Conversation persistence in real-time collaboration system

• US 8,001,126 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2008
• Issued: 08/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Tannenbaum, Alan R., Berry, Richard Edmond, Temple, Anthony Christopher Courtney, Selvage, Mei Y, Walker, Keith Raymond, Handy-Bosma, John Hans, Chen, Yen-Fu, Hsu, Peter Y.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pulliam; Christyann R
• Application Number:
  US12/335,963
• Publication Number:
  US 20090094288A1
• Time in Patent Office: 973 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/737
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

Previously conducted conversations in real-time collaboration messages are persistently stored, either by client or a server, and then are associated with conversational items presented to a user (e.g. contact names, topics, etc.). An icon is provided near each listed item, which when selected, displays to the user summaries or titles of all transcripts to which the selected item pertains or relates. The user may select one or more summaries or titles for which the conversation is to be resumed, causing the system to retrieve the stored transcript and resume appending new conversational entries to it, so that the user recovers conversational context effortlessly and accurately. Enhanced versions of the invention include sharing of transcripts so that all participants receive the context of the conversation, and server-side or client-side implementations.

Claims

1. A system providing conversation persistence in real-time collaboration system comprising:

a computing platform having hardware to perform a logical process;

a transcript store portion of the computing platform configured to persistently store a transcript of real-time collaboration system messages for a first conversation thread in a first real-time collaboration system user interface, the first conversation thread having a beginning point and an ending point and a series of messages therebetween;

a user interface portion of the computing platform configured to allow a user to specify conditions for a messaging client to automatically insert a continuation point between two messages within the first conversation thread;

a portion of a user display of the computing platform configured to display an indicator proximate to an entry for the first conversation thread in the first real-time collaboration system user interface, the entry being shown in a hierarchical list of organized subjects of conversations, the indicator indicating storage of the transcript from the first conversation thread;

a transcript retriever and copier portion of the computing platform configured to, responsive to operation of the indicator, automatically retrieve the stored transcript, and copy a portion of the first conversation thread into a second real-time collaboration system user interface, the copied portion being defined by at least two points selected from a group consisting of the beginning point, the continuation point, and the ending point; and

a transcript resumer portion of the computing platform configured to append newly authored and received messages in the second real-time collaboration system user interface to the copied portion of the first conversation thread, wherein a second conversation thread of is provided in the second real-time collaboration system user interface having the copied portion of the first conversation thread, wherein the copied portion allows a user to be refreshed of a context of the first conversation thread.

2. The system as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a portion of a messaging server configured to associate the persistently stored transcript of real-time collaboration system messages with one or more items in a list of conversational items.

3. The system as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a portion of a messaging client configured to associate the persistently stored transcript of real-time collaboration system messages with one or more items in a list of conversational items.

4. The system as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a portion of a messaging server configured to prompt the user to indicate availability of the persistently stored transcript.

5. The system as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a portion of a messaging client configured to prompt the user to indicate availability of the persistently stored transcript.

6. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the transcript retriever and copier portion of the computing platform comprises a portion of a messaging server.

7. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the transcript retriever and copier portion of the computing platform comprises a portion of a messaging client.

8. The system as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a transmitter portion of the computing platform configured to transmit the retrieved transcript to at least one messaging client or messaging server.

9. The system as set forth in claim 8 wherein the transmitter comprises a portion of a messaging server.

10. The system as set forth in claim 8 wherein the transmitter comprises a portion of a messaging client.

11. The system as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a searcher portion of the computing platform configured to search a plurality of persistently stored transcriptions for at least one user-indicated criteria, and to retrieve a persistently stored transcript matching the user-indicated criteria.

12. A computer program product for providing conversation persistence in real-time collaboration system comprising:

one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to persistently store a transcript of real-time collaboration system messages for a first conversation thread in a first real-time collaboration system user interface, the first conversation thread having a beginning point and an ending point and a series of messages therebetween;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to allow a user to specify conditions for a messaging client to automatically insert a continuation point between two messages within the first conversation thread;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to display an indicator proximate to an entry for the first conversation thread in the first real-time collaboration system user interface, the entry being shown in a hierarchical list of organized subjects of conversations, the indicator indicating storage of the transcript from the first conversation thread;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to, responsive to operation of the indicator, automatically retrieve the stored transcript, and to copy a portion of the first conversation thread into a second real-time collaboration system user interface, the copied portion being defined by at least two points selected from a group consisting of the beginning point, the continuation point, and the ending point; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to append newly authored and received messages in the second real-time collaboration system user interface to the copied portion of the first conversation thread, wherein a second conversation thread of is provided in the second real-time collaboration system user interface having the copied portion of the first conversation thread, wherein the copied portion allows a user to be refreshed of a context of the first conversation thread.

13. The computer program product as set forth in claim 12 wherein the one or more storage devices comprise one or more devices is selected from a group consisting of a random-access memory, a read-only memory, a compact disk memory, and a digital versatile disk memory.

14. The computer program product as set forth in claim 12 further comprising program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices to associate by a messaging server the persistently stored transcript of messages with one or more items in a list of conversational items.

15. The computer program product as set forth in claim 12 further comprising program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices to prompt by a messaging server the user to indicate availability of the persistently stored transcript.

16. The computer program product as set forth in claim 12 further comprising program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices to prompt by a messaging client the user to indicate availability of the persistently stored transcript.

17. The computer program product as set forth in claim 12 further comprising program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices to retrieve a persistently stored transcript by a messaging server.

18. The computer program product as set forth in claim 12 further comprising one or more program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices to retrieve a persistently stored transcript by a messaging client.

19. The computer program product as set forth in claim 12 further comprising program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices to search a plurality of persistently stored transcriptions for at least one user-indicated criteria, and to retrieve a persistently stored transcript matching the user-indicated criteria.