Method and system for providing synchronous communication and person awareness in a place

• US 7,020,686 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2000
• Issued: 03/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wargaming.Net Limited
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Banatwala, Mustansir
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim, Krisna
• Application Number:
  US09/752,745
• Publication Number:
  US 20030014485A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,915 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/206, 709/207, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/224, 709/225, 709/226, 709/212, 709/248
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Collaboration space object model provides for a place consisting of rooms created by users interacting with a client browser. A skin (i.e., theme) may be used as template for creating places. PlaceBots (i.e., agents) provide for accessing, processing and managing data in a place. HTML may be dragged and dropped into a place, where it is parsed and corresponding place fields created. MS Excel or Word documents may be dragged and dropped into a place, which creates a corresponding form, and users may create new documents using that form. A place type comprising a template of an entire place, or collaboration space, may be used to create new places. Changes made to a place may be reported, subject to security controls, by selecting what'"'"'s new. Task fields are provided allowing web browser creation of forms for work flow. Place enabled objects are provided for synchronous communications. A quick browse feature provides a simplified format for browser windows based on selection of HTML links. MS Office documents may launched within a place for in place editing and importing the resulting document into the place.

Claims

1. Method for conducting communications within collaboration space, comprising the steps of:

organizing said collaboration space to include a place;

said place being implemented as a directory including two databases, main database including an access control list for specifying roles of users as managers, authors or readers authorized to access said place, and a names database specifying for said place those users authorized to access said place; and

establishing synchronous communications as a chat session between two or more parties visiting said place who pass authentication with respect to said access control list and said members list.

2. The method of claim 1, said collaboration space being further organized according to an object model including said place, and further including room, folder, page, member, form, field, placetype, roomtype, skin, and placebot objects.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

presenting said collaboration space to each said party at respective browsers;

displaying at said browsers a graphical user interface including a chat window for presenting to each said party the identity of other parties visiting said place and selectors for requesting and accepting said synchronous communications.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of:

responsive to place manager input, selectively enabling said synchronous communications.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

displaying a chat session transcript in respective chat windows to all parties participating in said chat session.

6. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of:

responsive to party selection, selectively opening or opening and minimizing said chat window, said chat session including those parties which have opened or opened and minimized said chat window.

7. Method for communicating between users in collaboration space, comprising the steps of:

establishing a place within said collaboration space including two databases, a main database including an access control list for specifying roles of users as managers, authors or readers authorized to access said place, and a names database specifying for said place those users authorized as members to access said place;

enabling a chat feature among members of said place;

authenticating a user as a member in said names database and as having a role in said access control list; and

responsive to member selection, enabling a user who is a member of said place to chat selectively with one other member, a plurality of other members, or with all members of said place who currently have an open chat window.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of:

displaying in a chat window of each member joining a chat session for said place a transcript of said session.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising the steps of:

responsive to user selection at said chat window, for said user selectively joining a chat session, sending a chat message, replying to a chat message, leaving said chat session, and extending a chat invitation to another user.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of opening said chat window to enable receipt of an invitation to join a chat session.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

displaying in said chat window a list of members currently active in said place; and

sending a chat message to a member selected from said list.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

selecting from said list a plurality of members currently active in said place; and

sending an invitation to join a chat session to said plurality of members.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step responsive to receiving a chat message from a first member of said place, communicating said chat message to all members currently active in said place.

14. The method of claim 13, said members currently active in said place being all members in said list, and said chat message being displayed in a transcript area of said chat window.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:

displaying an invitation dialog box at the browser of a member of said place receiving an invitation to join a chat session;

said invitation dialog box providing buttons for user selection to respond to said invitation to the sender only, to join said chat session, or to decline said invitation and close said dialog box.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of:

providing at said browser a selectable control for defining this user'"'"'s availability state and toggling off said chat feature to an awareness selector, said awareness selector upon selection displaying said list.

17. The method of claim 16, said awareness selector being reciprocal to prevent lurking.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of maintaining said availability state persistent across sessions.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of loading a transcript of a prior session to said chat window upon being opened.

20. System for synchronous communications between users in collaboration space, comprising:

a server;

a plurality of browsers for presenting user interfaces to a place in said collaboration space;

said place including two databases, a main database including an access control list for specifying roles of users as managers, authors or readers authorized to access said place, and a names database specifying for said place those users authorized as members to access said place; and

said user interface including a chat window for displaying messages and replies to messages as a temporary transcript of a chat session among members of said place authenticated with respect to said access control list and said names database.

21. The system of claim 20, further comprising:

said user interface including a sidebar selector for opening said chat session;

responsive to said selector, said chat window displaying a list of members with open chat windows to said place;

responsive to user selection of a selected member from said list, establishing synchronous communications with said selected member.

22. The system of claim 21, further comprising a selector button for minimizing said chat window thereby continuing said user as a member of said chat session while clearing said user interface of said chat window.

23. The system of claim 22, further comprising a chat button for opening said chat window to initiate a chat session and receive invitations to join chat sessions.

24. The system of claim 23, further comprising an option menu associated with said chat window for entering invitations to a plurality of members selected from said list to join a chat session.

25. The system of claim 24, further comprising a secure message selector operable upon selection to prevent interception of said messages and replies to messages.

26. The system of claim 24, further comprising:

an invitation dialog box for display at a browser of a member of said place receiving an invitation to join a chat session;

said invitation dialog box providing buttons for user selection to respond to said invitation to the sender only, to join said chat session, or to decline said invitation and close said dialog box.

27. The system of claim 26, further comprising:

a user selectable control for defining this user'"'"'s availability state and toggling off said chat feature to an awareness selector, said awareness selector upon selection displaying said list.

28. The system of claim 27, said awareness selector being reciprocal to prevent lurking.

29. The system of claim 27, said availability state being persistent across sessions.

30. The system of claim 29, said chat window further upon being opened loading a transcript of a prior session.

31. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform method steps for conducting communications within collaboration space, said method steps comprising:

organizing said collaboration space to include a place including two databases, a main database including an access control list for specifying roles of users as managers, authors or readers authorized to access said place, and a names database specifying for said place those users authorized as members to access said place;

said place being implemented as a directory; and

establishing synchronous communications as a chat session between two or more parties visiting said place who have been authenticated with reference to said access control list and said names database.

32. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform method steps for conducting communications within collaboration space, said method steps comprising:

establishing a place within said collaboration space and enabling a chat feature among members of said place;

said place including two databases, a main database including an access control list for specifying roles of users as managers, authors or readers authorized to access said place, and a names database specifying for said place those users authorized as members to access said place; and

responsive to member selection, enabling a user who is a member of said place to chat selectively with one other member, a plurality of other members, or with all members of said place who currently have an open chat window.

33. A computer-readable recording medium storing the program for conducting communications within collaboration space by organizing said collaboration space to include a place comprising two databases, a main database including an access control list for specifying roles of users as managers, authors or readers authorized to access said place, and a names database specifying for said place those users authorized as members to access said place;

said place being implemented as a directory; and

establishing synchronous communications as a chat session between two or more parties visiting said place.