Facilitating Real-time Communications in Electronic Message Boards

• US 20110078588A1
• Filed: 09/30/2009
• Published: 03/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arlington Technologies, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Klemm, Reinhard Peter
• Granted Patent: US 9,094,354 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/753
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9558 Details of hyperlinks; Management of linked annotations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/18 Commands or executable codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services

Abstract

A method is provided in which a message board server receives a message that is posted by a first user and transmits a link to another user of the message board. When the link is activated, a communications session is established between the user who activated the link and a telecommunications session recipient.

Claims

1. A method comprising

receiving a first message;

editing the first message to include a link;

wherein;

i. the link contains an identifier,

ii. the identifier points to a first telecommunications terminal, and

iii. the identifier is different from the address of the telecommunications terminal in a telecommunications network to which the telecommunications terminal is connected.

transmitting the edited message to a first telecommunications terminal;

initiating a telecommunications session between the first telecommunications terminal and a second telecommunications terminal when the link is activated.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the content of the link depends on the content of the first message.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the content of the link depends on a characteristic of a person associated with the first telecommunications terminal.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the content of the link depends on a characteristic of the sender of the message.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the content of the link depends on the content of a second message, wherein the second message is authored by a person associated with the first telecommunications terminal.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein initiating a telecommunications session comprises:

initiating a first telecommunications session between the first telecommunications terminal and a message board server;

initiating a second telecommunications session between the message board server and the second telecommunications terminal; and

bridging the first telecommunications session with the second telecommunications session.

7. The method of claim 6 comprising transmitting a third message to the first telecommunications terminal, wherein the third message provides a clue that the second telecommunications session is related to the first message;

8. The method of claim 1 comprising editing the first message to include an availability indicator.

9. A method comprising:

receiving a first message from a first user;

receiving a second message from a second user, wherein the second message contains a rule for the selection of a telecommunications session recipient; and

transmitting a third message to a third user wherein;

i. the third message comprises a link,

ii. the link contains an identifier which is selected on the basis of the rule contained in the second message,

iii. the identifier points to a telecommunications terminal used by the second user, and

iv. the identifier is different from the address of the telecommunications terminal in a telecommunications network to which the terminal is connected.

10. The method of claim 9 comprising:

initiating a first telecommunications session between the third user and a message board server;

initiating a second telecommunications session between the message board server and the first telecommunications terminal; and

bridging the first telecommunications session with the second telecommunications session.

11. The method of claim 10 comprising transmitting a third message to the first telecommunications terminal, wherein the third message provides that the second telecommunications session is related to the first message;

12. A method of claim 9 wherein the third message comprises the first message.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the first user and the third user are the same person.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the first user and the third user are different persons.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the link is a button.

15. A method comprising displaying a message and a link at a first telecommunications terminal, wherein:

the link is associated with the message;

the link is associated with an identifier;

the identifier corresponds to the telecommunications network address to a second telecommunications terminal; and

the identifier is not a telecommunications network address.

17. A method comprising

receiving a message;

transmitting the message to a user;

transmitting a link to the user wherein the link points to a telecommunications session recipient, wherein the telecommunications session recipient is related to the message; and

initiating a telecommunications session between the user and the telecommunications session recipient when the link is activated.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the task of initiating a telecommunications session comprises:

initiating a first telecommunications session with the first user;

initiating a second telecommunications session with the telecommunications session recipient; and

bridging the first telecommunications session with the second telecommunications session.