Electronic bulletin board system and mail server

• US 7,111,042 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2001
• Issued: 09/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Gala, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Gala, Inc.
• Inventors: Kikugawa, Satoru
• Primary Examiner(s): Dharia, Rupal
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shingles, Kristie D.
• Application Number:
  US09/756,805
• Publication Number:
  US 20010018704A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,079 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/203, 709/204, 709/205, 345/752, 707/3, 707/2, 707/6, 707/10, 715/501.1, 715/526, 710/100
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9558 Details of hyperlinks; Management of linked annotations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation

Abstract

Disclosed is an electronic bulletin board system, which communicates with a user computer via a network, and mediates information exchange therebetween by an electronic bulletin board function. The electronic bulletin board is accompanied with a database of a notable words collection storing a plurality of words that are appropriately selected, each word in which is linked with a corresponding URL. A message text from a user computer is checked by using the notable words collection. When the message text does not include a notable word in the notable words collection, the message is posted on the bulletin board. When a notable word is found in the text, the notable word in the message text is converted into a hypertext format having the URL to which the word is linked as a link destination, and the message is posted on the bulletin board.

Claims

1. An electronic bulletin board system including a server computer with an electronic bulletin board function communicating with at least one user computer via a network for mediating information exchange therebetween, said server computer comprising:

a first database as a notable words collection storing a plurality of words that are appropriately selected;

a second database storing a plurality of records with text data;

a logic device inspecting a message text sent from a user computer of a person who wants to post a message by consulting the notable words collection, wherein

the message text is posted on the bulletin board when the message text does not include a notable word in the notable words collection;

the second database is searched by using the notable word as a keyword when the message text includes a notable word in the notable words collection, and if no records including the notable word exist in the second database, then the message text is posted on the bulletin board; and

when a record including the notable word exists as a result of searching the second database, the word in the message text is converted into a hypertext format having a URL generated properly to which the word is linked as a link destination, and the message text is posted on the bulletin board, the URL being so described as to constitute a start instruction to a search report program, which reports a result of searching the second database by using the notable word as a keyword, and

when the URL is sent from a specific user computer, the search report program is executed to return a set of report screen data of the search result to the specific user computer.

2. An electronic bulletin board system according to claim 1, wherein each record stored in the second database is linked with a corresponding URL, and the search report program generates a set of screen data including a hypertext having the URL to which the obtained record is linked as a link destination.

3. A mail server receiving an e-mail sent from a user computer via a network and sending the e-mail to the network directed to an e-mail address of a recipient of the e-mail, said mail server comprising:

a first database as a notable words collection storing a plurality of words that are appropriately selected;

a second database storing a plurality of records, each of the records including text data;

a logic device inspecting a message text in an e-mail sent from a user computer by consulting the notable words collection, wherein

the e-mail is sent to the e-mail address of the recipient when the message text does not include a notable word in the notable words collection;

the second database is searched by using the notable word as a keyword when the message text includes a notable word in the notable words collection, and if no records including the notable word exist in the second database, then sending the e-mail to the recipient; and

when a record including the notable word exists as a result of searching the second database, the notable word in the message text is converted into a hypertext format having a URL generated properly to which the notable word is linked as a link destination, and the e-mail is sent to the recipient, the URL being so described as to constitute a start instruction to a search report program, which reports a result of searching the second database by using the notable word as a keyword, and

when the URL is sent from a specific user computer, the search report program is executed to send a set of report screen data of the search result to the specific user computer.

4. A mail server according to claim 3, wherein each of the records stored in the second database is linked with a corresponding URL, and the search report program generates a set of screen data including a hypertext having the URL to which the obtained record is linked as a link destination.

5. A method of operating an electronic bulletin board system including a server computer with an electronic bulletin board function communicating with at least one user computer via a network for mediating information exchange therebetween, comprising:

inspecting a message text sent from a user computer of a person who wants to post a message by consulting a first database as a notable words collection storing a plurality of words that are appropriately selected;

posting the message text on the bulletin board when the message text does not include a notable word in the notable words collection;

searching a second database by using the notable word as a keyword when the message text includes a notable word in the notable words collection, and posting the message text on the bulletin board if no records including the notable word exist in the second database, the second database storing a plurality of records including text data; and

when a record including the notable word exists as a result of searching the text database, the notable word in the message text is converted into a hypertext format having a URL generated properly to which the word is linked as a link destination, and the message text is posted on the bulletin board, the URL being so described as to constitute a start instruction to a search report program, which reports a result of searching the second database by using the notable word as a keyword, and

when the URL is sent from a specific user computer, the search report program is executed to return a set of report screen data of the search result to the specific user computer.

6. A method of operating an electronic bulletin board system according to claim 5, wherein each record stored in the second database is linked with a corresponding URL, and the search report program generates a set of screen data including a hypertext having the URL to which the obtained record is linked as a link destination.

7. A method of operating a mail server for receiving an e-mail sent from a user computer via a network and sending the e-mail to the network directed to an e-mail address of a recipient of the e-mail, comprising:

inspecting a message text in an e-mail sent from a user computer by consulting a first database as a notable words collection storing a plurality of words that are appropriately selected;

sending the e-mail to the e-mail address of the recipient when the text does not include a notable word in the notable words collection;

searching a second database storing a plurality of records, each of which including text data, by using the notable word as a keyword when the message text includes a notable word in the notable words collection, and if no records including the notable word exist in the second database, then sending the email to the recipient; and

when a record including the notable word exists as a result of searching the second database, converting the notable word in the message text into a hypertext format having a URL generated properly to which the notable word is linked as a link destination, and sending the e-mail to the recipient, the URL being so described as to constitute a start instruction to a search report program, which reports a result of searching the second database by using the notable word as a keyword, and

when the URL is sent from a specific user computer, executing the search report program to send a set of report screen data of the search result to the specific user computer.

8. A method of operating a mail server according to claim 7, wherein each of the records stored in the second database is linked with a corresponding URL, and the search report program generates a set of screen data including a hypertext having the URL to which the obtained record is linked as a link destination.