TECHNIQUES FOR ENABLING ANONYMOUS INTERACTIVE COMMUNICATION
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- storing, by a computer system, account information for a plurality of users, the account information including anonymous identifiers for a first user and a second user and non-anonymous identifiers for the first user and the second user;
receiving, by the computer system, a first message from the first user, the first message being addressed from the anonymous identifier of the first user and being addressed to the non-anonymous identifier of the second user;
delivering, by the computer system, the first message to the second user;
receiving, by the computer system, a second message from the second user in response to the first message, the second message being addressed from the non-anonymous identifier of the second user and being addressed to the anonymous identifier of the first user; and
delivering, by the computer system, the second message to the first user.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques for enabling interactive (e.g., two-way) electronic communication between parties where one party remains anonymous. In one set of embodiments, a system is provided that can store anonymous and non-anonymous identifiers for a group of users. The system can receive, from a first user, an anonymous message addressed from the anonymous identifier of the first user and addressed to the non-anonymous identifier of a second user. The system can then deliver the anonymous message to the second user. The system can further receive, from the second user, a reply message in response to the anonymous message that is addressed from the non-anonymous identifier of the second user and addressed to the anonymous identifier of the first user. The system can then deliver the reply message to the first user. In this manner, the first and second users can communicate interactively while maintaining the anonymity of the first user.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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storing, by a computer system, account information for a plurality of users, the account information including anonymous identifiers for a first user and a second user and non-anonymous identifiers for the first user and the second user; receiving, by the computer system, a first message from the first user, the first message being addressed from the anonymous identifier of the first user and being addressed to the non-anonymous identifier of the second user; delivering, by the computer system, the first message to the second user; receiving, by the computer system, a second message from the second user in response to the first message, the second message being addressed from the non-anonymous identifier of the second user and being addressed to the anonymous identifier of the first user; and delivering, by the computer system, the second message to the first user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon program code executable by a computer system, the program code comprising:
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code that causes the computer system to store account information for a plurality of users, the account information including anonymous identifiers for a first user and a second user and non-anonymous identifiers for the first user and the second user; code that causes the computer system to receive a first message from the first user, the first message being addressed from the anonymous identifier of the first user and being addressed to the non-anonymous identifier of the second user; code that causes the computer system to deliver the first message to the second user; code that causes the computer system to receive a second message from the second user in response to the first message, the second message being addressed from the non-anonymous identifier of the second user and being addressed to the anonymous identifier of the first user; and code that causes the computer system to deliver the second message to the first user.
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21. A system comprising:
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a storage device configured to store account information for a first user and a second user, the account information including anonymous identifiers for the first user and the second user and non-anonymous identifiers for the first user and the second user; and a processor in communication with the storage device, the processor being configured to; store account information for a plurality of users, the account information including anonymous identifiers for a first user and a second user and non-anonymous identifiers for the first user and the second user; receive a first message from the first user, the first message being addressed from the anonymous identifier of the first user and being addressed to the non-anonymous identifier of the second user; deliver the first message to the second user; receive a second message from the second user in response to the first message, the second message being addressed from the non-anonymous identifier of the second user and being addressed to the anonymous identifier of the first user; and deliver the second message to the first user.
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Specification