Populating online forums
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method, comprising:
- creating one or more clones of a first forum for user interaction, wherein the first forum is dedicated to a particular topic, and wherein each clone is an instance of the first forum, thereby allowing any number of users to be in the same forum dedicated to the particular topic while limiting the number of users in each instance of the first forum;
determining whether an interactive relationship exists between a first user entering the first forum and a second user entering the first forum or already in the first forum, wherein an interactive relationship is determined to exist if the first user and the second user have had an online interaction with each other prior to the first user entering the first forum;
when an interactive relationship exists, determining whether an instance of the first forum is full;
when the instance of the first forum is full, determining whether a headroom of the instance of the first forum is full, the headroom being extra capacity reserved for use by users having an interactive relationship; and
when the headroom of the instance of the first forum is full, placing the first user entering the first forum in a clone of the first forum based on the interactive relationship.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A forum for user interaction is provided. A clone of the forum is created, thereby allowing any number of users to be in the same forum while limiting the number of users in each instance of the forum. It is determined whether a relationship exists between a user entering the forum and one or more other users entering the forum or with one or more other users already in the forum. If a relationship exists, the user entering the forum is placed in a clone of the forum based on the relationship.
28 Citations
46 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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creating one or more clones of a first forum for user interaction, wherein the first forum is dedicated to a particular topic, and wherein each clone is an instance of the first forum, thereby allowing any number of users to be in the same forum dedicated to the particular topic while limiting the number of users in each instance of the first forum; determining whether an interactive relationship exists between a first user entering the first forum and a second user entering the first forum or already in the first forum, wherein an interactive relationship is determined to exist if the first user and the second user have had an online interaction with each other prior to the first user entering the first forum; when an interactive relationship exists, determining whether an instance of the first forum is full; when the instance of the first forum is full, determining whether a headroom of the instance of the first forum is full, the headroom being extra capacity reserved for use by users having an interactive relationship; and when the headroom of the instance of the first forum is full, placing the first user entering the first forum in a clone of the first forum based on the interactive relationship. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A computer system comprising:
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means for sending and receiving content to and from a network; means coupled to means for sending and receiving content for creating one or more clones of a first forum for user interaction, wherein the first forum is dedicated to a particular topic, and wherein each clone is an instance of the first forum, thereby allowing any number of users to be in the same forum dedicated to the particular topic while limiting the number of users in each instance of the first forum; means coupled to means for sending and receiving content for determining whether an interactive relationship exists between a first user entering the first forum and a second user entering the first forum or already in the first forum, wherein an interactive relationship is determined to exist if the first user and the second user have had an online interaction with each other prior to the first user entering the first forum; when an interactive relationship exists, means coupled to means for sending and receiving content for determining whether an instance of the first forum is full; when the instance of the first forum is full, means coupled to means for sending and receiving content for determining whether a headroom of the instance of the first forum is full, the headroom being extra capacity reserved for use by users having an interactive relationship; and when the headroom of the instance of the first forum is full, means coupled to means for sending and receiving content for placing the first user entering the first forum in a clone of the first forum based on the interactive relationship. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method, comprising:
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creating a first world and a distinct second world, wherein each world is a distinct 3D virtual world that presents a 3D graphical scene to users, and wherein multiple users may enter and navigate each 3D virtual world and may interact by moving avatars, interacting and observing the world and other users; creating two or more clones of the first world and two or more clones of the second world, wherein each clone is an instance of the respective world, allowing any number of users to be in the same world while limiting the number of users in each clone of the world; receiving information associated with a first user entering the first world indicating what clones of what distinct worlds the first user has been in; receiving information associated with a second user indicating what clones of what distinct worlds the second user has been in; determining that an interactive relationship exists between the first user entering the first world and the second user, wherein an interactive relationship is determined to exist if the first user and the second user have had an interaction with each other in the same clone of the same world prior to the first user entering the first world; when an interactive relationship exists, determining whether an instance of the first forum is full; when the instance of the first forum is full, determining whether a headroom of the instance of the first forum is full, the headroom being extra capacity reserved for use by users having an interactive relationship; and when the headroom of the instance of the first forum is full, placing the first user entering the first forum in a clone of the first forum based on the interactive relationship.
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33. A system, comprising:
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means for creating a first world and a distinct second world, wherein each world is a distinct 3D virtual world that presents a 3D graphical scene to users, and wherein multiple users may enter and navigate each 3D virtual world and may interact by moving avatars, interacting and observing the world and other users; means for creating two or more clones of the first world and two or more clones of the second world, wherein each clone is an instance of the respective world, allowing any number of users to be in the same world while limiting the number of users in each clone of the world; means for receiving information associated with a first user entering the first world indicating what clones of what distinct worlds the first user has been in; means for receiving information associated with a second user indicating what clones of what distinct worlds the second user has been in; means for determining that an interactive relationship exists between the first user entering the first world and the second user, wherein an interactive relationship is determined to exist if the first user and the second user have had an interaction with each other in the same clone of the same world prior to the first user entering the first world; means for determining whether an instance of the first forum is full, the determination being made when an interactive relationship is determined to exist; means for determining whether a headroom of the instance of the first forum is full, the determination being made when the instance of the first forum is determined to be full, the headroom being extra capacity reserved for use by users having an interactive relationship; and means for placing the first user entering the first world in a clone of the first world when the headroom of the instance of the first forum is determined to be full, the first user being placed in the clone of the first world based on the interactive relationship. - View Dependent Claims (34)
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35. A computer program product, embodied on a computer-readable storage medium, including instructions operable to cause data processing apparatus to:
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create one or more clones of a first forum for user interaction, wherein the first forum is dedicated to a particular topic, and wherein each clone is an instance of the first forum, thereby allowing any number of users to be in the same forum dedicated to the particular topic while limiting the number of users in each instance of the first forum; determine whether an interactive relationship exists between a first user entering the first forum and a second user entering the first forum or already in the first forum, wherein an interactive relationship is determined to exist if the first user and the second user have had an online interaction with each other prior to the first user entering the first forum; when an interactive relationship exists, determine whether an instance of the first forum is full; when the instance of the first forum is full, determine whether a headroom of the instance of the first forum is full, the headroom being extra capacity reserved for use by users having an interactive relationship; and when the headroom of the instance of the first forum is full, place the first user entering the first forum in a clone of the first forum based on the interactive relationship.
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36. A method comprising:
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creating one or more clones of a forum for user interaction, wherein each clone is an instance of the forum; identifying a first user entering the forum as having a special designation; selecting a clone of the forum in which the first user is to be placed; when the selected clone is full, determining whether the selected clone has extra capacity reserved for use by users having a special designation; and when the selected clone has extra capacity reserved for use by users having a special designation, placing the first user entering the forum in the selected clone based on the special designation. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38)
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39. A computer system comprising:
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means for sending and receiving content to and from a network; means coupled to means for sending and receiving content for creating one or more clones of a forum for user interaction, wherein each clone is an instance of the forum; means coupled to means for sending and receiving content for identifying a first user entering the forum as having a special designation; means coupled to means for sending and receiving content for selecting a clone of the forum in which the first user is to be placed; when the selected clone is full, means coupled to means for sending and receiving content for determining whether the selected clone has extra capacity reserved for use by users having a special designation; and when the selected clone has extra capacity reserved for use by users having a special designation, means coupled to means for sending and receiving content for placing the first user entering the forum in the selected clone based on the special designation. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41)
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42. A computer program product, embodied on a computer-readable storage medium, including instructions operable to cause data processing apparatus to:
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create one or more clones of a forum for user interaction, wherein each clone is an instance of the forum; identify a first user entering the forum as having a special designation; select a clone of the forum in which the first user is to be placed; when the selected clone is full, determine whether the selected clone has extra capacity reserved for use by users having a special designation; and when the selected clone has extra capacity reserved for use by users having a special designation, place the first user entering the forum in the selected clone based on the special designation.
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43. A method, comprising:
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creating a first world and a distinct second world, wherein each world is a distinct 3D virtual world that presents a 3D graphical scene to users, and wherein multiple users may enter and navigate each 3D virtual world and may interact by moving avatars, interacting and observing the world and other users; creating two or more clones of the first world and two or more clones of the second world, wherein each clone is an instance of the respective world, allowing any number of users to be in the same world while limiting the number of users in each clone of the world; identifying a first user entering the first world as having a special designation; selecting a clone of the first world in which the first user is to be placed; when the selected clone is full, determining whether the selected clone has extra capacity reserved for use by users having a special designation; and when the selected clone has extra capacity reserved for use by users having a special designation, placing the first user entering the first world in the selected clone based on the special designation.
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44. A system, comprising:
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means for creating a first world and a distinct second world, wherein each world is a distinct 3D virtual world that presents a 3D graphical scene to users, and wherein multiple users may enter and navigate each 3D virtual world and may interact by moving avatars, interacting and observing the world and other users; means for creating two or more clones of the first world and two or more clones of the second world, wherein each clone is an instance of the respective world, allowing any number of users to be in the same world while limiting the number of users in each clone of the world; means for identifying a first user entering the first world as having a special designation; means for selecting a clone of the first world in which the first user is to be placed; when the selected clone is full, means for determining whether the selected clone has extra capacity reserved for use by users having a special designation; and when the selected clone has extra capacity reserved for use by users having a special designation, means for placing the first user entering the first world in the selected clone based on the special designation.
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45. A computer program product, embodied on a computer-readable storage medium, including instructions operable to cause data processing apparatus to:
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create a first world and a distinct second world, wherein each world is a distinct 3D virtual world that presents a 3D graphical scene to users, and wherein multiple users may enter and navigate each 3D virtual world and may interact by moving avatars, interacting and observing the world and other users; create two or more clones of the first world and two or more clones of the second world, wherein each clone is an instance of the respective world, allowing any number of users to be in the same world while limiting the number of users in each clone of the world; identify a first user entering the first world as having a special designation; select a clone of the first world in which the first user is to be placed; when the selected clone is full, determine whether the selected clone has extra capacity reserved for use by users having a special designation; and when the selected clone has extra capacity reserved for use by users having a special designation, place the first user entering the first world in the selected clone based on the special designation.
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46. A computer program product, embodied on a computer-readable storage medium, including instructions operable to cause data processing apparatus to:
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create a first world and a distinct second world, wherein each world is a distinct 3D virtual world that presents a 3D graphical scene to users, and wherein multiple users may enter and navigate each 3D virtual world and may interact by moving avatars, interacting and observing the world and other users; create two or more clones of the first world and two or more clones of the second world, wherein each clone is an instance of the respective world, allowing any number of users to be in the same world while limiting the number of users in each clone of the world; receive information associated with a first user entering the first world indicating what clones of what distinct worlds the first user has been in; receive information associated with a second user indicating what clones of what distinct worlds the second user has been in; and determine that an interactive relationship exists between the first user entering the first world and the second user, wherein an interactive relationship is determined to exist if the first user and the second user have had an interaction with each other in the same clone of the same world prior to the first user entering the first world; when an interactive relationship exists, determine whether an instance of the first forum is full; when the instance of the first forum is full, determine whether a headroom of the instance of the first forum is full, the headroom being extra capacity reserved for use by users having an interactive relationship; and when the headroom of the instance of the first forum is full, place the first user entering the first forum in a clone of the first forum based on the interactive relationship.
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Specification