Method, apparatus and system for hosting information exchange groups on a wide area network

Abstract

A method and system for hosting information exchange groups on a wide area network is disclosed, using various tools for promoting topical organization and self-evolution of the information exchange groups, and of a system of information exchange groups. These tools include methods for providing user rating of posts within the exchange group, for rating and ranking users of the exchange group, for rating and ranking links to related information pages and especially to related exchange groups operating according to the methods of the invention, and for continuously updating rating and ranking information. Additionally, methods are provided for users to found exchange groups, to filter information in exchange groups according to specified user preferences, and to protect private information from inadvertent disclosure to other users of the exchange group.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 648,474, filed Aug. 21, 2000, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 548,804, filed Apr. 14, 2000, now abandoned, and claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 129,485, which was filed Apr. 15, 1999, each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates to methods for exchanging and locating information on computer networks, and more particularly, to a method and system for hosting information exchange groups on a wide area network.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]Wide area networks, such as the Internet, provide a vast and growing source of information to a large and growing number of users on demand. One of the great advantages of exchanging information on a wide area network is that users, and ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]The present invention provides a system and method for hosting a new type of information exchange group, herein called a Webroom, on a wide area network, such as the Internet. A Webroom is a species of information exchange group, comprising a computer-implemented, topically organized self-evolving exchange group on a wide area network, according to the present invention. The system and method provides Webrooms with properties and features for harnessing the power of the Internet and a distributed user community to build information exchange groups, and systems of interlinked groups, with superior quantity and quality of information content, and superior organization of information by topic. The method and system provides for user participation and user feedback that rewards the gathering and dissemination of useful and desired topical information within Webrooms, while discouraging and eliminating unwanted or less useful information. The system additionally provides other features for attracting users and encouraging user participation.

[0010]Thus, the system and method provides for promotion of Webrooms by a powerful network effect. That is, as information content and number of participating users of a Webroom grows, the Webroom becomes more likely to attract additional users and to contain more useful information. An additional advantage is that the operating cost of hosting a Webroom, after the initial set-up cost, is essentially limited to the system bandwidth and storage needed to accommodate growth in usage, because substantially all of the Webroom content is provided by the subscribing user community.

[0011]The system and method make use of various software-implemented processes, or “tools,” to achieve the advantages described above. Underlying these tools is a software engine for enabling users to easily create their own topical Webrooms, and to peruse, post and evaluate information within Webrooms. A first tool rewards users, or groups of users, who establish Webrooms (such users being called “founders”) by referring traffic from the Webroom Web site to a Web site of the founders' choice. A second tool rewards users who refer other users to the Webroom Web site in the same manner. A third tool ranks and filters information presented on the site based on statistical user evaluation and use data, and user specified preferences. A fourth tool similarly ranks and filters information sources, such as contributing users and related Web Sites or Web Pages. A fifth tool provides users of a Webroom with anonymous messaging, or chat room capability. A sixth tool provides user protection filters, especially useful for protecting child users.

Problems solved by technology

Prior art information exchange groups do not realize the benefits and advantages possible in consideration of the Internet, the World Wide Web, Internet browsers, and human behavior.

Prior art information exchange groups do not provide a systematic method for discriminating between desired and undesired information.

Therefore, prior art information exchange groups contain limited quantities of desired information, which tends to be randomly interspersed within a much larger collection of undesired information having little or no information value.

For example, prior art information exchange groups are intruded upon by advertisements and deluged by inappropriate posts and arguments among posters.

Knowledgeable users, i.e., “experts,” on a particular topic are frequently unavailable, thereby limiting the amount of useful information that can be obtained.

Other problems that exist include, for example, the inability of these groups to be located by end users, the lack of specificity of the topics discussed, or the lack of participation in the group by all but a fraction of wide area network users due to the complexity of locating a group with pertinent discussion topics and the complexity of reading and participating in the posting.

Further, the nature of the groups, such as chat rooms, deters user participation for a variety of reasons.

For instance, users of prior art groups, such as chat rooms, are subject to a loss of anonymity.

Frequently, users' email addresses are collected for commercial use, and the user is then subjected to unwanted contact from unrelated sources.

Additionally, prior art groups do not effectively supplement user communications with related information, such as a list of hyperlinks to relevant sites.

In addition, prior art groups do not facilitate the use or direct exchange of audio or visual information.

Prior art information exchange groups do not provide users a way to conveniently create or join an information exchange group, for example, a chat room, wherein the user's e-mail address is protected from other users and from unwanted commercial use.

Also, prior art groups do not provide for control by the users of the scope of information exchanged within the information exchange group.

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