Messages from Absent Participants in Online Conferencing

• US 20160134570A1
• Filed: 11/10/2014
• Published: 05/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Yin, Huahua, Cui, Mei, Tang, Hua, Wang, Lijuan
• Granted Patent: US 9,992,142 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/02 using automatic reactions or user delegation, e.g. automatic replies or chatbot-generated messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/38 Displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/565 relating to time schedule aspects

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method includes displaying, by a participant processor on a display device and during an online conference, a list of invited participants of the online conference. The list includes a declining one of the invited participants whom declined to participate in at least a part of the online conference. The method also includes indicating, by the participant processor on the display device and for the one of the invited participants whom declined to participate, a message having a reason for declining.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

displaying, by a participant processor on a display device and during an online conference, a list of invited participants of the online conference, the list including a declining one of the invited participants whom declined to participate in at least a part of the online conference; and

indicating, by the participant processor on the display device and for the one of the invited participants whom declined to participate, a message having a reason for declining.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein indicating comprises indicating while the declining one of the invited participants is not participating in the online conference.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein indicating the message ceases when the declining one of the invited participants joins the online conference.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein displaying the list comprises displaying the list with all of the declining invited participants, including the declining one, distinguished from attending invited participants.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein displaying the list comprises displaying the list as names, and wherein indicating comprises displaying a message icon adjacent to the name of the one of the invited participants whom declined to participate.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising outputting the message in response to selection of an indicator provided by the indicating.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein outputting the message comprises outputting the message as an audio recording from the one of the invited participants whom declined to participate.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein outputting the message comprises outputting the message as text typed by the one of the invited participants whom declined to participate.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein outputting the message comprises outputting the message as information parsed from an email, instant message, or a productivity tool of the online conference, the information provided in response to an invitation to participate.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein indicating comprises indicating only after confirmation of permission to indicate the message.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

confirming planned attendance by an operator of the participant processor to a host computer; and

receiving the list, including the operator, from an online conference server.

12. Logic encoded in one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that includes code for execution and when executed by a processor is operable to perform operations comprising:

receiving a communication that an invited participant of an online conference declines to attend;

extracting a message from content of the communication; and

providing the message as a reason for declining to attend.

13. The logic of claim 12 wherein receiving comprises receiving the communication as flagged as a response to an invitation for the online conference.

14. The logic of claim 12 wherein receiving the communication comprises receiving an e-mail, wherein extracting comprises parsing a body of a reply of the e-mail as the message, and wherein providing comprises formatting the message for a meeting server.

15. The logic of claim 12 wherein receiving the communication comprises receiving the communication as an entry in an application for the online conference, wherein extracting comprises receiving audio or text entered with the application, and wherein providing comprises formatting the message for a meeting server.

16. The logic of claim 12 wherein receiving the communication comprises receiving an instant message identified as a reply to an invitation, wherein extracting comprises parsing text of the replay as the message, and wherein providing comprises formatting the message for a meeting server.

17. The logic of claim 12 further comprising displaying, on a display, a list of invited attendees, including the invited participant, during the online conference, the list including an icon or the message by the invited participant who declined to attend.

18. An arrangement comprising:

an interface configured to receive a list of invited participants in an online conference and to receive a message declining an invitation to the online conference; and

a processor configured to display on a display device the list of the invited participants and to display the message for one of the invited participants corresponding to the declining of the invitation, the display being part of a user interface for the online conference.

19. The arrangement of claim 18 wherein the interface is configured to receive the list and the message from a server of the online conference, and wherein the processor is configured to display an icon by a name of the one of the invited participant corresponding to the declining of the invitation and configured to display the message in response to user input of selection of the icon.

20. The arrangement of claim 18 further comprising:

a server configured to extract the message from a body in a communication comprising an email, instant message, or online conference application entry, the communication comprising a reply to the invitation, and configured to output the list and the message to the interface.