Policy-enabled aggregation of IM User communities

• US 20090037973A1
• Filed: 08/02/2007
• Published: 02/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sound View Innovations, LLC (Sound View Innovation Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: McFarlane, Brad, Gustave, Christophe, Chow, Stanley TaiHai
• Granted Patent: US 8,266,671 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6263 during internet communication, e.g. revealing personal data from cookies

Abstract

A method of automatically aggregating an online user community, and graphical user interface for same, the method including one or more of the following: a user creating the online community; the user defining an aggregation policy for the online user community; a service provider retrieving the aggregation policy; the service provider applying the aggregation policy to an other user; determining whether the other user fits the aggregation policy; adding the other user to the online user community; the user defining an anti-aggregation policy; the service provider retrieving the anti-aggregation policy; determining whether the other user fits the anti-aggregation policy; and removing the other user from the online user community when the other user fits the anti-aggregation policy.

Claims

1. A method of automatically aggregating an online user community, comprising:

a user creating the online community;

the user defining an aggregation policy for the online user community;

a service provider retrieving the aggregation policy;

the service provider applying the aggregation policy to an other user;

determining whether the other user fits the aggregation policy;

adding the other user to the online user community;

the user defining an anti-aggregation policy;

the service provider retrieving the anti-aggregation policy;

determining whether the other user fits the anti-aggregation policy; and

removing the other user from the online user community when the other user fits the anti-aggregation policy.

2. The method of automatically aggregating an online user community, according to claim 1, further comprising the user triggering aggregation for the online user community.

3. The method of automatically aggregating an online user community, according to claim 1, further comprising the service provider sending an add request to the other user.

4. The method of automatically aggregating an online user community, according to claim 3, further comprising the other user accepting the add request.

5. The method of automatically aggregating an online user community, according to claim 1, further comprising determining that an additional other user exists and repeating the service provider applying the aggregation policy to the additional other user.

6. The method of automatically aggregating an online user community, according to claim 1, wherein defining the aggregation policy includes defining a criteria selected from the list consisting of one or more interests of the user, a physical location of the user, a gender of the user, and an age of the user.

7. The method of automatically aggregating an online user community, according to claim 1, further comprising the user creating a plurality of online communities, wherein the user has a unified view of all of the plurality of online communities.

8. The method of automatically aggregating an online user community, according to claim 1, further comprising the user creating a plurality of online communities, and the service provider providing the user and automated view of the plurality of online communities.

9. The method of automatically aggregating an online user community, according to claim 1, wherein a membership of the online community is determined transparently from a peer perspective.

10. The method of automatically aggregating an online user community, according to claim 1, wherein private information about the user is not available to the other user and private information about the other user is not available to the user.

11. The method of automatically aggregating an online user community, according to claim 1, further comprising communicating through a communication network.

12. The method of automatically aggregating an online user community, according to claim 11, wherein the communication network is the Internet.

13. The method of automatically aggregating an online user community, according to claim 11, wherein the communication network is an instant messaging network.

14. The method of automatically aggregating an online user community, according to claim 1, wherein an identity of the user and an identity of the other user correspond to an e-mail address of the user and an e-mail address of the other user.

15. The method of automatically aggregating an online user community, according to claim 1, further comprising determining whether a pre-determined maximum capacity of the online community has been reached.

16. A graphical user interface for an online user community, comprising:

a list of a user'"'"'s online user communities, wherein each of the user'"'"'s online user communities lists other users that are members of each of the user'"'"'s online user communities; and

a list of an other user'"'"'s other communities consisting of the user'"'"'s online user communities.

17. The graphical user interface, according to claim 16, wherein a service provider initiates a delete request to users in the other communities whose aggregation policy no longer matches a profile of the user when the user modifies the profile.

18. The graphical user interface, according to claim 16, wherein a service provider initiates an add request to communities having an aggregation policy that matches a profile of the user when the user modifies the profile.

19. The graphical user interface, according to claim 16, wherein a service provider initiates a delete request to users in the list of the user'"'"'s online communities when a profile of the user is deleted.

20. The graphical user interface, according to claim 16, wherein a service provider initiates a delete request to users in the other communities when a profile of the user is deleted.