Promoting communicant interactions in a network communications environment
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- in a network communication environment in which communicants operating respective client network nodes connect to different server applications that are hosted by one or more server network nodes, wherein each server application supports realtime communications between co-present communicants in a respective virtual area comprising zones,ascertaining ones of the communicants who are related to a target one of the communicants,determining statuses of the ascertained communicants with respect to the different server applications,generating a contact list comprising a linear sorted listing of the ascertained communicants, wherein the contact list groups the ascertained communicants into respective application groups according to their respective memberships in the virtual areas, and within each application group the contact list further groups ones of the ascertained communicants who are co-present in respective zones of the respective virtual area into respective zones of co-presence and prioritizes the listing of co-present ones of the communicants in the zones of co-presence ahead of non-co-present ones of the ascertained communicants who are present in respective ones of the zones of the respective virtual area in which fewer than two communicants are present,to the client network node of the target communicant, transmitting the contact list, the determined statuses of the ascertained communicants, and indications of realtime activity states of respective ones of the ascertained communicants to display the contact list as a linear array of the application groups containing graphical representations of respective ones of the ascertained communicants in association with respective indications of the determined statuses and realtime activity states of the ascertained communicants, wherein the graphical representations of the co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are grouped together in the respective zones of co-presence to show that ongoing communications between the co-present communicants are occurring, and the graphical representations of the non-co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are shown segregated from the zones of co-presence.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In a network communication environment in which communicants operating from respective client network nodes connect to different server applications, communicants who are related to a target communicant are ascertained, statuses of the related communicants with respect to the different server applications are determined, and indications of the related communicants and the determined statuses of the related communicants are transmitted to the target communicant. Graphical representations of the related communicants and graphical indications of the statuses of the related communicants with respect to connections to the different server applications may be displayed on a display. A contact list including a respective graphical representation of each of one or more of the communicants also may be displayed in association with visual cues representing the ascertained types of current interaction activities respectively engaged in by the one or more communicants. A single universal user identifier may be used to identify each communicant.
219 Citations
49 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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in a network communication environment in which communicants operating respective client network nodes connect to different server applications that are hosted by one or more server network nodes, wherein each server application supports realtime communications between co-present communicants in a respective virtual area comprising zones, ascertaining ones of the communicants who are related to a target one of the communicants, determining statuses of the ascertained communicants with respect to the different server applications, generating a contact list comprising a linear sorted listing of the ascertained communicants, wherein the contact list groups the ascertained communicants into respective application groups according to their respective memberships in the virtual areas, and within each application group the contact list further groups ones of the ascertained communicants who are co-present in respective zones of the respective virtual area into respective zones of co-presence and prioritizes the listing of co-present ones of the communicants in the zones of co-presence ahead of non-co-present ones of the ascertained communicants who are present in respective ones of the zones of the respective virtual area in which fewer than two communicants are present, to the client network node of the target communicant, transmitting the contact list, the determined statuses of the ascertained communicants, and indications of realtime activity states of respective ones of the ascertained communicants to display the contact list as a linear array of the application groups containing graphical representations of respective ones of the ascertained communicants in association with respective indications of the determined statuses and realtime activity states of the ascertained communicants, wherein the graphical representations of the co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are grouped together in the respective zones of co-presence to show that ongoing communications between the co-present communicants are occurring, and the graphical representations of the non-co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are shown segregated from the zones of co-presence. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. Apparatus operational in a network communication environment in which communicants operating respective client network nodes connect to different server applications that are hosted by one or more server network nodes, wherein each server application supports realtime communications between co-present communicants in a respective virtual area comprising zones, the apparatus comprising:
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a computer-readable memory storing computer-readable instructions; and a data processor 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 comprising ascertaining ones of the communicants who are related to a target one of the communicants, determining statuses of the ascertained communicants with respect to the different server applications, generating a contact list comprising a linear sorted listing of the ascertained communicants, wherein the contact list groups the ascertained communicants into respective application groups according to their respective memberships in the virtual areas, and within each application group the contact list further groups ones of the ascertained communicants who are co-present in respective zones of the respective virtual area into respective zones of co-presence and prioritizes the listing of co-present ones of the communicants in the zones of co-presence ahead of non-co-present ones of the ascertained communicants who are resent in respective ones of the zones of the respective virtual area in which fewer than two communicants are present, to the client network node of the target communicant, transmitting the contact list, the determined statuses of the ascertained communicants, and indications of realtime activity states of respective ones of the ascertained communicants to display the contact list as a linear array of the application groups containing graphical representations of respective ones of the ascertained communicants in association with respective indications of the determined statuses and realtime activity states of the ascertained communicants, wherein the graphical representations of the co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are grouped together in the respective zones of co-presence to show that ongoing communications between the co-present communicants are occurring, and the graphical representations of the non-co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are shown segregated from the zones of co-presence.
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25. At least one non-transitory computer-readable memory having computer-readable program code embodied therein, wherein when executed by a computer in a network communication environment in which communicants operating respective client network nodes connect to different server applications that are hosted by one or more server network nodes, wherein each server application supports realtime communications between co-present communicants in a respective virtual area comprising zones, the computer-readable program code causes the computer to perform operations comprising:
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ascertaining ones of the communicants who are related to a target one of the communicants, determining statuses of the ascertained communicants with respect to the different server applications, generating a contact list comprising a linear sorted listing of the ascertained communicants, wherein the contact list groups the ascertained communicants into respective application groups according to their respective memberships in the virtual areas, and within each application group the contact list further groups ones of the ascertained communicants who are co-present in respective zones of the respective virtual area into respective zones of co-presence and prioritizes the listing of co-present ones of the communicants in the zones of co-presence ahead of non-co-present ones of the ascertained communicants who are present in respective ones of the zones of the respective virtual area in which fewer than two communicants are present, to the client network node of the target communicant, transmitting the contact list, the determined statuses of the ascertained communicants, and indications of realtime activity states of respective ones of the ascertained communicants to display the contact list as a linear array of the application groups containing graphical representations of respective ones of the ascertained communicants in association with respective indications of the determined statuses and realtime activity states of the ascertained communicants, wherein the graphical representations of the co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are grouped together in the respective zones of co-presence to show that ongoing communications between the co-present communicants are occurring, and the graphical representations of the non-co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are shown segregated from the zones of co-presence.
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26. A method, comprising:
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in a network communication environment in which communicants operating respective client network nodes connect to different server applications that are hosted by one or more server network nodes, wherein each server application supports realtime communications between co-present communicants in a respective virtual area comprising zones, by a given one of the client network nodes from which a given one of the communicants is operating, connecting to a target one of the server applications, receiving indications of ones of the communicants who are related to the given communicant and statuses of the related communicants with respect to associations with the different server applications, wherein the receiving comprises receiving a contact list comprising a linear sorted listing of the related communicants, wherein the contact list groups the related communicants into respective application groups according to their respective memberships in the virtual areas, and within each application group the contact list further groups ones of the related communicants who are co-present in respective zones of the respective virtual area into respective zones of co-presence and prioritizes the listing of co-present ones of the communicants in the zones of co-presence ahead of non-co-present ones of the ascertained communicants who are present in respective ones of the zones of the respective virtual area in which fewer than two communicants are present, and on a display displaying graphical representations of the related communicants, graphical indications of the statuses of the related communicants with respect to connections to the different server applications, and indications of realtime activity states of respective ones of the related communicants, wherein the displaying comprises displaying the contact list as a linear array of the application groups containing graphical representations of the related communicants associated with respective indications of the determined statuses and realtime activity states of the related communicants, wherein the graphical representations of the co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are grouped together in the respective zones of co-presence to show that ongoing communications between the co-present communicants are occurring, and the graphical representations of the non-co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are shown segregated from the zones of co-presence. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. Apparatus operational in a network communication environment in which communicants operating respective client network nodes connect to different server applications that are hosted by one or more server network nodes, wherein each server application supports realtime communications between co-present communicants in a respective virtual area comprising zones, the apparatus comprising:
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a computer-readable memory storing computer-readable instructions; and a data processor 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 comprising connecting to a target one of the server applications, receiving indications of ones of the communicants who are related to the given communicant and statuses of the related communicants with respect to associations with the different server applications, wherein the receiving comprises receiving a contact list comprising a linear sorted listing of the related communicants, wherein the contact list groups the related communicants into respective application groups according to their respective memberships in the virtual areas, and within each application group the contact list further groups ones of the related communicants who are co-present in respective zones of the respective virtual area into respective zones of co-presence and prioritizes the listing of co-present ones of the communicants in the zones of co-presence ahead of non-co-present ones of the ascertained communicants who are present in respective ones of the zones of the respective virtual area in which fewer than two communicants are present, and on a display displaying graphical representations of the related communicants, graphical indications of the statuses of the related communicants with respect to connections to the different server applications, and indications of realtime activity states of respective ones of the related communicants, wherein the displaying comprises displaying the contact list as a linear array of the application groups containing graphical representations of the related communicants associated with respective indications of the determined statuses and realtime activity states of the related communicants, wherein the graphical representations of the co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are grouped together in the respective zones of co-presence to show that ongoing communications between the co-present communicants are occurring, and the graphical representations of the non-co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are shown segregated from the zones of co-presence.
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40. At least one non-transitory computer-readable memory having computer-readable program code embodied therein, wherein when executed by a computer in a network communication environment in which communicants operating respective client network nodes connect to different server applications that are hosted by one or more server network nodes, wherein each server application supports realtime communications between co-present communicants in a respective virtual area comprising respective zones, the computer-readable program code causes the computer perform operations comprising:
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connecting to a target one of the server applications, receiving indications of ones of the communicants who are related to the given communicant and statuses of the related communicants with respect to associations with the different server applications, wherein the receiving comprises receiving a contact list comprising a linear sorted listing of the related communicants, wherein the contact list groups the related communicants into respective application groups according to their respective memberships in the virtual areas, and within each application group the contact list further groups ones of the related communicants who are co-present in respective zones of the respective virtual area into respective zones of co-presence and prioritizes the listing of co-present ones of the communicants in the zones of co-presence ahead of non-co-present ones of the ascertained communicants who are present in respective ones of the zones of the respective virtual area in which fewer than two communicants are present, and on a display displaying graphical representations of the related communicants, graphical indications of the statuses of the related communicants with respect to connections to the different server applications, and indications of realtime activity states of respective ones of the related communicants, wherein the displaying comprises displaying the contact list as a linear array of the application groups containing graphical representations of the related communicants associated with respective indications of the determined statuses and realtime activity states of the related communicants, wherein the graphical representations of the co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are grouped together in the respective zones of co-presence to show that ongoing communications between the co-present communicants are occurring, and the graphical representations of the non-co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are shown segregated from the zones of co-presence.
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41. A method, comprising:
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in a network communication environment in which communicants operating respective client network nodes connect to a virtual area that has multiple zones with respect to each of which respective ones of the communicants are able to be associated, ascertaining ones of the communicants who are related to a target one of the communicants, identifying each of one or more zones of co-presence corresponding to the zones in which at least one of the related communicants is co-present with at least one other communicant, generating a contact list comprising a linear listing of the related communicants sorted into respective groups according to the related communicants'"'"' respective presences in the corresponding zones of the virtual area, wherein the generating comprises prioritizing the listing of communicants in groups corresponding to the identified zones of co-presence ahead of communicants who are not co-present with at least one other communicant in a respective one of the zones of the virtual area, and to the client network node of the target communicant, transmitting the contact list, statuses of the related communicants, and indications of realtime activity states of respective ones of the related communicants to display the contact list as a linear array of graphical representations of the related communicants in association with respective indications of the determined statuses and realtime activity states of the related communicants, wherein the graphical representations of the co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are grouped together in the respective zones of co-presence to show that ongoing communications between the co-present communicants are occurring, and the graphical representations of the non-co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are shown segregated from the zones of co-presence. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44)
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45. A method, comprising:
in a network communication environment in which communicants operating respective client network nodes connect to a server application that is hosted by one or more server network nodes and supports realtime communications between co-present communicants, ascertaining ones of the communicants who are members of the server application, determining presence statuses of the ascertained communicants with respect to the target server application, based on the determined presence statuses, identifying each group of two or more of the ascertained communicants who are co-present with one another in the target server application and identifying non-co-present ones of the ascertained communicants who are not co-present with at least one other one of the ascertained communicants in the target server application, generating a contact list comprising a linear sorted listing of the ascertained communicants, wherein the contact list lists each identified group of co-present communicants in a separate zone of co-presence lists the identified non-co-present communicants outside the zones of co-presence, and prioritizes the listing of each zone of co-presence ahead of the listing of the ones of the ascertained communicants in the target server application who are not co-present with at least one other communicant in the target server application, to the client network node of the target communicant, transmitting the contact list, the determined statuses of the ascertained communicants, and indications of realtime activity states of respective ones of the ascertained communicants to display in the contact list graphical representations of the ascertained communicants in association with respective indications of the determined statuses and realtime activity states of the ascertained communicants, wherein the graphical representations of the co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are grouped together in the respective zones of co-presence to show that ongoing communications between the co-present communicants are occurring, and the graphical representations of the non-co-present ones of the ascertained communicants are shown segregated from the zones of co-presence. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49)
Specification