Moderated forums with anonymous but traceable contributions

• US 6,209,100 B1
• Filed: 03/27/1998
• Issued: 03/27/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: OʼShea, Cynthia A., Robertson, Sheldon I., Fortenberry, Keith N.
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, DIEU MINH T
• Application Number:
  US09/049,734
• Time in Patent Office: 1,096 Days
• Field of Search: 713/200, 713/201, 380/227, 380/282, 380/285, 705/74, 709/219, 455/410, 455/413
• US Class Current: 726/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/383 Anonymous user system
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/10 Services
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 90/00 Systems or methods specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial or supervisory purposes, not involving significant data processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0407 wherein the identity of one or more communicating identities is hidden cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for anonymous credentials or for identity based cryptographic systems H04L9/00

Abstract

A method for moderating forums with anonymous but traceable contributions, comprising the steps of: establishing and conducting a moderated forum; receiving from any anonymous contributor an anonymous message and data identifying the contributor'"'"'s actual user name and an anonymous designation; displaying the data identifying the actual user name and the anonymous designation only to at least one of a moderator and an administrator of the forum, the moderator having an opportunity to authorize or refuse publication of the anonymous message in accordance with rules of the forum and the at least one of the moderator and the administrator having an opportunity to attribute authorship of the anonymous message to the user for further reference; and, upon authorization of publication, publishing the anonymous message to the forum anonymously as to all other contributors.

Claims

1. A method for moderating forums with anonymous but traceable contributions, comprising the steps of:

establishing and conducting a moderated forum;

receiving from any anonymous contributor an anonymous post and data identifying said contributor'"'"'s actual user name and an anonymous designation;

displaying said data identifying said actual user name and said anonymous designation only to at least one of a moderator and an administrator of said forum, said moderator having an opportunity to authorize or refuse publication of said anonymous post in accordance with rules of the forum and said at least one of said moderator and said administrator having an opportunity to attribute authorship of said anonymous post to said user for further reference; and

,

upon authorization of publication, publishing said anonymous post to said forum anonymously as to all other contributors.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said data identifying said actual user name and said anonymous designation is displayed only to said administrator.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said data identifying said actual user name and said anonymous designation is displayed only to said moderator.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said data identifying said actual user name and said anonymous designation is displayed to both said moderator and said administrator.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said attributed and anonymous posts are user generated by a method comprising the steps of:

including in a post data representing said actual user name;

including in said post data representing said request for attributed or anonymous authorship of said post;

in the event attributed authorship is requested, transmitting with said post only said data representing said actual user name; and

,

in the event anonymous authorship is requested, transmitting both said data representing said actual user name and said data representing said request for said anonymous authorship.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein said attributed and anonymous posts are user generated by a method comprising the steps of:

including in a post data representing said actual user name;

including in said post data representing said request for attributed or anonymous authorship of said post;

in the event attributed authorship is requested, transmitting with said post only said data representing said actual user name; and

,

in the event anonymous authorship is requested, transmitting both said data representing said actual user name and said data representing said request for said anonymous authorship.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein said attributed and anonymous posts are user generated by a method comprising the steps of:

including in a post data representing said actual user name;

including in said post data representing said request for attributed or anonymous authorship of said post;

in the event attributed authorship is requested, transmitting with said post only said data representing said actual user name; and

,

in the event anonymous authorship is requested, transmitting both said data representing said actual user name and said data representing said request for said anonymous authorship.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein said attributed and anonymous posts are user generated by a method comprising the steps of:

including in a post data representing said actual user name;

including in said post data representing said request for attributed or anonymous authorship of said post;

in the event attributed authorship is requested, transmitting with said post only said data representing said actual user name; and

,

in the event anonymous authorship is requested, transmitting both said data representing said actual user name and said data representing said request for said anonymous authorship.

9. A method for posting attributed and anonymous postings to a moderated forum, comprising the steps of:

including in a post data representing an actual user name;

including in said post data representing a request for attributed or anonymous authorship of said message;

in the event attributed authorship is requested, transmitting with said post only said data representing said actual user name; and

,

in the event anonymous authorship is requested, transmitting both said data representing said actual user name and said data representing said request for said anonymous authorship,

whereby at least one of a moderator and an administrator of said forum has access to said data representing said actual user name and said data representing said request for said anonymous authorship, said moderator has an opportunity to authorize or refuse publication of said anonymous post in accordance with rules of said forum, said at least one of said moderator and said administrator has an opportunity to attribute authorship of said anonymous post to said user for further reference, and in the event publication of said anonymous post is authorized, said moderator can publish said anonymous post to said forum anonymously as to all other forum contributors.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of displaying said data representing said actual user name and said anonymous designation only to said administrator.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of displaying said data representing said actual user name and said anonymous designation only to said moderator.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of displaying said data representing said actual user name and said anonymous designation to both said moderator and said administrator.