Electronic bulletin board system

• US 6,438,632 B1
• Filed: 11/09/1999
• Issued: 08/20/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gala, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Gala, Inc.
• Inventors: Kikugawa, Satoru
• Primary Examiner(s): Dharia, Rupal
• Application Number:
  US09/423,599
• Time in Patent Office: 1,015 Days
• Field of Search: 710/100, 710/305-317, 709/204-207, 709/225, 707/530-541, 713/200-202
• US Class Current: 710/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1813 for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms instant messaging H04L51/04; protocols for multimedia communication H04L65/1101; arrangements for multi-party communication H04L65/403; telephonic conference arrangements H04M3/56; television conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking

Abstract

A message desired to be posted on an electronic bulletin board sent from a user'"'"'s computer is checked with a posting-prohibited word list and a heed-required word list. In the posting-prohibited word list, words previously selected as those inadequate to be posted are registered. In the heed-required list, words previously selected as those to be heeded about the social reaction even though the message is allowed to be posted are registered. When the message desired to be posted includes no posting-prohibited word, the message is posted on an electronic bulletin board. When the message includes any heed-required word, the posting of the message is reported to an operation manager computer. When the message includes any posting-prohibited word, a letter screen indicating that the message cannot be posted is sent to the user s computer which has sent the message, and the operation manager computer is informed of the rejection of the posting.

Claims

1. An electronic bulletin board system comprising a server computer communicating with user'"'"'s computers through a network, performing an information mediate between the user'"'"'s computers by an electronic bulletin board function, said electronic bulletin board system:

sending out a message registration screen in response to a request from any user'"'"'s computer;

acquiring information written on the message registration screen by a person who wishes to post a message from the user'"'"'s computer;

checking the posting-desired message in said information written on the message registration screen, with reference to a post-prohibited word list where a post-prohibited word list including words preliminary selected as those which are inadequate to be posted on an electronic bulletin board are registered;

registering said message in the electronic bulletin board when the message includes no word in the post-prohibited word list;

sending out a letter screen saying that the message cannot be posted toward the user'"'"'s computer which has originated that message when the message includes any word in the post-prohibited word list, and getting a computer of an operation manager of said electronic bulletin board system notified of the event of rejecting the posting of said message.

2. The electronic bulletin board system according to claim 1, wherein said electronic bulletin board system

manages many electronic bulletin boards which can be individually accessed and provides the electronic bulletin boards to the user'"'"'s computers;

keeps notification addresses of said operating managers, who are composed of many bulletin board managers who sponsor said electronic bulletin boards respectively, and a system manager who manages the server computer including all of these electronic bulletin boards; and

sends out a letter screen saying that the message cannot be posted toward the user'"'"'s computer which has originated that message, and gets computers of said bulletin board managers and said system manager notified of the event that said message is rejected to post, when the message includes any word in the posting-prohibited word list.

3. The electronic bulletin board system according to claim 2, wherein

said posting-prohibited word list is logically divided into a common word list compiled for all of the electronic bulletin boards and individual word lists compiled individually for individual electronic bulletin boards;

and

said electronic bulletin board system does not get the computer of said system manager notified, when the posting-prohibited words included in the posting-desired message for a certain electronic bulletin board are not the ones in said common word list but the ones in said individual word list for that electronic bulletin board.

4. The electronic bulletin board system according to claim 3, wherein said electronic bulletin board system communicates with said bulletin board manger computer, and compiles said individual word list of posting-prohibited words for the corresponding electronic bulletin board in response to a request of said bulletin board manager.

5. The electronic bulletin board system according to claim 1, wherein said electronic bulletin board system

prepares a heed-required word list in addition to said posting-prohibited word list, and words previously selected as those to be heeded about a social reaction even though the message is allowed to be posted are registered in the heed-required word list;

checks the posting-desired message with reference to the heed-required word list in addition to the posting-prohibited word list; and

gets the computer of the operation manager of said electronic bulletin board system notified of the event of posting the message including the heed-required words on the electronic bulletin board, when the posting-desired message includes any word in the heed-required word list and no word in the posting-prohibited word list.

6. The electronic bulletin board system according to claim 5, wherein said electronic bulletin board system gets the computers of said bulletin board manager and said system manager notified of the event that the message including the heed-required words is posted, when the posting-desired message for a certain electronic bulletin board includes any word in the heed-required word list.

7. The electronic bulletin board system according to claim 6, wherein

said heed-required word list is logically divided into a common word list compiled for all of the electronic bulletin boards and individual word lists compiled individually for individual electronic bulletin boards;

and

said electronic bulletin board system does not get the computer of said system manager notified, when the heed-required words included in the posting-desired message for a certain electronic bulletin board are not the ones in said common word list but the ones in said individual word list for that electronic bulletin board.

8. The electronic bulletin board system according to claim 7, wherein said electronic bulletin board system communicates with said bulletin board manger computer, and compiles said individual word list of heed-required words for the corresponding electronic bulletin board in response to a request of said bulletin board manager.

9. The electronic bulletin board system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein said electronic bulletin board system gets the computer of said operation manager notified by sending an electronic mail informing the respective events to the electronic mail address of the corresponding operation manager.