Automatically managing objectionable behavior in a web-based social network

• US 8,296,373 B2
• Filed: 02/02/2007
• Issued: 10/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bosworth, Andrew, Marlette, Scott, Putnam, Chris, Wable, Akhil
• Primary Examiner(s): Moore, Ian N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Thai
• Application Number:
  US11/701,744
• Publication Number:
  US 20080189380A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,090 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/207
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

A system and method for curtailing objectionable behavior in a web-based social network is disclosed. The method includes monitoring various actions of users of a web-based social network for objectionable behavior. The monitored actions are those that affect other users of the social network. A policy is determined based on behaviors of users. The policy may be violated by a user if the user exceeds a policy threshold. Some monitored actions include the poking, friend requesting, and wall posting. A policy may be violated by multiple occurrences of a single type of action or by a combination of different types of actions. Upon a policy violation, a warning may be issued to the user or the user'"'"'s account may be suspended.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

establishing a policy threshold for a plurality of different types of user actions performed in a social networking system, wherein the policy threshold comprises a first non-zero predetermined number of times that a user performs an action that affects one or more users within a specific group of users of the social networking system and a second non-zero predetermined number of times that the user performs an action that affects one or more users outside the specific group of users, and wherein the first predetermined number is greater than the second predetermined number;

maintaining by the computer system, for a first user, a count for the number of times intra-group actions are performed and for the number of times inter-group actions are performed;

receiving information about the first user of the social networking system performing an intra-group action or an inter-group action;

determining by the computer system whether the count of user actions by the first user exceeds the policy threshold based at least in part on whether the action is an intra-group action or an inter-group action; and

taking a corrective action responsive to the count exceeding the policy threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the intra-group actions and the inter-group actions comprise friend requests.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the intra-group actions and the inter-group actions comprise wall postings.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the intra-group actions and the inter-group actions comprise pokes.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the corrective action is a warning sent to the first user to stop the objectionable behavior.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the corrective action is a suspension of the right of the first user to take further action.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the suspension of the right of the first user to take further action prevents the first user from further actions of the type of action that exceeded the policy threshold.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the corrective action is a suspension of the first user'"'"'s account.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the policy threshold has different levels, each level having a corresponding corrective action.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein a first threshold is a suspension threshold and the action is suspending the first user'"'"'s actions.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein a second threshold is a warning threshold and the action is a warning sent to the first user.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the specific group of users of the social networking system comprises one or more users with whom the first user has established a connection in the social networking system.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the intra-group actions comprise actions that initiate a communication with one or more users within the specific group of users, and wherein the inter-group actions comprise actions that initiate a communication with one or more users outside the specific group of users.

14. A non-transitory computer readable medium having embodied thereon a program, the program being executable by a computing device for performing a method comprising:

establishing a policy threshold for a plurality of different types of user actions performed in a social networking system, wherein the policy threshold comprises a first non-zero predetermined number of times that a user performs an action that affects one or more users within a specific group of users of the social networking system and a second non-zero predetermined number of times that the user performs an action that affects one or more users outside the specific group of users, and wherein the first predetermined number is greater than the second predetermined number;

maintaining by the computer system, for a first user, a count for the number of times intra-group actions are performed and for the number of times inter-group actions are performed;

receiving information about the first user of the social networking system performing an intra-group action or an inter-group action;

determining by the computer system whether the count of user actions by the first user exceeds the policy threshold based at least in part on whether the action is an intra-group action or an inter-group action; and

taking a corrective action responsive to the count exceeding the policy threshold.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the intra-group actions and the inter-group actions are friend requests.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the corrective action is a suspension of the right of the first user to take further action.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the specific group of users of the social networking system comprises one or more users with whom the first user has established a connection in the social networking system.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the intra-group actions comprise actions that initiate a communication with one or more users within the specific group of users, and wherein the inter-group actions comprise actions that initiate a communication with one or more users outside the specific group of users.

19. A system comprising:

a communication module configured to receive information about a first user of a social networking system performing an intra-group action or an inter-group action that affects a second user of the social networking system, the intra-group action comprising an action that affects one or more users within a specific group of users of the social networking system and the inter-group action comprising an action that affects one or more users outside the specific group of users of the social networking system;

an accounts module configured to maintain for the first user a count for the number of times intra-group actions are performed and for the number of times inter-group actions are performed;

a policy module configured to establish a policy threshold for the plurality of different types of user actions performed in the social networking system, wherein the policy threshold comprises a first non-zero predetermined number of times that a user performs an action that affects one or more users within a specific group of users of the social networking system and a second non-zero predetermined number of times that the user performs an action that affects one or more users outside the specific group of, and wherein the first predetermined number is greater than the second predetermined number; and

a violation module configured to determine whether the count of user actions by the first user exceeds the policy threshold based at least in part on whether the performed action is an intra-group action or an inter-group action, and to take corrective action responsive to the count exceeding the policy threshold.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the intra-group actions and the inter-group actions are friend requests.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the corrective action is a suspension of the right of the first user to take further action.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the specific group of users of the social networking system comprises one or more users with whom the first user has established a connection in the social networking system.

23. The system of claim 19, wherein the intra-group actions comprise actions that initiate a communication with one or more users within the specific group of users, and wherein the inter-group actions comprise actions that initiate a communication with one or more users outside the specific group of users.