Systems, methods, and software for building intelligent on-line communities

• US 7,162,508 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2002
• Issued: 01/09/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fintegraph, LLC (Ascend Innovation Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Bodyl Incorporated
• Inventors: Messina, Christopher P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky, Moustafa M.
• Application Number:
  US10/103,536
• Publication Number:
  US 20030061215A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,756 Days
• Field of Search: 705/2, 705/3, 705/9, 709718-227, 707 1- 10
• US Class Current: 709/200
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/335 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles filtering in web context G06F16/9535, G06F16/9536
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/35 Clustering; Classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

In recent years, computers have become everyday communication tools, fast approaching the commonness of telephones and televisions. Driving this approach is the ever-expanding Internet, which enables users not only to communicate with each other, but also to search for information of particular interest. Two problems for Internet users are the time and effort necessary to find information they want and to connect with other users who share interest in similar information. Accordingly, the present inventor devised systems, methods, and related software that spurs growth of databases and/or fosters connections between users of those databases. One exemplary method entails receiving user contributions to a theme-oriented database, such as a health-information website and granting users access rights to the database based on quantity, quality, and/or relevance of their contributions. The exemplary method also shares contact information with users making similar queries of the database, ultimately promoting development of intelligent on-line communities.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a plurality of user access stations;

a first database having content;

a second database storing data representative of respective fights of users to access the first database via a browser-equipped user access station;

a server for providing users of one or more of the user access stations access to the first database via a network, wherein the server is configured to;

receive a user data contribution from a user via one of the user access stations for addition to the content of the first database so that the contribution can be accessed by users of browser-equipped access stations;

automatically evaluate at least a portion of the received user data contribution relative to at least a portion of the content of the first database; and

automatically update the data representative of respective rights of the user to access the first database based on results of the automatic evaluation.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is additionally configured to add at least a portion of the received user data contribution to the content of the first database in response to the automatic evaluation being positive.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein to automatically evaluate at least a portion of the received user data contribution relative to the content of the first database, the server is configured to compare at least the portion of the received user data contribution to content of the first database.

4. The system of claim 1

wherein to automatically evaluate at least a portion of the received user data contribution relative to content of the first database, the server is configured to automatically define a query based on the user contribution, to search content of the first database based on the query, and to determine a score based on results of the search;

and

wherein to automatically update the data representative of respective rights of the user to access the first database based on results of the automatic evaluation, the server is configured to update the data representative of respective access rights based on the determined score.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is further configured to automatically increase a quantity in the second database representative of the respective rights of the user to access the first database based on the automatic evaluation being positive, thereby increasing access fights of the user and providing incentive for additional contributions.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is further configured to receive a query for data in the first database from a user of the one browser-equipped user access stations and to provide query results based on the received query and automatically updated access rights of the user.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein to provide query results based on the accepted query and automatically updated access rights of the user, the server is configured to exclude access of the user to one or more portions of the query results based on the updated access rights.

8. The system of claim 6

wherein the second database includes previously submitted queries, with each query logically associated with contact information for a respective user;

and

wherein the server is further configured to output at least a portion of the contact information for at least one respective user to the one access station used by the user who submitted the query in response to a determination that the received query is similar to a previously submitted query logically associated wit the one respective user.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is further configured to request user login data via the user access stations and to request and accept user data contributions descriptive of third parties.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the server is further configured to request user data contributions that are descriptive of a user'"'"'s experience with a provider of medical service.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the server comprises:

means for accessing data representative of respective rights of a plurality of users to access content of a first database;

means for receiving a user data contribution from one or more of the users for addition to the content of the first database so that the contribution can be accessed by at least one or more other users via the server;

means for automatically evaluating at least a portion of the received user data contribution relative to at least a portion of the content of the first database; and

means for automatically updating the data representative of respective rights of the user to access the first database to indicate an increase in access rights, based on results of the automatic evaluation.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein to automatically evaluate at least a portion of the received user data contribution relative to the content of the first database, the server is configured to automatically evaluate relevance of the received user data contribution to content of the first database.