Interfacing with a spatial virtual communication environment

• US 8,397,168 B2
• Filed: 01/15/2009
• Issued: 03/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sococo, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Social Communications Company
• Inventors: Leacock, Matthew, Van Wie, David, Brody, Paul J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): NABI, REZA U
• Application Number:
  US12/354,709
• Publication Number:
  US 20090254842A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,517 Days
• Field of Search: 715/757
• US Class Current: 715/757
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/80 2D [Two Dimensional] animation, e.g. using sprites
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

A spatial layout of zones of a virtual area in a network communication environment is displayed. A user can have a respective presence in each of one or more of the zones. Navigation controls and interaction controls are presented. The navigation controls enable the user to specify where to establish a presence in the virtual area. The interaction controls enable the user to manage interactions with one or more other communicants in the network communication environment. A respective presence of the user is established in each of one or more of the zones on response to input received via the navigation controls. Respective graphical representations of the communicants are depicted in each of the zones where the communicants respectively have presence.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

on a display, displaying a spatial layout of zones of a virtual area in a network communication environment, wherein a user can have a respective presence in each of one or more of the zones;

on the display, presenting navigation controls and interaction controls, wherein the navigation controls enable the user to specify where to establish a presence in the virtual area and the interaction controls enable the user to manage interactions with one or more other communicants in the network communication environment;

establishing a respective presence of the user in each of one or more of the zones in response to input received via the navigation controls; and

on the display, depicting respective graphical representations of the communicants in each of the zones where the communicants respectively have presence;

with respect to interactions of one or more of the communicants in a particular one of the zones of the virtual area, enabling the user to perceive the interactions with a first level of detail when the user is present in the particular zone, and enabling the user to perceive the interactions with a second level of detail that is less than the first level of detail when the user is not present in the particular zone, wherein

the particular zone is associated with a viewscreen object that has a respective graphical representation in the particular zone and is associated with functionality for sharing renderings of contents of data files between communicants who are present in the particular zone,

when the user is present in the particular zone and a communicant in the particular zone is sharing a rendering of contents of a data file with one or more other communicants in the particular zone in connection with the viewscreen object, the enabling comprises presenting on the monitor visible geometric elements of the particular zone, a visual indication that the viewscreen object is in an active state, and a graphical representation of data being shared in connection with the viewscreen object, and

when the user is present in a respective one of the zones other than the particular zone but is not present in the particular zone and a communicant in the particular zone is sharing a rendering of contents of a data file with one or more other communicants in the particular zone in connection with the viewscreen object, the enabling comprises presenting on the monitor visible geometric elements of the particular zone and a visual indication that the viewscreen object is in an active state without presenting any graphical representation of data being shared in connection with the viewscreen object.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the zones is associated with a respective graphical representation of an element of a physical environment, and the displaying comprises displaying the graphical representations of the elements of the physical environment according to the spatial layout of the respective zones.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the zones is associated with a respective graphical representation of a physical space associated with a building, and the displaying comprises displaying the graphical representations of the physical spaces according to the spatial layout of the respective zones.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein

based on a user command in association with a graphical representation of a selected one of the zones, the depicting comprises depicting the graphical representation of the user in the graphical representation of the selected zone.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein

the displaying comprises displaying a view of objects in all renderable zones of the virtual area in an area map, and

based on the user command, displaying in the area map a zoomed-in view of the graphical representation of the selected zone and graphical representations of a first amount of surrounding portions of the virtual area adjacent the graphical representation of the selected zone.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein,

based on a user command in association with any of the graphical representations of the surrounding portions of the virtual area, displaying a zoomed-out view of the graphical representation of the selected zone and graphical representations of a second amount of the surrounding portions of the virtual area adjacent the graphical representation of the selected zone, and the second amount is greater than the first amount.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising depicting a home button that is associated with a respective one of the zones in the virtual area, and based on user selection of the home button navigating the user'"'"'s presence from a particular one of the zones in which the user is present to the respective zone associated with the home button.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising automatically establishing a network connection between the user and another communicant who is present in the particular zone, and based on user selection of the home button disconnecting the network connection between the user and the other communicant who is present in the particular zone.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a graphical representation of a telephony object in a respective one of the zones of the virtual area;

in connection with the telephony object, receiving a command to call a telephone number;

based on the command, transmitting a request to communicate with a network node associated with the telephone number.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the zones in the spatial layout is associated with a respective visual depiction of a respective geometric boundary of the zone, and each of the zones supports establishment of communication sessions between communicants associated with objects located within the respective geometric boundary of the zone.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein:

a respective one of the zones is associated with graphical representations of physical geometry elements of physical spaces associated with a building, and one or more interaction objects associated with respective collaboration functionality;

the displaying comprises rendering graphical representations of the physical geometry elements of the respective zone and the one or more interaction objects on the monitor; and

based on user input in association with a respective one of the interaction objects, administering collaboration between the user and one or more of the other communicants in accordance the respective collaboration functionality associated with the respective interaction object.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more interaction objects comprise a viewscreen object that is associated with functionality for sharing data file content from one of the communicants in the respective zone to other communicants in the respective zone, and based on input received from the user in association with the viewscreen object sharing data file content from a respective one of the network nodes being operated by the user to one or more of the other network nodes being operated by other ones of the communicants who are present in the respective zone.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more interaction objects comprise a conferencing object associated with functionality for connecting one or more communicants in the respective zone with a telephony device associated with a telephone number;

and

further comprising receiving from the user a command to call a telephone number in connection with the conferencing object and, based on the command, transmitting the telephone number to a telephony service that establishes an audio connection between a respective one of the network nodes being operated by the user and a telephony device that is associated with the telephone number.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a list of contacts that are associated with the user and an indication of respective ones of the zones in which the contacts have presence.

15. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

on a display, displaying a spatial layout of zones of a virtual area in a network communication environment, wherein a user can have a respective presence in each of one or more of the zones;

on the display, presenting navigation controls and interaction controls, wherein the navigation controls enable the user to specify where to establish a presence in the virtual area and the interaction controls enable the user to manage interactions with one or more other communicants in the network communication environment;

establishing a respective presence of the user in each of one or more of the zones in response to input received via the navigation controls;

on the display, depicting respective graphical representations of the communicants in each of the zones where the communicants respectively have presence;

displaying an areas window comprising a filtered list of graphical representations of virtual areas that are associated with the user, wherein each of the virtual areas is a separate and distinct computer-managed space that comprises a respective spatial visualization and a respective set of one or more zones that support establishment of communicant presence, and each of the graphical representations in the list comprises respective graphical representations of communicants who are present in the respective area in their respective zones of presence and visual cues indicating respective current communication states of those communicants; and

based on user selection of a particular one of the graphical representations representing a particular one of the virtual areas, displaying a map view of the particular virtual area on the monitor, wherein the map view comprises a spatial visualization of the particular virtual area and a graphical representation of the user in a respective zone of the particular virtual area.

16. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed by a computer to implement a method comprising:

in a network communication environment in which communicants operating respective network nodes connect to a virtual area in which the communicants are represented by respective avatars, wherein the virtual area comprises zones in which ones of the communicants are able to establish respective presences and which are associated with respective graphical representations of physical spaces associated with a building that are demarcated by respective visual geometric boundaries and are arranged in a spatial layout, each of respective ones of the zones is associated with a respective viewscreen object that is represented in the zone by a graphical representation of a viewscreen and is associated with functionality for sharing renderings of contents of data files between communicants who are present in the zone, and the network nodes are associated with respective sources and sinks of respective data types;

on a particular one of the network nodes being operated by a user who is represented in the virtual area by a respective one of the avatars, displaying the graphical representations of the physical spaces and their respective visual geometric boundaries according to the spatial layout, wherein the displaying comprises displaying visual cues indicating current communication states of the communicants in respective ones of the zones of the virtual areas, and the visual cues comprise visual indications of which of the communicants in the communication sessions currently are talking, visual indications of which of the communicants in the communication sessions currently are typing chat messages, visual indications of which of the communicants in the communication sessions currently are sharing renderings of contents of respective data files with other communicants who are co-present with the sharing communicants in respective ones of the zones in connection with respective viewscreen objects in those zones;

on the particular network node, providing navigation controls enabling the user to specify a zone in which to establish a presence in the virtual area, and interaction controls enabling the user to manage interactions with one or more other communicants in the virtual area;

via the navigation controls, receiving a user selection of a respective one of the graphical representations of the physical spaces associated with a selected one of the zones;

based on the user selection, depicting the respective avatar of the user within the respective geometric boundary of the selected graphical representation of the respective physical space and, based on user selection in connection with the interaction controls, establishing realtime data stream connections between active ones of the sources and sinks of the particular network node and corresponding active sources and sinks of all other ones of the network nodes being operated by other ones of the communicants who are present in the selected zone.

17. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises enabling the user to perceive interactions of the communicants in the virtual area with respective levels of detail that depend on where the user has presence in relation to where the interactions occur.

18. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein based on a user command in association with a graphical representation of a selected one of the zones, the depicting comprises depicting the avatar of the user in the graphical representation of the selected zone.

19. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises, based on a user command in connection with the graphical representation of a selected one of the physical spaces, moving the avatar of the user from a graphical representation of a respective one of the physical spaces in which the user had presence before issuing the command.

20. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises, based on receipt of a copy presence command in connection with the graphical representation of a selected one of the physical spaces, depicting a respective avatar of the user in the graphical representation of the selected physical space while continuing to depict a respective avatar of the user in each of the zones where the user had presence before the receipt of the copy presence command.

21. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises, based on entry of the user into a selected one of the zones, automatically establishing audio connections between the user and each of the other communicants occupying the selected zone based on states of audio interaction controls of the user and each of the other communicants occupying the selected zone.

22. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises, moving the user'"'"'s avatar from a first one of the zones to the selected zone, wherein the moving comprises maintaining the state of the user'"'"'s audio interaction controls in the first zone as the state of the user'"'"'s interaction controls when the user first enters the selected zone.

23. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, further wherein the method further comprises:

based on user selection of a graphical representation of a viewscreen in a respective one of the zones, displaying an interface for selecting data to be shared with other communicants in the respective zone in connection with the associated viewscreen object; and

based on a user selection of the data to be shared in connection with the viewscreen object, sharing a rendering of contents of the data file with other communicants who are present in the respective zone in connection with the viewscreen object.

24. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises recording a history comprising a temporally ordered list of the zones of the virtual area visited by the user, and presenting navigation controls enabling the user to navigate the user'"'"'s presence from a current one of the zones to a selected one of the zones in the history.

25. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the displaying comprises displaying different views of the zones as the user navigates the virtual area, and each of the images comprises a respective set of pixels each of which is associated with a respective user-selectable navigational control.

26. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising displaying a first view of a user-selected one of the zones in which the user has presence, and concurrently displaying a second view of the selected zone and surrounding portions of the virtual area adjacent the selected zone.

27. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the method comprises presenting a microphone button and a speaker button in association with a particular one of the zones of the virtual area in which the user is present, the microphone button allowing the user to selectively enable and disable transmission of local microphone signals to other communicants in the particular zone, and the speaker button allowing the user to selectively enable and disable local rendering of audio from other communicants in the particular zone.

28. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the method comprises presenting a chat button in association with a particular one of the zones in which the user has presence, and further comprising, in response to a user selection of the chat button, displaying a chat window enabling the user to exchange text messages with other communicants in the particular zone.

29. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the method comprises presenting a get button and, based on a user selection of the get button, transmitting an invitation to the selected communicant to join the user in a particular one of the zones.

30. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the method comprises presenting a leave button in association with a particular one of the zones in which the user is present, and, in response to a user selection of the leave button, terminating the user'"'"'s presence in the particular zone.

31. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises displaying a zones window comprising one or more filtered lists of renderable ones of the zones of the virtual area, wherein each of the graphical representations in each filtered list comprises a respective graphical representation of each communicant who is present in the respective zone and visual cues indicating a respective current communication state of each communicant who are present in the respective zone.

32. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises displaying an areas window comprising a filtered list of graphical representations of virtual areas that are associated with the user, wherein each of the graphical representations in the list comprises respective graphical representations of communicants who are present in the respective virtual areas and visual cues indicating respective communication states of those communicants.

33. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises displaying a notification window describing an event associated with a particular one of the zones.

34. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising depicting a home button that is associated with a respective one of the zones in the virtual area, and based on user selection of the home button navigating the user'"'"'s presence from a particular one of the zones in which the user is present to the respective zone associated with the home button.

35. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 34, further comprising automatically establishing a network connection between the user and another communicant who is present in the particular zone, and based on user selection of the home button disconnecting the network connection between the user and the other communicant who is present in the particular zone.

49. The method of claim 16, further comprising moving the user'"'"'s avatar from a first one of the zones to the selected zone, wherein the moving comprises maintaining the state of the user'"'"'s audio interaction controls in the first zone as the state of the user'"'"'s interaction controls when the user first enters the selected zone.

36. Apparatus, comprising

a computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions;

and

a data processing unit coupled to the memory, operable to execute the instructions, and based at least in part on the execution of the instructions operable to perform operations in a network communication environment in which communicants operating respective network nodes connect to a virtual area in which the communicants are represented by respective avatars, wherein the virtual area comprises zones in which ones of the communicants are able to establish respective presences and which are associated with respective graphical representations of physical spaces associated with a building that are demarcated by respective visual geometric boundaries and are arranged in a spatial layout, each of respective ones of the zones is associated with a respective viewscreen object that is represented in the zone by a graphical representation of a viewscreen and is associated with functionality for sharing renderings of contents of data files between communicants who are present in the zone, and the network nodes are associated with respective sources and sinks of respective data types;

wherein the operations comprise;

on a particular one of the network nodes being operated by a user who is represented in the virtual area by a respective one of the avatars, displaying the graphical representations of the physical spaces and their respective visual geometric boundaries according to the spatial layout, wherein the displaying comprises displaying visual cues indicating current communication states of the communicants in respective ones of the zones of the virtual areas, and the visual cues comprise visual indications of which of the communicants in the communication sessions currently are talking, visual indications of which of the communicants in the communication sessions currently are typing chat messages, visual indications of which of the communicants in the communication sessions currently are sharing renderings of contents of respective data files with other communicants who are co-present with the sharing communicants in respective ones of the zones in connection with respective viewscreen objects in those zones;

on the particular network node, providing navigation controls enabling the user to specify a zone in which to establish a presence in the virtual area, and interaction controls enabling the user to manage interactions with one or more other communicants in the virtual area;

via the navigation controls, receiving a user selection of a respective one of the graphical representations of the physical spaces associated with a selected one of the zones;

based on the user selection, depicting the respective avatar of the user within the respective geometric boundary of the selected graphical representation of the respective physical space and, based on user selection in connection with the interaction controls, establishing realtime data stream connections between active ones of the sources and sinks of the particular network node and corresponding active sources and sinks of all other ones of the network nodes being operated by other ones of the communicants who are present in the selected zone.

37. A method, comprising

in a network communication environment in which communicants operating respective network nodes connect to a virtual area in which the communicants are represented by respective avatars, wherein the virtual area comprises zones in which ones of the communicants are able to establish respective presences and which are associated with respective graphical representations of physical spaces associated with a building that are demarcated by respective visual geometric boundaries and are arranged in a spatial layout, each of respective ones of the zones is associated with a respective viewscreen object that is represented in the zone by a graphical representation of a viewscreen and is associated with functionality for sharing renderings of contents of data files between communicants who are present in the zone, and the network nodes are associated with respective sources and sinks of respective data types:

on a particular one of the network nodes being operated by a user who is represented in the virtual area by a respective one of the avatars, displaying the graphical representations of the physical spaces and their respective visual geometric boundaries according to the spatial layout, wherein the displaying comprises displaying visual cues indicating current communication states of the communicants in respective ones of the zones of the virtual areas, and the visual cues comprise visual indications of which of the communicants in the communication sessions currently are talking, visual indications of which of the communicants in the communication sessions currently are typing chat messages, visual indications of which of the communicants in the communication sessions currently are sharing renderings of contents of respective data files with other communicants who are co-present with the sharing communicants in respective ones of the zones in connection with respective viewscreen objects in those zones;

on the particular network node, providing navigation controls enabling the user to specify a zone in which to establish a presence in the virtual area, and interaction controls enabling the user to manage interactions with one or more other communicants in the virtual area;

via the navigation controls, receiving a user selection of a respective one of the graphical representations of the physical spaces associated with a selected one of the zones;

based on the user selection, depicting the respective avatar of the user within the respective geometric boundary of the selected graphical representation of the respective physical space and, based on user selection in connection with the interaction controls, establishing realtime data stream connections between active ones of the sources and sinks of the particular network node and corresponding active sources and sinks of all other ones of the network nodes being operated by other ones of the communicants who are present in the selected zone.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the interaction controls comprise

an audio control that enables the user to turn on and turn off a local audio sink associated with the user, when the user'"'"'s local audio sink is turned on the depicting comprises depicting the avatar of the user bearing headphones, and when the user'"'"'s local audio sink is turned off the depicting comprises depicting the avatar of the user without headphones, and

an audio control that enables the user to turn on and turn off a local audio source associated with the user, when the user'"'"'s local audio source is turned on the depicting comprises depicting the avatar of the user bearing a microphone, and when the user'"'"'s local audio source is turned off the depicting comprises depicting the avatar of the user without the microphone.

39. The method of claim 37, further comprising with respect to interactions of one or more of the communicants in a particular one of the zones of the virtual area, enabling the user to perceive the interactions with a first level of detail when the user is present in the particular zone, and enabling the user to perceive the interactions with a second level of detail that is less than the first level of detail when the user is not present in the particular zone.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein:

when the user is present in the particular zone, the enabling comprises presenting on the monitor visible geometric elements of the zone and visual cues that show current communication states of communicants in the particular zone; and

when the user is present in a respective one of the zones other than the particular zone but is not present in the particular zone, the enabling comprises presenting on the monitor visible geometric elements of the zone without presenting visual cues that show current communication states of communicants in the particular zone.

41. The method of claim 37, wherein

based on a user command in connection with the graphical representation of a selected one of the physical spaces, moving the avatar of the user from a graphical representation of a respective one of the physical spaces in which the user had presence before issuing the command.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the moving comprises moving the avatar of the user to one of a predetermined set of positions in the graphical representation of the selected physical space.

43. The method of claim 41, further comprising receiving the command as a double-click computer mouse command in connection with the graphical representation of the selected physical space.

44. The method of claim 37, wherein

based on receipt of a copy presence command in connection with the graphical representation of a selected one of the physical spaces, depicting a respective avatar of the user in the graphical representation of the selected physical space while continuing to depict a respective avatar of the user in each of the zones where the user had presence before the receipt of the copy presence command.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the copy presence command is received as a shift-double-click computer mouse command.

46. The method of claim 44, further comprising depicting each of the avatars of the user in a different respective view of the virtual area.

47. The method of claim 46, further comprising presenting user-selectable tabs respectively associated with the different views of the virtual area and, in response to a user selection of any of the tabs, displaying in a common display area only content of the view associated with the selected tab.

48. The method of claim 37, wherein

based on entry of the user into a selected one of the zones, automatically establishing audio connections between the user and each of the other communicants occupying the selected zone based on states of audio interaction controls of the user and each of the other communicants occupying the selected zone.

50. The method of claim 37, further comprising, based on user selection of one of the avatars of the other communicants, displaying a window containing information and user-selectable controls relating to the communicant associated with the selected avatar, and wherein the user selectable controls comprise a mute button that enables the user to selectively mute audio signals received from the communicant associated with the selected avatar.

51. The method of claim 37, further comprising:

based on user selection of a graphical representation of a viewscreen in a respective one of the zones, displaying an interface for selecting data to be shared with other communicants in the respective zone in connection with the associated viewscreen object; and

based on a user selection of the data to be shared in connection with the viewscreen object, sharing a rendering of contents of the data file with other communicants who are present in the respective zone in connection with the viewscreen object.

52. The method of claim 37, further comprising recording a history comprising a temporally ordered list of the zones of the virtual area visited by the user, and presenting navigation controls enabling the user to navigate the user'"'"'s presence from a current one of the zones to a selected one of the zones in the history.

53. The method of claim 52, wherein the presenting comprises depicting a hierarchical sequence of successive, user-selectable links, and each of the successive links corresponds to a respective level in a hierarchical model of the virtual area in which each successive level is contained by preceding ones of the levels.

54. The method of claim 52, wherein the presenting comprises depicting a backward control enabling the user to incrementally change the current zone of presence to preceding ones of the zones in the history, and depicting a forward control enabling the user to incrementally change the current zone of presence to successive ones of the zones in the history.

55. The method of claim 52, wherein the presenting comprises presenting a placemark control enabling the user to associate a location shown in any current view of the virtual area with a respective placemark, and further comprising navigating the user'"'"'s presence to the location associated with the respective placemark based on user selection of the respective placemark.

56. The method of claim 55, further comprising,

in response to a user selection of the placemark control, storing an image of the location shown in the current view in association with a hyperlink to the corresponding location in the virtual area,

presenting a placemarks window comprising images of locations that have been associated with respective placemarks, wherein each of the images in the placemarks window is associated with a respective user-selectable hyperlink, and

in response to user selection of one of the hyperlinks in the placemarks window, automatically displaying a view of the virtual area corresponding to the location associated with the selected hyperlink;

wherein at least one of the images presented in the placemarks window corresponds to a live visualization of realtime interactions currently occurring in the corresponding location in the virtual area.

57. The method of claim 37, further comprising recording a history comprising a temporally ordered list of presence states of the user in the virtual area, and depicting a backward control enabling the user to incrementally change the user'"'"'s presence state to preceding ones of the presence states in the history, and depicting a forward control enabling the user to incrementally change the user'"'"'s presence state to successive ones of the presence states in the history.

58. The method of claim 37, further comprising displaying different views of the zones as the user navigates the virtual area, and each of the images comprises a respective set of pixels each of which is associated with a respective user-selectable navigational control.

59. The method of claim 37, further comprising displaying a first view of a user-selected one of the zones in which the user has presence, and concurrently displaying a second view of the selected zone.

60. The method of claim 59, wherein the displaying comprises showing one of the first and second views as a 2.5-dimensional view of the selected zone and showing the other of the first and second views as a two-dimensional top view of the selected zone.

61. The method of claim 59, wherein the displaying comprises displaying one or more of the navigational controls and one or more of the interaction controls in association with the 2.5-dimensional view.

62. The method of claim 59, wherein the displaying comprises depicting in the 2.5-dimensional view graphical representations of all communicants having presence in the selected zone.

63. The method of claim 37, further comprising presenting a microphone button and a speaker button in association with a particular one of the zones of the virtual area in which the user is present, the microphone button allowing the user to selectively enable and disable transmission of local microphone signals to other communicants in the particular zone, and the speaker button allowing the user to selectively enable and disable local rendering of audio from other communicants in the particular zone.

64. The method of claim 37, further comprising presenting a chat button in association with a particular one of the zones in which the user has presence, and further comprising, in response to a user selection of the chat button, displaying a chat window enabling the user to exchange text messages with other communicants in the particular zone.

65. The method of claim 64, wherein the presenting comprises presenting a microphone button and a speaker button in the chat window, the microphone button allowing the user to selectively enable and disable transmission of local microphone signals to other communicants in the particular zone, and the speaker button allowing the user to selectively enable and disable local rendering of audio from other communicants in the particular zone.

66. The method of claim 64, wherein the presenting comprises presenting a minimap button in the chat window, and further comprising, in response to a user selection of the minimap button displaying a view of a particular one of the zones in which the user has presence and avatars of all communicants that have presence in the particular zone.

67. The method of claim 37, further comprising presenting a get button and, based on a user selection of the get button, transmitting an invitation to a selected communicant to join the user in a particular one of the zones.

68. The method of claim 67, wherein the get button is presented in association with a respective one of the zones of the virtual area in which the user is present and, based on a user selection of get button, the transmitting comprises transmitting an invitation to the selected communicant to join the user in that zone.

69. The method of claim 67, further comprising displaying a contacts windows comprising a list of contacts associated with the user and an indication of respective ones of the zones in which the contacts have presence, wherein the get button is presented in the contacts window and, based on a user selection of one of the contacts in the list, transmitting an invitation to the selected contact to join the user in a respective one of the zones in which the user is present.

70. The method of claim 37, further comprising presenting a leave button in association with a particular one of the zones in which the user is present, and further comprising, in response to a user selection of the leave button, terminating the user'"'"'s presence in the particular zone.

71. The method of claim 37, further comprising displaying a zones window comprising one or more filtered lists of graphical representations of respective ones of the zones of the virtual area, wherein each of the graphical representations in each filtered list comprises a respective graphical representation of each communicant who is present in the respective zone and visual cues indicating a respective current communication state of each communicant who are present in the respective zone.

72. The method of claim 71, further comprising displaying in the zones window a list of all of the zones in which the user has presence.

73. The method of claim 37, further comprising displaying a notification window describing an event associated with a particular one of the zones.

74. The method of claim 73, wherein the notification window comprises a hyperlink to the particular zone, and further comprising, in response to a user selection of the hyperlink, moving the avatar of the user to the respective zone from the zone where the user had presence before the selection and establishing a presence for the user in the particular zone.

75. The method of claim 37, wherein:

for each of multiple ones of the zones, realtime conferencing data streams transmitted in communication sessions between network nodes associated with the zone are independent of realtime conferencing data streams transmitted in communication sessions between network nodes associated with other ones of the multiple zones; and

the displaying comprises, displaying on the particular network node a graphic visualization of multiple simultaneous communication sessions occurring between respective ones of the communicants in different respective ones of the zones of the virtual area.

76. The method of claim 37, wherein the displaying comprises displaying visual cues indicating current communication states of the communicants in respective ones of the zones of the virtual areas.

77. The method of claim 37, further comprising on the particular network node presenting a get button, and further comprising based on user selection of the get button transmitting an invitation to a selected communicant to join the user in a particular one of the zones of the virtual area.

78. The method of claim 77, wherein the get button is presented in association with a respective one of the zones of the virtual area in which the user has presence, and the transmitting comprises, based on a user selection of get button, transmitting an invitation to the selected communicant to join the user in the respective zone in which the user has presence.

79. The method of claim 77, further comprising on the particular network node, displaying a list of contacts associated with the user and an indication of respective ones of the zones in which the contacts have presence, wherein the transmitting comprises, based on a user selection of one of the contacts in the list, transmitting an invitation to the selected contact to join the user in a respective one of the zones of the virtual area in which the user has presence.

80. The method of claim 37, further comprising depicting a home button that is associated with a respective one of the zones in the virtual area, and based on user selection of the home button navigating the user'"'"'s presence from a particular one of the zones in which the user is present to the respective zone associated with the home button.

81. The method of claim 80, further comprising automatically establishing a network connection between the user and another communicant who is present in the particular zone, and based on user selection of the home button disconnecting the network connection between the user and the other communicant who is present in the particular zone.

82. The method of claim 37, wherein a respective one of the zones comprises a viewscreen object that is associated with functionality for sharing data file content from one of the communicants in the respective zone to other communicants in the respective zone, and based on input received from the user in association with the viewscreen object sharing data file content from the particular network nodes to one or more of the other network nodes being operated by other ones of the communicants who are present in the respective zone.

83. The method of claim 37, wherein a respective one of the zones comprises a conferencing object associated with functionality for connecting one or more communicants in the respective zone with a telephony device associated with a telephone number;

and

further comprising receiving from the user a command to call a telephone number in connection with the conferencing object and, based on the command, transmitting the telephone number to a telephony service that establishes an audio connection between the particular network node and a telephony device that is associated with the telephone number.

84. The method of claim 37, wherein a respective one of the zones comprises a table object that is associated with functionality for sharing data files from one of the communicants in the respective zone to other communicants in the respective zone, and based on user input in association with the table object uploading a selected data file from the particular network node to a data file repository in the network communication environment in association with the zone.

85. The method of claim 37, further comprising displaying a list of contacts that are associated with the user and an indication of respective ones of the zones in which the contacts have presence.