Conversation persistence in real-time collaboration system

• US 20060155785A1
• Filed: 01/11/2005
• Published: 07/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Walker, Keith Raymond, Selvage, Mei Y., Handy-Bosma, John Hans, Chen, Yen-Fu, Hsu, Peter Y., Tannenbaum, Alan R., Berry, Richard Edmond, Temple, Anthony Christopher Courtney
• Granted Patent: US 7,483,899 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

Previously conducted conversations in real-time collaboration messages are persistently stored, either by client or a server, and then are associated with conversational items presented to a user (e.g. contact names, topics, etc.). An icon is provided near each listed item, which when selected, displays to the user summaries or titles of all transcripts to which the selected item pertains or relates. The user may select one or more summaries or titles for which the conversation is to be resumed, causing the system to retrieve the stored transcript and resume appending new conversational entries to it, so that the user recovers conversational context effortlessly and accurately. Enhanced versions of the invention include sharing of transcripts so that all participants receive the context of the conversation, and server-side or client-side implementations.

Claims

1. A system for resuming, displaying, archiving, and searching previously conducted conversations in real-time collaboration messages, said system comprising:

at least one persistently stored transcript of messages associated with one or more items of conversational items in a collaboration messaging user interface, said transcripts containing one or more breakpoints;

a user prompt indicating the availability of said transcripts;

a transcript opener configured to retrieve a transcript responsive to selection by a user;

a transcript display configured to display at least a portion of said retrieved transcript to said user; and

a transcript resumer configured to resume creation of said transcript by appending any newly authored or received messages associated with a conversational item.

2. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said user prompt comprises an icon displayed proximate to an associated conversational item.

3. The system as set forth in claim 2 wherein said icon is a note icon.

4. The system as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a messaging server for performing, at least in part, association of a persistently stored transcript of messages with one or more items in a list of conversational items.

5. The system as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a messaging client for performing, at least in part, association of at least one persistently stored transcript of messages with one or more items in a list of conversational items

6. The system as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a messaging server for performing, at least in part, prompting of said user to indicate availability of said transcript.

7. The system as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a messaging client for performing, at least in part, prompting of said user to indicate availability of said transcript.

8. The system as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a messaging server configured to retrieve a transcript.

9. The system as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a messaging client configured to retrieve a transcript.

10. The system as set forth in claim 1 further comprises a transcript transmitter configured to transmit said retrieved transcript to at least one other messaging client or messaging server.

11. The system as set forth in claim 10 wherein said transcript transmitter comprises a messaging server.

12. The system as set forth in claim 10 wherein said transcript transmitter comprises a messaging client.

13. The system as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a breakpoint creator configured to establishing a break point in a transcript.

14. The system as set forth in claim 13 wherein transcript resumer is further configured to resume creation of said transcript by appending newly authored or received message from a user-selected break point in said retrieved transcript.

15. The system as set forth in claim 14 further comprising a transcript copier configured to produce a plurality of copies of said retrieved transcript, wherein said transcript resumer is further configured to append said newly authored or received messages to a transcript copy according to a grouping of users such that multiple, simultaneous conversations are resumed from a common transcript and a common breakpoint.

16. The system as set forth in claim 15 further comprising a plurality of user-operable windows or frame displays, each window or frame displaying one of said resumed simultaneous conversations in an order of precedence according to a user preference.

17. The system as set forth in claim 13 further comprising an archiver configured to archive a portion of a transcript bounded by at least one user-established breakpoint.

18. The system as set forth in claim 17 further comprising a searcher configured to search one or more archived portions of transcripts for at least one user-indicated criteria.

19. The system as set forth in claim 13 wherein said breakpoint creator is configured to establish a breakpoint according to user input.

20. The system as set forth in claim 13 wherein said breakpoint creator is configured to establish breakpoints according to user-established preferences, rules, or conditions.