Resource list management system

• US 7,263,535 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2002
• Issued: 08/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Atlassian US, Inc. (Atlassian Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Malik, Dale W.
• Primary Examiner(s): MAHMOUDI, HASSAN
• Application Number:
  US10/223,858
• Publication Number:
  US 20030220946A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,835 Days
• Field of Search: 707/2, 707/203, 709/206, 709/219, 709/229, 709/250, 715/753, 379/202.01, 455/412.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0233 Object-oriented techniques, for representation of network management data, e.g. common object request broker architecture [CORBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/024 using relational databases for representation of network management data, e.g. managing via structured query language [SQL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A system for providing group accessibility is provided. A representative resource list management system includes a group management system operable to store a resource list for a user, and a service manager operable to detect a status of a contact associated with the resource list. The resource list includes at least one group, the at least one group including a plurality of contacts. The service manager is operable to update accessibility of the at least one group in response to at least one of the plurality of contacts being accessible on a network. Methods and other systems for resource list management are also provided.

Claims

1. A method for managing contacts, comprising:

grouping a plurality of members from a plurality of contacts as a group;

setting a rule to define networked accessibility of the group, the networked accessibility of the group based upon network accessibility of members of the group, where an identifier for an individual group member is not viewable by a user;

notifying the user as to the network accessibility of the group;

blindly connecting the user with a single member associated with said group upon receiving a request from the user to connect to a group contact associated with said group, wherein the single member is selected from said group by rotating among group members with each request received and the rule comprises requiring a certain subset of members of said group to be accessible before the group is indicated as accessible;

requesting a status on a particular member of said group, said request being a specific inquiry for network status of the particular member; and

receiving an update on the status of a particular user within said group.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a group administrator creates and maintains said group.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein a user can add said group to a profile associated with the user if a class of service marker associated with the user allows said group to be added.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a system administrator creates and maintains said group.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a user can add said group to a profile associated with the user if a class of service marker associated with the user allows said group to be added.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a user creates and maintains said group, with respect to a profile associated with the user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the rule comprises requiring at least one member of said group to be accessible before the group is indicated as accessible.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the rule comprises requiring all group members to be accessible before the group is indicated as accessible.

9. A system for providing group accessibility, comprising:

a group management system configured to store a resource list for a user, said resource list comprising a list of contacts that the user wants to know the network status of, said list of contacts including at least one group contact, wherein the group management system is included in a persistent database; and

a service manager configured to detect a network status of a group contact associated with the resource list, the group contact associated with a plurality of group members, wherein the service manager is further configured to update network accessibility of said group contact in response to at least one of the plurality of group members being accessible on a network where identifiers for each of the plurality of group members are not viewable by the user, wherein the service manager is configured to;

display a status of said network accessibility of said group contact to the user; and

blindly connect a the user with a single member associated with said group contact upon receiving a request from the user to connect to said group contact, the service manager being further configured to rotate among group members with each request received.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the service manager is configured to notify the user that said group contact is present when at least one group member associated with said group contact is present.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the service manager is configured to notify the user that said group contact is present and available when at least one group member associated with said group contact is present and available.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein accessibility comprises presence and availability.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the resource list further comprises a rule associated with said group contact, the rule comprising a basis for determining the accessibility of said group contact.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the service manager is configured to execute the rule before notifying the user of the status of said group contact.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the rule associated with the group contact comprises notifying the user that said group contact is accessible when a certain subset of said group members is accessible.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the rule associated with the group contact comprises notifying the user that said group contact is accessible when all of the plurality of group members are accessible.

17. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

a first class of service marker stored in the group management system and passed to the user upon login, the first class of service marker serving as an indication to a service router which resources are accessible to the user.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the rule provides a second class of service marker, and is settable via an administrative application which is accessible only to those with an adequate first class of service marker.

19. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

a means for providing a first class of service marker, with the rule serving as a second class of service marker.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the rule is settable by the user.

21. The system of claim 9, wherein said group contact is created by a system administrator, and the user can add or remove said group contact.

22. The system of claim 9, wherein said group contact is created by the user and may be added or removed from the resource list associated with the user.

23. The system of claim 9, wherein the service manager includes a non-persistent database that updates roster and presence information regarding the user and the resource list.

24. The system of claim 9, wherein the service manager is configured to receive a request from a user to retrieve the status on a single member associated with said group contact, said request being a specific inquiry for network status of the single member.

25. A method for managing a resource list, comprising:

sending a request to a group management system to retrieve a resource list associated with a user, the resource list comprising a plurality of contacts including at least one group contact that the user wants to know the network status of, the group contact associated with a plurality of group members;

receiving the resource list;

checking a non-persistent database for at least one member associated with said at least one group contact; and

notifying the user about which of the plurality of contacts are accessible on a network, and which of said at least one group contacts is accessible on the network where an identifier for an individual group member is not viewable by the user;

receiving a request from the user to connect to said at least one group contact without a request for any specific member of said at least one group contact;

selecting a member of said group contact; and

connecting the user with a single member of said group contact, wherein selecting the single member of said group contact comprises;

selecting the single member by rotating through each of the plurality of members of said at least one group contact alphabetically.

26. A method for managing a resource list, comprising:

sending a request to a group management system to retrieve a resource list associated with a user, the resource list comprising a plurality of contacts including at least one group contact that the user wants to know the network status of, the group contact associated with a plurality of group members;

receiving the resource list;

checking a non-persistent database for at least one member associated with said at least one group contact; and

notifying the user about which of the plurality of contacts are accessible on a network, and which of said at least one group contacts is accessible on the network where an identifier for an individual group member is not viewable by the user;

receiving a request from the user to connect to said at least one group contact without a request for any specific member of said at least one group contact;

selecting a member of said group contact; and

connecting the user with a single member of said group contact, wherein selecting the single member of said group contact comprises;

selecting the single member by rotation through a numbering system, the numbering system associating a number with each of the plurality of members of said at least one group contact.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

providing a rule for determining accessibility in a persistent database.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

executing a rule associated with said at least one group contact; and

notifying the user which of said at least one group contact is accessible, according to the rule.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

adding a rule based on an administrative application; and

changing the rule based on an administrative application.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

editing a rule base on a user input.

31. The method of claim 26, wherein notifying the user about which of said at least one group contact is accessible occurs when at least one group member associated with said at least one group contact is present.

32. The method of claim 26, wherein notifying the user about which of said at least one group contact is accessible occurs when at least one group member associated with said at least one group contact is present and available.

33. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

using a persistent database to house the group management system.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

checking for accessibility of at least one contact, and notifying the user about which of the plurality of contacts are accessible.

35. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

receiving a request from the user to update status on a particular member of said at least one group, said request being a specific inquiry for network status of particular single member; and

providing the user with status on the particular member.