Facilitating real-time communications in electronic message boards

• US 9,094,354 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2009
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arlington Technologies, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Klemm, Reinhard Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): SAX, STEVEN PAUL
• Application Number:
  US12/570,801
• Publication Number:
  US 20110078588A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,127 Days
• Field of Search: 715/753, 715/758, 715/749, 715/760, 715/748, 715/754, 715/752
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9558 Details of hyperlinks; Management of linked annotations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/18 Commands or executable codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services

Abstract

A method is provided in which a message board server receives a message that is posted by a first user and transmits a link to another user of the message board. When the link is activated, a communications session is established between the user who activated the link and a telecommunications session recipient.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a message on an electronic message board;

identifying a rule for selecting a communications recipient associated with the message, wherein the rule is based on a content of the message;

selecting the communications recipient based on the message and the rule;

generating, via a processor, a hyperlink pointing to an endpoint identifier associated with the communications recipient, wherein the endpoint identifier was not included in the message when the message was received;

transmitting the message and the hyperlink to a device associated with a user requesting access to the message, wherein the hyperlink is configured to be presented with the message at the device to the user; and

when the hyperlink is activated;

initiating a real time communication session between the user and the communications recipient; and

transmitting a second message to the communications recipient comprising information about the message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein initiating the communication session comprises bridging a first communication session and a second communication session, the first communication session being between a central device and the user, and the second communication session being between the central device and the communications recipient.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising, prior to bridging the first communication session and the second communication session, transmitting a second message to the endpoint identifier, wherein the second message comprises information about one of the message, the communication session, or the user.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the second message provides the communications recipient an opportunity to perform one of accepting the communication session or declining the communication session.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the communications recipient is selected further based on a characteristic of the communications recipient.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the communications recipient is selected further based on the content of the message.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the rule is based on a tag in the message, the tag having been inserted into the message by a sender of the message.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the communications recipient is selected further based on a characteristic of a sender of the message.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the hyperlink is based on the content of the message.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising editing the message to include an availability indicator for the communications recipient.

11. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving a message on an electronic message board;

identifying a rule for selecting a communications recipient associated with the message, wherein the rule is based on a content of the message;

selecting the communications recipient based on the message and the rule;

generating a hyperlink pointing to an endpoint identifier associated with the communications recipient, wherein the endpoint identifier was not included in the message when the message was received;

transmitting the message and the hyperlink to a device associated with a user requesting access to the message, wherein the hyperlink is configured to be presented with the message at the device to the user; and

when the hyperlink is activated;

initiating a real time communication session between the user and the communications recipient; and

transmitting a second message to the communications recipient comprising information about the message.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein initiating the communication session comprises bridging a first communication session and a second communication session, the first communication session being between a central device and the user, and the second communication session being between the central device and the communications recipient.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the communications recipient is selected further based on a characteristic of the communications recipient.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the communications recipient is selected further based on the content of the message.

15. A computer-readable storage device storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving a message on an electronic message board;

identifying a rule for selecting a communications recipient for the message, wherein the rule is based on a content of the message;

selecting the communications recipient based on the message and the rule;

generating a hyperlink pointing to an endpoint identifier associated with the communications recipient, wherein the endpoint identifier was not included in the message when the message was received;

transmitting the message and the hyperlink to a device associated with a user requesting access to the message, wherein the hyperlink is configured to be presented with the message at the device to the user; and

when the hyperlink is activated;

initiating a real time communication session between the user and the communications recipient; and

transmitting a second message to the communications recipient comprising information about the message.

16. The computer-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein initiating the communication session comprises bridging a first communication session and a second communication session, the first communication session being between a central device and the user, and the second communication session being between the central device and the communications recipient.

17. The computer-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the communications recipient is selected further based on a characteristic of the communications recipient.