Managing Status Information for Instant Messaging Users

• US 20100250692A1
• Filed: 06/05/2010
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kaminsky, David L., Ogle, David M.
• Application Number:
  US12/794,723
• Publication Number:
  US 20100250692A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed for managing instant messages, including the display of windows for incoming messages, as well as for managing status information for instant messaging users. In one aspect, an instant messaging user defines policy information to programmatically determine a response to an arriving instant message. As an example, the policy may control whether a new window will pop up for a newly-arriving message, and may specify other attributes of the window if desired. In another aspect, an instant messaging user defines attributes pertaining to how his instant messaging status will be presented to others.

Claims

1. A method of providing user-defined status information in an instant messaging (“

IM”

) system, comprising;

receiving an indication, by an IM client from a user of the IM client, that a particular IM status defined by the user is now applicable to the user;

storing, responsive to the receiving, the particular IM status in a repository that is accessible to other IM client users for determining, by the other IM client users, a currently-applicable IM status of the user of the IM client; and

responsive to queries of the repository by any of the other IM clients, providing the stored particular IM status as the currently-applicable IM status of the user of the IM client.

2. A method of providing user-defined status information in an instant messaging (“

IM”

) system, comprising;

receiving an indication, by an IM client from a user of the IM client, that a particular IM status defined by the user is now applicable to the user; and

sending the particular IM status from the IM client to other IM clients with which the IM client communicates using the IM system, for use by each selected one of the other IM clients in providing an indication, for the selected one of the other IM clients, of a currently-applicable IM status of the user of the IM client.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

receiving an arriving instant message at the IM client from a particular one of the other IM clients; and

responsive to the receiving, determining, by the IM client, whether an IM session already exists between the IM client and the particular one of the other IM clients and if so, displaying the received instant message in an already-opened IM window used for the existing IM session and if not, determining whether a new IM window should be opened at the IM client for the received instant message, further comprising;

consulting, by the IM client, stored policy information applicable to the user of the IM client to locate rules for responding to received instant messages; and

opening the new IM window and displaying the received instant message therein if the located rules indicate that the new IM window should be opened for the received instant message, and otherwise, suppressing the opening of the new IM window and providing an indicator to notify the user of the IM client that the received instant message has been received.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the sending further comprises sending at least one attribute associated with the currently-applicable IM status of the user.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the at least one attribute comprises at least one of:

a color to be used in the provided indication for the currently-applicable IM status of the user;

a text message to be used in the provided indication for the currently-applicable IM status of the user;

or a status label to be used in the provided indication for the currently-applicable IM status of the user.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein the sending further comprises sending the particular IM status using markup language syntax.