ADVANCED DISCUSSION THREAD MANAGEMENT USING A TAG-BASED CATEGORIZATION SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A method of discussion thread management, comprising:
- enabling users to define user-defined tags and to associate said user defined tags with posts in a discussion thread;
automatically generating system-generated tags, wherein said system-generated tags are determined by analyzing the contents of all posts in a sub-thread of said discussion thread, wherein said sub-thread is made up of a selected post in said discussion thread that is a root post of said sub-thread, posts that are replies to said root post of said sub-thread, and all posts contained in any other sub-threads having root posts located under said root post of said sub-thread;
associating said system-generated tags with said selected post;
enabling a moderator user to promote a number of said system-generated tags to moderator-promoted tags; and
determining, responsive to said user-defined tags, said system-generated tags, and said moderator-promoted tags, whether said sub-thread is off-topic with respect to said discussion thread.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for discussion thread management using tag-based categorization, in which three types of tags are provided together to enable effective categorization of discussion threads, based on both automated and manual tagging. The three tag types are 1) user-defined tags, 2) moderator-promoted tags, and 3) system-generated tags. User-defined tags are arbitrarily defined by individual users and associated by users with posts to meet specific user needs. System-generated tags are automatically generated for each sub-thread to summarize a post and all the replies beneath it. System-generated tags can be promoted to a moderator-promoted tags when a moderator user verifies the correctness of a system-generated tag. The disclosed system detects topic changes in discussion threads based on the tags associated with each post in the thread. A moderator can manually examine sub-threads that have been determined to be off topic, and take appropriate actions. For example, a moderator may delete an off topic post or sub-thread, or fork a new thread of discussion for an off-topic sub-thread. Such processing of off-topic sub-threads can alternatively be made by the disclosed system automatically, without moderator intervention. Moderators can also define policies to control discussion moderation based on the disclosed tags and off-topic determinations.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method of discussion thread management, comprising:
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enabling users to define user-defined tags and to associate said user defined tags with posts in a discussion thread; automatically generating system-generated tags, wherein said system-generated tags are determined by analyzing the contents of all posts in a sub-thread of said discussion thread, wherein said sub-thread is made up of a selected post in said discussion thread that is a root post of said sub-thread, posts that are replies to said root post of said sub-thread, and all posts contained in any other sub-threads having root posts located under said root post of said sub-thread; associating said system-generated tags with said selected post; enabling a moderator user to promote a number of said system-generated tags to moderator-promoted tags; and determining, responsive to said user-defined tags, said system-generated tags, and said moderator-promoted tags, whether said sub-thread is off-topic with respect to said discussion thread. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system including a computer readable medium, said computer readable medium having program code stored thereon for discussion thread management, said program code comprising:
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program code for enabling users to define user-defined tags and to associate said user defined tags with posts in a discussion thread; program code for automatically generating system-generated tags, wherein said system-generated tags are determined by analyzing the contents of all posts in a sub-thread of said discussion thread, wherein said sub-thread is made up of a selected post in said discussion thread that is a root post of said sub-thread, posts that are replies to said root post of said sub-thread, and all posts contained in any other sub-threads having root posts located under said root post of said sub-thread; program code for associating said system-generated tags with said selected post; program code for enabling a moderator user to promote a number of said system-generated tags to moderator-promoted tags; and program code for determining, responsive to said user-defined tags, said system-generated tags, and said moderator-promoted tags, whether said sub-thread is off-topic with respect to said discussion thread. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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9. The system of claim 9, said program code further comprising:
program code for, in the event said sub-thread is determined to be off-topic with respect to said discussion thread, moving said sub-thread to a new discussion thread. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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15. A computer program product including a computer readable medium, said computer readable medium having program code stored thereon for discussion thread management, said program code comprising:
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program code for enabling users to define user-defined tags and to associate said user defined tags with posts in a discussion thread; program code for automatically generating system-generated tags, wherein said system-generated tags are determined by analyzing the contents of all posts in a sub-thread of said discussion thread, wherein said sub-thread is made up of a selected post in said discussion thread that is a root post of said sub-thread, posts that are replies to said root post of said sub-thread, and all posts contained in any other sub-threads having root posts located under said root post of said sub-thread; program code for associating said system-generated tags with said selected post; program code for enabling a moderator user to promote a number of said system-generated tags to moderator-promoted tags; and program code for determining, responsive to said user-defined tags, said system-generated tags, and said moderator-promoted tags, whether said sub-thread is off-topic with respect to said discussion thread.
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16. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave, said computer data signal having program code stored thereon for discussion thread management, said program code comprising:
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program code for enabling users to define user-defined tags and to associate said user defined tags with posts in a discussion thread; program code for automatically generating system-generated tags, wherein said system-generated tags are determined by analyzing the contents of all posts in a sub-thread of said discussion thread, wherein said sub-thread is made up of a selected post in said discussion thread that is a root post of said sub-thread, posts that are replies to said root post of said sub-thread, and all posts contained in any other sub-threads having root posts located under said root post of said sub-thread; program code for associating said system-generated tags with said selected post; program code for enabling a moderator user to promote a number of said system-generated tags to moderator-promoted tags; and program code for determining, responsive to said user-defined tags, said system-generated tags, and said moderator-promoted tags, whether said sub-thread is off-topic with respect to said discussion thread.
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17. A system for discussion thread management, said program code comprising:
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means for enabling users to define user-defined tags and to associate said user defined tags with posts in a discussion thread; means for automatically generating system-generated tags, wherein said system-generated tags are determined by analyzing the contents of all posts in a sub-thread of said discussion thread, wherein said sub-thread is made up of a selected post in said discussion thread that is a root post of said sub-thread, posts that are replies to said root post of said sub-thread, and all posts contained in any other sub-threads having root posts located under said root post of said sub-thread; means for associating said system-generated tags with said selected post; means for enabling a moderator user to promote a number of said system-generated tags to moderator-promoted tags; and means for determining, responsive to said user-defined tags, said system-generated tags, and said moderator-promoted tags, whether said sub-thread is off-topic with respect to said discussion thread.
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Specification