Administrative notes in network-based commerce facility

• US 7,756,776 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2006
• Issued: 07/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Wilson, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, JAGDISH
• Application Number:
  US11/581,893
• Publication Number:
  US 20070055681A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,365 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/37, 705/38
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

Some embodiments provide a method and a system for generating an administrative note associated with a network-based commerce facility, associating an administrator-selected aspect of the network-based commerce facility with the administrative note, and storing the administrative note.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method including:

generating an administrative note associated with a network-based commerce facility;

receiving input indicative of an administrator-selected aspect of the network-based commerce facility to be associated with the administrative note;

using one or more processors, automatically associating the administrator-selected aspect of the network-based commerce facility with the administrative note; and

storing the administrative note within the network-based commerce facility, the administrative note being stored in association with the administrator-selected aspect.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the administrator-selected aspect comprises an entity in the network-based commerce facility.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the entity is a user of the network-based commerce facility.

4. The method of claim 3, further including receiving any one of a group of information items to be associated with the administrative note concerning the user, the group of information items including a user identifier and whether the user is to be suspended.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the generating of the administrative note further includes associating administrative information concerning the user with the administrative note.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the entity is an item offered for auction via the network-based commerce facility.

7. The method of claim 1, further including receiving administrative note data relating to the administrative note, and wherein the storing of the administrative note includes storing the administrative note data in association with the administrative note.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating of the administrative note further includes associating the administrative note with a plurality of administrator-selected aspects of the network-based commerce facility.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating of the administrative note includes associating a reason for the generation of the administrative note with the administrative note.

10. The method of claim 1, further including receiving input indicative of an administrative note type, and associating the administrative note type with the administrative note.

11. The method of claim 10, further including presenting a set of administrative note types for selection by an administrator.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein a reason for generation of the administrative note is associated with each of the set of administrative note types.

15. The method of claim 1, further including prompting an administrator, via a user interface, to provide input indicative of the administrator-selected aspect to be associated with the administrative note.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the administrator-selected aspect comprises an item offered for auction via the network-based auction facility, the method further including prompting the administrator, via the user interface, to provide input indicative of the item.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the administrator-selected aspect comprises a user, the method further including prompting the administrator, via the user interface, to provide input indicative of the user.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing of the administrative note within the network-based commerce facility is in response to an invocation from any one of a plurality of administrative functions implemented by the network-based commerce facility.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing of the administrative note within the network-based commerce facility is in response to an invocation via an Application Program Interface (API).

13. The method of 11, wherein the set of administrative note types is presented as a menu from which an administrative note type is selectable.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the menu of administrative note types is a drop-down menu.

20. A system including:

a computing device; and

a note creation application, executing on the computing device, to generate an administrative note associated with a network-based commerce facility, to receive input indicative of an administrator-selected aspect of the network-based computer facility to be associated with the administrative note, to associate an administrator-selected aspect of the network-based commerce facility with the administrative note, and to store the administrative note within the network-based commerce facility, the administrative note being stored in association with the administrator-selected aspect.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the administrator-selected aspect comprises an entity in the network-based commerce facility.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the entity is a user of the network-based commerce facility.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the note creation application is to receive any one of a group of information items to be associated with the administrative note concerning the user, the group of information items including a user identifier and whether the user is to be suspended.

24. The system of claim 21, wherein the note creation application is to associate administrative information concerning the user with the administrative note.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein the entity is an item offered for auction via the network-based commerce facility.

26. The system of claim 20, wherein the note creation application is to receive administrative note data relating to the administrative note, and to store the administrative note data in association with the administrative note.

27. The system of claim 20, wherein the note creation application is to associate the administrative note with a plurality of administrator-selected aspects of the network-based commerce facility.

28. The system of claim 20, wherein the note creation application is to associate a reason for the generation of the administrative note with the administrative note.

29. The system of claim 20, wherein the note creation application is to receive input indicative of an administrative note type, and to associate the administrative note type with the administrative note.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the note creation application is to present a set of administrative note types for selection by administrator.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein a reason for generation of the administrative note is associated with each of the set of administrative note types.

32. The system of claim 30, wherein the set of administrative note types is presented as a menu of administrative note types from which an administrative note type is selectable.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the menu of administrative note types is a drop-down menu.

34. The system of claim 20, wherein the note creation application is to prompt an administrator, via a user interface, to provide input indicative of the administrator-selected aspect to be associated with the administrative note.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein the administrator-selected aspect comprises an item offered for auction via the network-based auction facility, the method further including prompting the administrator, via the user interface, to provide input indicative of the item.

36. The system of claim 34, wherein the administrator-selected aspect comprises a user, the method further including prompting the administrator, via the user interface, to provide input indicative of the user.

37. The system of claim 20, wherein the note creation application is to store the administrative note within the network-based commerce facility in response to an invocation from any one of a plurality of administrative functions implemented by the network-based commerce facility.

38. The system of claim 20, wherein the note creation application is to store the administrative note within the network-based commerce facility in response to an invocation via an Application Program Interface (API).

39. A system including:

means for generating an administrative note associated with a network-based commerce facility;

means for receiving input indicative of an administrator-selected aspect of the network-based commerce facility to be associated with the administrative note;

means for associating the administrator-selected aspect of the network-based commerce facility with the administrative note; and

means for storing the administrative note within the network-based commerce facility, the administrative note being stored in association with the administrator-selected aspect.

40. A non-transitory tangible machine-readable medium embodying instructions, which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform a method including:

generating an administrative note associated with a network-based commerce facility;

receiving input indicative of an administrator-selected aspect of the network-based commerce facility to be associated with the administrative note;

associating the administrator-selected aspect of the network-based commerce facility with the administrative note; and

storing the administrative note within the network-based commerce facility, the administrative note being stored in association with the administrator-selected aspect.