or more first forums on the client computer based on the first URL, the collected stored data, and the collected personalized data; and

analyzing messages posted to the one or more first forums as displayed on the client computer to determine if one or more additional forums are to be concurrently displayed with the one or more first forums.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the collecting personalized data further includes:

sending queries from the server computer to the client computer during a key chat when the client computer initially connects to a forum controlled by the server computer; and

storing responses to the queries in one or more storage devices communicatively linked to the server computer.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicatively linking selected ones of the one or more first forums and the one or more additional forums with other forums containing related message content based on the messages posted to the one or more first forums and the one or more additional forums.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising selectively responding to messages posted to one of the one or more first forums and the one or more additional forums by the client computer with messages stored in a database.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first URL particularly identifies one of the one or more first forums.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more first forums and the one or more additional forums are chat forums.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the collected stored data includes information collected from previous forum connections and stored in a database on the server computer or a cookie on the client computer.

8. The method of claim 1, further including posting a message to one of the one or more first forums and the one or more additional forums by inputting data into a pull-down menu without overwriting an entire image displayed in the web browser application.

9. The method of claim 1, further displaying a selected one of the one or more first forums and the one or more additional forums according to a priority ranking.

10. The method of claim 1, further including associating the client computer with a plurality of forums, to receive via e-mail, messages posted to the plurality of forums.

11. An adaptive forums display imbedded within a single instance of a web browser application running on a client computer, the display comprising:

a first display portion having a plurality of sub-portions, each sub-portion having a communication forum for displaying messages posted to the communication forum, the communication forum associated with a uniform resource locator sent by the client computer to a server computer and associated with data stored in one or more storage devices communicatively linked to the server computer; and

a second display portion for selecting which forums to display in the first portion.

12. The adaptive forums display of claim 11 wherein the second display portion is a navigator bar.

13. The adaptive forums display of claim 11, further comprising one or more advertisement portions each for display of advertisements based at least in part on one or more of the messages posted to the communication forums in the first display portion and personal data of a user of the client computer.

14. The adaptive forums display of claim 11 wherein the sub-portions of the first display portion are configured to substantially equally share an area of the first portion.

15. The adaptive forums display of claim 11 wherein a user of the client computer can select a maximum number of communication forums in the first display portion.

16. A server system communicatively linked to one or more client computers, the client computers being operated by users having associated information, the server system comprising:

adaptive forums;

a client database configured to store the associated information of the users of the one or more client computers as collected during one or more previous communication sessions with each of the one or more client computers and at least in part by a current communication session with each of the one or more client computers;

a message database configured to store messages posted to the adaptive forums by the users;

an agent configured to open the adaptive forums within a single instance of a web browser application running on the one or more client computers, the agent comprising;

a client data collector configured to collect and analyze data associated with communication in each of the adaptive forums and received from the one or more client computers, the data including the associated information of the users;

a presentation formulator configured to formulate screen images including adaptive forums and advertisements for display on each of the one or more client computers;

a message parser configured to parse messages posted to the adaptive forums from the client computers; and

a search engine configured to search the message database for stored messages relating to the parsed messages and to be posted to the appropriate adaptive forum by the presentation formulator; and

a web server communicatively connected to the one or more client computers to send the screen images formulated by the presentation formulator to the one or more client computers.

17. The server system of claim 16 wherein the adaptive forums are web sites stored on a storage device of the server system.

18. The server system of claim 16 wherein the screen images formulated by the presentation formulator have a plurality of adjustable settings that are retained between different communication sessions and based at least in part on the associated information of the users.

19. The server system of claim 16 wherein the message database is further configured to store a list of words and phrases associated with each adaptive forum for use by the agent when determining which adaptive forums to open on the one or more client computers.

20. A client computer communicatively linked to a server system used to display adaptive forums, the client computer comprising:

a display screen displaying at least a web browser application containing concurrent adaptive forums;

a storage device configured to store processes and data; and

a cookie configured to manage storage of cookie data onto the storage device, the cookie data configured to be used by the server system to formulate a screen image for displaying the concurrent adaptive forums on the client computer, the adaptive forums being controlled by the server system.

21. The client computer of claim 20 wherein the cookie data is further configured to be used by the server system to determine which forums to open on the screen of the client computer.

22. A computer data signal embodied in a transmission medium configured to instruct a client computer communicatively linked to the transmission medium to perform a method of adaptive forums, the method comprising:

displaying concurrently one or more first forums within a single instance of a web browser application;

analyzing first posted messages to the one or more first forums displayed on a screen of the client computer to determine if one or more additional forums are to be displayed concurrently with the one or more first forums within the single instance of the web browser application; and

linking communicatively selected ones of the one or more first forums and the one or more additional forums with other forums containing related messages based on the first posted messages and second posted messages to the one or more additional forums.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising selectively responding to the first posted messages and the second posted messages by the client computer with other messages stored in a database.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein the one or more first forums and the one or more additional forums are chat forums.

25. The method of claim 22, further including posting a message to one of the one or more first forums and the one or more additional forums by inputting data into a pulldown menu without overwriting an entire image displayed in the web browser application.

26. The method of claim 22, further displaying a selected one of the one or more first forums and the one or more additional forums according to a priority ranking.

27. The method of claim 22, further including associating the client computer with a plurality of adaptive forums, to receive via email, messages posted to the plurality of adaptive forums.

28. The method of claim 22, further including automatically formatting the one or more first forums and the one or more additional forums to substantially equally share an area on the screen of the client computer.

29. A computer data signal embodied in a transmission medium configured to instruct a client computer communicatively linked to the transmission medium to perform a method of adaptive forums, the method comprising:

displaying concurrently one or more first forums within a single instance of a web browser application;

analyzing first posted messages to the one or more first forums displayed on a screen of the client computer to determine if one or more additional forums are to be displayed concurrently with the one or more first forums within the single instance of the web browser application;

linking communicatively selected ones of the one or more first forums and the one or more additional forums with other forums containing related messages based on the first posted messages and second posted messages to the one or more additional forums;

displaying a selected one of the one or more first forums and the one or more additional forums according to a priority ranking; and

associating the client computer with a plurality of adaptive forums, to receive messages posted to the plurality of adaptive forums.