User evaluation of content on distributed communication network

• US 8,321,496 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2000
• Issued: 11/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: Halfcom Incorporated (eBay Inc.)
• Inventors: Wilson, David J.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHRISTENSEN, SCOTT B
• Application Number:
  US09/731,019
• Publication Number:
  US 20020165905A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,373 Days
• Field of Search: 705/12, 705/10, 705/26, 705/27, 709/217, 709/219, 709/203, 707/10
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A method and system for identifying and sorting items of content, such as product/service reviews in a database coupled to a distributed communication network such as the Internet. Content from the database is displayed on a client display connected to the database over the network. An interactive element associated with the displayed content item is provided on the client display, which a user clicks to indicate that the user has found the displayed item helpful (such as in determining whether or not to purchase or to use a product/service in the case of a displayed product or service review). The database keeps track of the number of indications and stores the number as a count of the number of indications for the content. The number of indications associated with an item of content on the client display is then displayed together with the content. A client may sort content items according to the number of indications received.

Claims

1. A method for identifying as being helpful or otherwise valuable product/service reviews in a database coupled to a distributed communication network, the method comprising:

displaying product/service reviews from the database on a client display connected to the database over the network;

providing an interactive element associated with each of the displayed reviews on the client display, which when clicked by a user, indicates that the user has found a displayed review associated with a product/service helpful in determining whether or not to purchase or use the product/service;

receiving at the database an indication that the user has clicked the interactive element, and incrementing a count of a stored number of indications for the review (1) in response to the indication and (2) if the stored number of indications does not exceed one indication for the review from the user; and

displaying the count of the stored number of indications for the review on the client display together with the review;

sending an error to the user if the interactive element is clicked more than once by the user for the review;

sorting the reviews in ascending or descending order as a function of the number of indications tallied for each review, and sequentially displaying the reviews in the sorted order; and

recurrently tallying the number of indications and re-sorting the reviews for a subsequent display.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

compiling a list of reviewers including names of those reviewers who have received a highest number of indications for their product/service reviews; and

displaying the list of reviewers on the client display.

3. A system for identifying as being helpful or otherwise valuable product/service reviews in a database coupled to a distributed communication network, the system comprising:

a first computer coupled to the database over the network, the first computer having a display to display product/service reviews from the database,

provide an interactive element associated with each of the displayed reviews, which when clicked by a user, indicates that the user has found a displayed review associated with a product/service helpful in determining whether or not to purchase or use the product/service, and

display a count of the stored number of indications for the review together with the review; and

a second computer coupled to the first computer, the second computer to receive an indication that the user has clicked the interactive element, and to increment a count of the stored number of indications for the review (1) in response to the indication and (2) if the stored number of indications does not exceed one indication for the review from the user and

wherein the second computer is further to send an error to the first computer if the interactive element is clicked more than once by the user for the review, wherein the first computer is utilized to display the error to the user; and

wherein the second computer is further to sort the reviews in ascending or descending order as a function of the number of indications tallied for each review, sequentially display the reviews in the sorted order on the first computer, and recurrently tally the number of indications and re-sort the reviews for subsequent display on the first computer.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the second computer is further to compile a list of reviewers including names of those reviewers who have received a highest number of indications for their product/service reviews, and to provide the list of reviewers to the first computer.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the first computer is further to display the list of reviewers.

6. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having stored thereon data representing a set of instructions for identifying as being useful or otherwise valuable product/service reviews in a database coupled to a distributed communication network, the sets of instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to:

display product/service reviews from the database on a client display connected to the database over the network;

provide an interactive element associated with each of the displayed reviews on the client display, which when clicked by a user, indicates that the user has found a displayed review associated with a product/service helpful in determining whether or not to purchase or use the product/service;

receive at the database an indication that the user has clicked the interactive element, and incrementing a count of a stored number of indications for the review (1) in response to the indication and (2) if the stored number of indications does not exceed one indication for the review from the user;

display the count of the number of indications for the review on the client display together with the review; and

wherein the sets of instructions which, when executed by the machine, further cause the machine to sort the reviews in ascending or descending order as a function of the number of indications tallied for each review, sequentially display the reviews in the sorted order and recurrently tally the number of indications and re-sort the reviews for a subsequent display.

7. The machine-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the sets of instructions which, when executed by the machine, further cause the machine to:

compile a list of reviewers including names of those reviewers who have received a highest number of indications for their product/service reviews; and

display the list of reviewers on the client display.