Communication support method and system

• US 6,978,292 B1
• Filed: 09/21/2000
• Issued: 12/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Yasuhide, Murakami, Masahiko, Kihara, Hideto
• Primary Examiner(s): Follansbee, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, PHILIP C
• Application Number:
  US09/666,859
• Time in Patent Office: 1,916 Days
• Field of Search: 709/205, 709/204, 709/225, 709/227, 709/200, 709/224, 706/15, 706/45, 345/835, 345/349
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

A communication support method system to ease make selection of a virtual space in a chat system. Category DB 22, which accumulates URLs and URL categories, is prepared. A URL said in a channel, its category, and the channel name are written to a URL table. The total sum of categories of URLs said in a channel becomes the channel characteristics. Channel characteristics are displayed in a window, etc. at an IRC client. After finding the total sum of URL categories, the weighting of URLs that conform to the chat contents should be immediately increased so that the channel characteristics better reflect the chat contents. For example, this includes increasing the weighting of URLs said by users who spend a long time in the channel or users who are active in sending messages. This also includes increasing the weighting of URLs which result in active chatting after the URL is said.

Claims

1. A communication support method used in a chat system structured to include chat devices connected to a network and which share virtual chat spaces configured on said network and which can send and receive messages among themselves, comprising:

associating and preparing specific keywords with specific keyword categories prior to recording a message volume, wherein messages sent or received in a virtual chat space have at least one of said specific keywords;

associating and storing said specific keywords and said specific keyword categories with virtual chat space identifiers of said virtual chat spaces;

calculating virtual chat space characteristics of said virtual chat spaces based on said specific keyword categories associated with the virtual chat spaces, the virtual chat space characteristics including a tabulation of relevance points associated with at least one of the specific keyword categories; and

reporting said virtual chat space characteristics to users of said chat devices by displaying at least one of a specific keyword category having a highest tabulation of relevance points and a list of highest relevance point tabulations associated with a plurality of the specific keyword categories,

wherein the message volume is recorded during a period of time after a message having at least one of the specific keywords is sent in the virtual chat space;

wherein the recorded message volume having at least one of the specific keywords is proportional to an amount of interest of at least one user participating in the virtual chat space; and

wherein the virtual chat space characteristics are calculated based on the total of at least the relevance points associated with said specific keyword category weighted by the recorded message volume and by the period of time a chat device that sent or received a message having at least one of the specific keywords remains in the virtual chat space.

2. A communication support system used in a chat system structured to include chat devices connected to a network and which share virtual chat spaces configured on said network and which can send and receive messages among themselves, comprising:

a category table for associating and storing specific keywords with specific keyword categories prior to recording a message volume;

a virtual chat space table for associating and storing virtual chat space identifiers, said specific keywords sent into said virtual chat spaces, and said specific keyword categories;

a control means for reading said specific keyword categories from said category table and for writing the virtual chat space table said virtual chat space identifiers of said virtual chat spaces into which at least one of said specific keywords were sent, said specific keywords, and said specific keyword categories, wherein a message sent into virtual chat space is acquired from said chat system and said message has at least one of said specific keywords;

a decision means for calculating virtual chat space characteristics of said virtual chat space based on said specific keyword categories associated with the virtual chat spaces, the virtual chat space characteristics including a tabulation of relevance points associated with at least one of the specific keyword categories; and

an output means for outputting said characteristics of said virtual chat spaces by displaying at least one of the specific keyword category having a highest tabulation of relevance points and a list of highest relevance point tabulations associated with a plurality of the specific keyword categories,

wherein the message volume is recorded during a period of time after a message having at least one of the specific keywords is sent in the virtual chat space;

wherein the recorded message volume having at least one of the specific keywords is proportional to an amount of interest of at least one user participating in the virtual chat space; and

wherein the virtual chat space characteristics are calculated based on the total of at least the relevance points associated with said specific keyword category weighted by the recorded message volume and by the period of time a chat device that sent or received a message having at least one of the specific keywords remains in the virtual chat space.

3. The communication support system of claim 2, wherein said communication support system is additionally provided with a message volume storage means for storing message volume determined from a volume of messages sent from chat devices for each virtual space;

and

said decision means calculates said virtual space characteristics based on said keyword categories sent by chat devices in accordance with said message volume of chat devices in said virtual spaces.

4. The communication support system of claim 2, wherein said decision means acquires specific rights that a chat device has in regard to a virtual space from the chat system, and calculates said virtual space characteristics based on said keyword categories sent by said chat devices in accordance with the rights of said chat devices in said virtual spaces.

5. The communication support system of claim 2, wherein said decision means compares said virtual spaces characteristics and a keyword category and decides whether or not to report a message to other chat devices wherein said message including a keyword is sent from a chat device into a virtual space;

and said chat system sends the message in accordance with said decision.

6. The communication support system of claim 5, wherein decision means instructs the chat system to expel a chat device that sent an unsuitable message from a virtual space upon deciding that said message will not be reported to other chat devices;

and

said chat system expels said chat device that sent said message from said virtual space in accordance with said instruction.

7. The communication support system of claim 5, wherein said decision means additionally has a blacklist that records chat devices that sent unsuitable messages wherein said decision means decided that said messages would not be reported to other chat devices,

said decision means decides that said messages will not be reported to other chat devices wherein the sending sources of said messages acquired from the chat system are included on said blacklist.

8. The communication support system of claim 5, wherein said decision means decides whether to expel a chat device that sent an unsuitable message from a virtual space or to report a sent message to other chat devices based on the results of comparing virtual space characteristics and a keyword category.

9. The communication support system of claim 2, wherein said control means additionally acquires a message time of a message that includes at least one of said keyword from said chat system, and additionally writes said message time to said virtual space table, and deletes said keywords and keyword categories from said virtual space table wherein a specified time has elapsed since said message time.

10. A computer-readable recording medium on which is a recorded communication support program used in an information terminal capable of broadcasting a message to chat devices which share virtual chat spaces configured on a network and can send and receive messages among themselves, the control program executing the stages comprising:

preparing a category table for associating and storing specific keywords with specific keyword categories prior to recording a message volume;

preparing a virtual chat space table for associating and storing virtual chat space identifiers of said virtual chat spaces, said specific keywords sent into said virtual chat spaces, and said specific keyword categories;

reading said specific keyword categories from said category tables and writing to the virtual chat space table said virtual chat space identifiers of said virtual chat spaces into which said specific keywords were sent, said specific keywords, and said specific keyword categories, wherein a message sent in virtual chat space is acquired from said chat system and the message has at least one of said specific keywords;

calculating virtual chat space characteristics of said virtual chat spaces based on said specific keyword categories associated with said virtual chat spaces, the virtual chat space characteristics including a tabulation of relevance points associated with at least one of the specific keyword categories; and

outputting said characteristics of said virtual chat spaces by displaying at least one of the specific keyword category having a highest tabulation of relevance points and a list of highest relevance point tabulations associated with a plurality of the specific keyword categories,

wherein the message volume is recorded during a period of time after a message having at least one of the specific keywords is sent in the virtual chat space;

wherein the recorded message volume having at least one of the specific keywords is proportional to an amount of interest of at least one user participating in the virtual chat space; and

wherein the virtual chat space characteristics are calculated based on the total of at least the relevance points associated with said specific keyword category weighted by the recorded message volume and by the period of time a chat device that sent or received a message having at least one of the specific keywords remains in the virtual chat space.