Work providing device, work providing system, work providing program, and work providing method

Abstract

To provide a work providing device, a work providing system, a work providing program, and a work providing method which allow a user to freely send comments and enhance a sense of security when reading comments by other users. [Solution] A work providing device equipped with a control unit that provides a work, which includes a plurality of sentences and is divided into a set of small sections, to a user who has logged in as a reader, for each small section. For example, when the control unit receives a comment posted by a certain user, the control unit provides the comment to other users to whom the small section being read by the certain user has already been provided. When providing a new small section to a certain user, the control unit may invite the certain user to a chat room whose members are users who are reading the small section. This configuration suppresses so-called spoilers.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a work providing device, a work providing system, a work providing program, and a work providing method for providing a work composed of a plurality of sentences. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known a system that provides pre-registered text to a user who logs in as a reader (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that provides branch destination options at branch points such as the end of a chapter in content, and provides the user with the branch destination selected by the user.

[0003] In such systems, there has long been a need for readers of the same work to share their impressions, etc. In this regard, many EC sites allow users to refer to comments from other users through word of mouth, and manga apps also allow readers to share comments with each other. These functions are likely to be applicable to work provision systems as well. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2004-21469 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, when conventional methods are applied to a work distribution system, there is a risk of so-called spoilers occurring, so users are hesitant to read comments posted by other users and cannot feel safe in posting their impressions, feelings, etc.

[0006] To provide a work providing device, a work providing system, a work providing program, and a work providing method that enable users to send comments without hesitation and that increase the sense of security when reading comments made by other users. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A work providing device according to one embodiment of the present invention has a control unit that provides a work, which is composed of a plurality of sentences and divided into grouped subsections, to a user who has logged in as a reader, for each subsection.When the control unit receives a comment sent by a certain user, it provides the comment to other users to whom the subsection being read by the certain user has already been provided.

[0008] A work providing device according to one embodiment of the present invention has a control unit that provides a work, which is composed of a plurality of sentences and divided into grouped subsections, to a user who has logged in as a reader, for each subsection.When the control unit receives a comment sent by a certain user, it provides the comment to other users who have already provided all of the subsections provided to that user.

[0009] A work providing device according to one embodiment of the present invention has a control unit that provides a work, which is composed of a plurality of sentences and divided into grouped subsections, to a user who has logged in as a reader, for each subsection. The control unit generates chat rooms linked to each of the plurality of subsections and whose members are users who are reading the subsections, and when providing a new subsection to a user, invites the user to the chat room linked to the subsection.

[0010] A work providing device according to one embodiment of the present invention has a control unit that provides a work, which is composed of a plurality of sentences and divided into grouped subsections, to a user who has logged in as a reader, for each subsection. The control unit generates a chat room that is linked one-to-one to at least one of the subsections and whose members are users who are reading the subsection, and when providing a new subsection to a user with a chat room linked to it, invites the user to the chat room linked to the subsection.

[0011] A work providing device according to one embodiment of the present invention has a control unit that provides a work, which is composed of a plurality of sentences and divided into grouped subsections, to a user who has logged in as a reader, for each subsection. The control unit generates a chat room associated with a predetermined combination of subsections, and invites users who have been provided with all of the subsections included in the combination to the chat room associated with the combination.

[0012] A work providing device according to one embodiment of the present invention has a control unit that provides a work, which is composed of a plurality of sentences and divided into grouped subsections, to a user logged in as a reader, for each subsection. The control unit provides an administrative user, who is logged in as the author of the work, with reaction data indicating the reactions of all users to the work who have received the work, and also provides the user with reaction data relating to other users that has been approved by the administrative user.

[0013] A work provision system according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises the above-mentioned work provision device, an information terminal equipped with a transmission unit that accepts comments sent by users based on reading data transmitted from the work provision device, and a display unit that displays a reaction section in which comments sent through the transmission unit are displayed.

[0014] A work providing program according to one embodiment of the present invention causes a computer to function as a providing processing means for providing a work, which is composed of a plurality of sentences and divided into grouped subsections, to a user who has logged in as a reader, in each subsection. When the providing processing means receives a comment sent by a certain user, it provides the comment to other users who are receiving the subsection being read by the user.

[0015] A work providing method according to one embodiment of the present invention is configured to have one or more processors execute a sub-section providing step of providing a work, which is composed of a plurality of sentences and divided into grouped sub-sections, to a user who has logged in as a reader, in each sub-section, and a comment providing step of, when a comment sent by a certain user is received, providing the comment to other users who are being provided with the sub-section that the user is reading. Effect of the Invention

[0016] The present invention is configured to provide a user with only comments from other users who share a common reading path, so that the user can freely send comments and can read the comments from other users with peace of mind. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a work providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an outline of selection provision data corresponding to a question and a plurality of options, stored in a storage unit of the work provision device of FIG. 1; [Diagram 3] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an outline of selected provision data corresponding to question and answer fields in a storage unit of the work provision device of FIG. 1; [Figure 4] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an outline of selection provision data corresponding to a question, a plurality of options, and an answer field in a storage unit of the work provision device of FIG. 1; [Diagram 5]This is an explanatory diagram regarding the structure of works and user management provided by the work provision system of Figure 1, where (a) shows an example of the structure of a work, and (b) shows a schematic example of a user database in which the reading progress of each general user is organized. [Figure 6] 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic example of a comment database in which user-submitted comments are organized and managed by the product providing device of FIG. 1; [Figure 7] 1. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an initial screen that the management terminal of FIG. 1 displays to a management user. [Figure 8] 1. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an initial screen that the management terminal of FIG. 1 displays to a management user who logs in from a smartphone or the like. [Figure 9] 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a basic setting screen displayed by the management terminal of FIG. 1 when an operation to specify a work is accepted on the initial screen such as FIG. 7 or FIG. 8; [Figure 10] 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an area including an upper portion of the editing screen displayed by the management terminal of FIG. 1 when an operation to specify a subsection is accepted on the basic setting screen as in FIG. 9; FIG. [Figure 11] 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an area including a lower portion of the editing screen displayed by the management terminal of FIG. 1 when an operation to specify a subsection is accepted on the basic setting screen as in FIG. 9; FIG. [Figure 12] 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a statistics confirmation screen displayed by the management terminal of FIG. 1 when an operation to instruct display of statistical data is accepted on an editing screen such as that of FIG. 10 or FIG. 11; FIG. [Figure 13] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an initial screen that the information terminal in FIG. 1 displays to a general user; [Figure 14] 1. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a reading screen relating to the first subsection, which is displayed to a general user by the information terminal of FIG. [Figure 15] 1. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a reading screen in an immersive mode that is displayed to a general user by the information terminal of FIG. [Figure 16] 1. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a chat-style reading screen displayed on the information terminal of FIG. 1 for general users. [Figure 17] 1. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a reading screen relating to the second and subsequent subsections, which is displayed to a general user by the information terminal of FIG. [Figure 18] 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a reading screen relating to a subsection of the ending, which is displayed to a general user by the information terminal of FIG. 1; [Figure 19] 1. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a route confirmation screen that is displayed on the information terminal of FIG. 1 to a general user who has read the entire main text. [Figure 20] 1. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a route confirmation screen displayed by the information terminal of FIG. 1 to a general user who has reached a false conclusion. [Figure 21] 10 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a route confirmation screen displayed by the information terminal of FIG. 1 to a general user who has reached the true conclusion with some of the subsections constituting the main part omitted; FIG. [Figure 22] 10 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a route confirmation screen displayed by the information terminal of FIG. 1 to a general user who has been provided with a plurality of subsections relating to a different edition; [Diagram 23] 1. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a reading screen including an invitation button, which is displayed to general users by the information terminal of FIG. [Figure 24] 1. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a reading screen including a chat section, which is displayed to general users by the information terminal of FIG. [Diagram 25] 1. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a reading screen including a complete reading chat, which is displayed to a general user by the information terminal of FIG. [Figure 26] 4 is a sequence chart illustrating an example of an outline of communication between a work providing device and a management terminal in a work providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 27] 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of information providing processing from a work providing device to a management terminal in the work providing method according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 28] 4 is a sequence chart illustrating an overview of interactions between a work providing device and an information terminal and a management terminal in a work providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 29]1 is a sequence chart illustrating a process flow relating to management and provision of reaction data in a work provision method according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 30] 11 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow when an administrative user selects reaction data in the work providing method according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 31] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow relating to managing and providing a chat room in a product providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Embodiment A schematic configuration example and a functional configuration example of the work providing system 100 in an embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 25. The same reference numerals will be used for components common to each figure, and descriptions will be omitted or simplified as appropriate. Some reference numerals may be omitted in each figure to avoid complicating the drawings and descriptions.

[0019] 1, the work providing system 100 includes a work providing device 10, an operation terminal 20, a management terminal 30, and a plurality of information terminals 50. The work providing device 10, the operation terminal 20, the management terminal 30, and the plurality of information terminals 50 are capable of wired or wireless communication via a network N such as the Internet.

[0020] The work providing device 10 manages works that are composed of a plurality of sentences and are divided into small sections, and various information associated with the works. The works may be novels composed only of text, or manga that combines pictures and text. In the case of a work composed only of text, each of the small sections that make up the work is composed of a single piece of text. In the case of a manga, the work may include lines of dialogue, onomatopoeia, and the like. The work providing device 10 is composed of a cloud server based on cloud computing, or an on-premise physical server, or a server system that combines these.

[0021] The operation terminal 20 is a PC (Personal Computer) or the like used by the operation side of a system related to work provision processing managed by the work providing device 10 (hereinafter referred to as the operation system). PCs include desktop PCs, notebook PCs, tablet PCs, smartphones, and the like. An operator on the operation side can add and edit information on the software and databases managed by the work providing device 10 via the operation terminal 20 and perform maintenance of the operation system.

[0022] The information terminal 50 is a PC or the like used by a general user. A general user is a user who logs in as a reader of a work provided by the operating system, and hereinafter will be referred to as a "reader" or simply as a "user." A general user registers user information such as a user name (such as a name or nickname), unique identification information (such as an ID or email address), and a unique password in the operating system via the information terminal 50. A general user can use services provided by the operating system, for example, by inputting the identification information and password into a login screen provided by the work providing device 10.

[0023] The management terminal 30 is a PC or the like used by an administrative user. The administrative user is a user who logs in as the creator (author) of a work provided by the operating system, and is hereinafter also referred to as the "author." The administrative user registers user information, such as a user name, unique identification information, and unique password, in the operating system via the management terminal 30. The administrative user can use services provided by the operating system, for example, by inputting the identification information and password into a login screen provided by the work providing device 10.

[0024] The level and amount of information registered in the operating system may differ between general users and administrative users. In particular, administrative users are given the authority to modify question data (described below) and the works themselves (the extent of modification depends on the settings). For this reason, the work providing device 10 may require administrative users to register relatively high-level information or a large amount of information. Examples of high-level information include images of photo ID and biometric authentication information.

[0025] More specifically, the work providing device 10 has a communication unit 11, a control unit 12, and a storage unit 13. The communication unit 11 is an interface for the control unit 12 to communicate with external devices such as the operation terminal 20, the management terminal 30, and the information terminal 50 in a wired or wireless manner. The storage unit 13 is composed of a random access memory (RAM) and a read only memory (ROM), a flash memory, an embedded multi media card (eMMC), a solid state drive (SSD), or a hard disk drive (HDD). The storage unit 13 stores various information in addition to the operation program of the control unit 12, including a work providing program 13p. The work providing program 13p is software that cooperates with a calculation processing device such as a central processing unit (CPU), a micro processing unit (MPU), or a graphics processing unit (GPU) to realize various functions.

[0026] The storage unit 13 stores, for example, a work (information about the work) that includes a plurality of sentences and is divided into a group of small sections, and question data that corresponds to at least one small section in the work and includes a question related to the content of the small section. In a work that is composed only of text, a small section may refer to, for example, each chapter in a chaptered novel, but is not limited to this and may refer to an arbitrarily set group of text. If the work is a manga, a small section may be set for each story, a group of multiple stories may be set as a small section, or a combination of these may be set as small sections. However, a section may be set in the middle of a story, or a single story may be divided into multiple small sections.

[0027] The question data is configured to include, for example, a question related to the contents of the small section and a plurality of options linked to the question. The question data may include a question related to the contents of the small section and an answer column for the question. The question data may be configured of a question related to the contents of the small section, a plurality of options linked to the question, and a reason column for entering the reason for the selection. Here, three types of question data configurations are exemplified, but are not limited to these. In addition, a combination of question data with different configurations may be used for one work. The question data may be associated with all the small sections, or may be associated with some of the small sections. Hereinafter, a question related to the contents of the small section is also simply referred to as a "question". The work providing device 10 may provide a work in which question data is not associated with any small section.

[0028] The storage unit 13 includes a setting database that records the settings made by the administrative user. A plurality of setting databases may be provided. The storage unit 13 stores selective provision data including, for example, a plurality of options linked to a question and information on a subcategory provided when each option is selected (information on a transition destination screen when selected). The selective provision data can be set afterwards by the administrative user.

[0029] Here, the selective provision data will be explained in more detail with reference to Figs. 2 to 4. Fig. 2 shows an example of an outline of selective provision data corresponding to a work having a plurality of question data (first question data) each consisting of a question and a plurality of options linked to the question. Fig. 3 shows an example of an outline of selective provision data corresponding to a work having a plurality of question data (second question data) each consisting of a question and an answer field for the question. Fig. 4 shows an example of an outline of selective provision data corresponding to a work in which one or more first question data and one or more second question data are set.

[0030] A work handled by the operating system is composed of, for example, multiple sub-sections that make up the main story and one or more sub-sections related to a separate story. The separate story may include sub-sections other than the main story, and may include sub-sections that lead to a false ending in addition to a false ending. The work illustrated in FIG. 2 has four sub-sections that make up the main story and five sub-sections related to the separate story. The work illustrated in FIG. 3 has four sub-sections that make up the main story and four sub-sections related to the separate story. The work illustrated in FIG. 4 has five sub-sections that make up the main story and four sub-sections related to the separate story.

[0031] The number of questions that can be set for one subsection may be three or more and can be increased or decreased as appropriate, and the number of options for the questions may be four or more and can be increased or decreased as appropriate. In the third chapter of the work in FIG. 2 and the second chapter of the work in FIG. 3, two questions are set, and the transition destination is determined by a combination of these correct answers. The third chapter of the work in FIG. 4 is an assumed example in which the transition destination is determined by a combination of correct answers for two questions, or a combination of two options (A, B) for one question and the validity (○, ×) of the input contents in the reason column. A question may be set between subsections related to the separate section, such as between Separate 1 and BAD2 in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, and a setting may be made such that if the question is answered correctly, the user can return to the main section. In FIG. 2 to FIG. 4, table information showing the selective provision data alone is illustrated as an example, but the selective provision data is not limited to this and may be a part of table information including other settings.

[0032] The storage unit 13 may include a reaction database (hereinafter referred to as a reaction DB) in which reaction data representing a reaction of a general user is linked to unique identification information of the general user and stored. The unique identification information of the general user is a user ID or the like, and is hereinafter referred to as a "user identifier". In the reaction DB, information on the date and time of the reaction (such as information on the date and time of the comment transmission) may be linked to the reaction data. In the reaction DB, identification information of a small section that the general user is reading at the time of transmitting the reaction data may be linked to the reaction data. In this specification, reading refers to reading a work such as a novel composed only of text, as well as reading a work such as a manga in which pictures and text are combined. The identification information of the small section is unique information assigned to each small section, and is hereinafter also referred to as small section data. The reaction DB is managed and updated by the control unit 12. The storage unit 13 may include a chat database for sequentially recording information on interactions between users in a social chat described later. A plurality of chat databases may be provided.

[0033] The storage unit 13 may include a user database (hereinafter referred to as a user DB) in which the progress of reading for each work is stored for each general user. In the user DB, status data indicating the progress of reading for each general user for each work is organized by being linked to a user identifier, and is updated as needed. The status data may be in any format, and may be, for example, data organized for each general user as to whether each of a plurality of subsections constituting a work has been provided (see FIG. 5(b) described later), or may be information such as a flag that is set each time a subsection is provided to the general user. The status data may be in any format as long as it is information indicating a subsection that has been provided to the general user. The user DB may be provided in multiple parts. The user DB is managed by the control unit 12, and is used when providing reaction data (comments, etc.) to general users or management users.

[0034] The control unit 12 requests a general user to provide an answer to a question associated with a sub-category being provided to the general user, and determines the next sub-category to be provided to the general user based on the answer from the general user. The control unit 12 also grants the administrative user the authority to manage question data. More specifically, the control unit 12 has a management control means 12a that manages information to be provided to the administrative terminal 30, and a provision processing means 12b that manages information to be provided to the information terminal 50.

[0035] The management control means 12a provides the management user with an initial screen 5A, a basic setting screen 5B, an editing screen 5C, and a statistics confirmation screen 5D via the management terminal 30. For example, the management control means 12a provides the basic setting screen 5B to grant the management user the authority to change the basic settings of the work. The management control means 12a may provide the management user with the authority to manage question data by providing the editing screen 5C. The authority to manage question data includes the authority to adjust question data, i.e., the authority to modify at least a part of the question data, and the authority to add question data. The management control means 12a may grant the management user the authority to modify one or more options. That is, some of the multiple options may be set to be modifiable, and the rest may be set to be unmodifiable.

[0036] The management control means 12a may grant the administrative user the authority to modify the question and the multiple options. The management control means 12a may grant the administrative user the authority to add a question and multiple options linked to the question. The management control means 12a may subdivide an already set small section to create new small sections, and grant the administrative user the authority to create question data related to the new small section. The management control means 12a may grant the administrative user the authority to modify the selected and provided data by providing an editing screen 5C. In this embodiment, the administrative user can set a course (transition destination) for each option, for example, through a correct answer setting section 3f and an incorrect answer setting section 3g described later. The management control means 12a may provide the administrative user with statistical data that compiles the selection contents of the general users for the multiple options, through a statistics confirmation screen 5D. The management control means 12a manages the setting database and reflects the setting contents by the administrative user in the setting database.

[0037] The management control means 12a may provide the administrative user with reaction data representing reactions of general users to a work through at least one of the initial screen 5A, the basic setting screen 5B, the editing screen 5C, and the statistics confirmation screen 5D. A reaction is an expression of an emotional state of a general user while reading a work, and may be a reaction to each subsection or a reaction to the work as a whole. The reaction data includes simple reactions (such as "like"), in addition to readers' comments and answers to questions (including selection of options). The management control means 12a may refer to a user DB when providing the reaction data.

[0038] The reaction data may be the reason for the selection entered in the reason column. For example, in a setting in which the administrative user manually selects the information of the subsection (information of the transition destination screen) to be provided next when the general user selects an option, the administrative user may decide the subsection to be provided next based on the input contents in the reason column. In other words, with such a configuration, the administrative user's impression can be flexibly reflected in the story development of the work, such as "providing a subsection related to the main story even if the answer is incorrect depending on the reason." However, the management control means 12a may analyze the reason for the selection entered in the reason column by a process combining natural language analysis and machine learning, and use the analysis result to decide the subsection to be provided next.

[0039] The providing processing means 12b provides the general user with the initial screen 6A, the reading screens 6B to 6E, the route confirmation screens 6F to 6H, 6J, and the creation screen via the information terminal 50. The providing processing means 12b may provide the general user with reaction data related to other general users. The providing processing means 12b may provide the general user with reaction data related to other general users that has been approved by the administrative user. In this way, for example, it is possible to prevent the publication of comments that may lead to spoilers, and therefore it is possible to suppress a decrease in the reader's motivation to read while reflecting the intention of the administrative user. Incidentally, a spoiler is the disclosure of important parts of the contents of a work, such as detailed settings or the core of the story.

[0040] The providing processing means 12b sequentially collects reaction data, links each of the reaction data to a user identifier and small section data, and stores the reaction data in the reaction DB. The providing processing means 12b may provide reaction data related to other general users to a small section via each screen to a general user who is reading a certain small section. The reaction data related to other general users to a small section may include not only reaction data related to other general users who are reading the small section in real time, but also reaction data related to other general users who have read the small section in the past. The providing processing means 12b may provide only comments of other general users who have the same answers to questions as the general user who is reading. The providing processing means 12b may provide the general user with reaction data of other general users linked to each of the small section that the general user is reading and the small section that has been read. The providing processing means 12b may be configured to sequentially collect only comments sent by general users as reaction data, link each of the comments to a user identifier and small section data, and store the comments in the reaction DB.

[0041] [First method to prevent spoilers in comments] When the provision processing means 12b receives a comment sent by a general user, the provision processing means 12b may provide the comment to other general users to whom the small section that the general user is reading has already been provided. The provision processing means 12b may also provide the general user with a comment sent by the general user himself. A general user to whom a small section has already been provided is a general user who has been provided with a screen including a text display field 7a (see FIG. 14, etc.) in which the contents of the small section can be viewed via the information terminal 50. However, it is presumed that a general user who has just been provided with a small section does not understand the contents of the small section. Therefore, the provision processing means 12b may determine that the small section has been provided when a set time has elapsed since the provision of the small section, and perform the above processing. The set time may be changed as appropriate. For example, the provision processing means 12b provides a reaction field 6g (see FIG. 14, etc.) including a comment sent by the general user to the general user and other general users who satisfy a predetermined condition via the information terminal 50.

[0042] Here, a specific processing example related to the first method will be described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6. In Figs. 5 and 6, it is assumed that a work X consisting of eight small sections is provided, and the small sections are simply numbered 1 to 8. Fig. 5(a) is a configuration diagram of the work X, and Fig. 5(b) is an example of a user DB (story progress management database). As shown in Fig. 5(a), the work X handled here is configured so that small section 1 branches into small section 2 and small section 6, and small section 2 branches into small section 3 and small section 5. In addition, in the work X, small section 4 is developed after small section 3, and small section 7 and small section 8 are developed sequentially after small section 6. All of these small sections may be the main story, or may be a combination of the main story and a separate story. In the user DB illustrated in Fig. 5(b), user identifiers A to F are simply assigned to each of multiple users, and small sections that have been provided to each user are marked with "○" (hereinafter, each user will be referred to as user A to F, respectively). The information indicating a subdivision that has already been provided may be dummy data such as "1" or may be information such as the viewing time of the subdivision.

[0043] FIG. 6 is an example of a comment database (hereinafter referred to as a comment DB), which is a reaction DB specialized for user-submitted comments. In the comment DB illustrated in FIG. 6, each comment is associated with a comment identifier, a user identifier, source data, comment content, and information on the subdivision that has been provided. The source data is information indicating the location of the user who submitted the comment, that is, the subdivision that the user is currently reading, and corresponds to the above-mentioned subdivision data. Comments submitted from a sending unit W, which will be described later, are associated with source data (subdivision data) linked to a screen including the sending unit W.

[0044] In FIG. 6, comment identifiers "I" to "To" are simply assigned to the posted comments (hereinafter, each comment will be referred to as "I" to "To" respectively). Comment "I" is a comment posted by user A returning to subsection 2, comment "Ro" is a comment posted by user A in subsection 4, comment "Ha" is a comment posted by user C returning to subsection 1, and comment "Ni" is a comment posted by user D in subsection 1. Comment "Ho" is a comment posted by user E returning to subsection 2, comment "He" is a comment posted by user A returning to subsection 6, and comment "To" is a comment posted by user D in subsection 3. Note that in the comment DB in FIG. 6, comments are arranged from top to bottom in chronological order (oldest first).

[0045] In the case of the first method, the comment "i" is provided to users A, B, E, and F because it is sent in subsection 2. The comment "ro" is provided to users A and F because it is sent in subsection 4. The comment "ha" and the comment "ni" are provided to users A to F because they are sent in subsection 1. The comment "ho" is provided to users A, B, E, and F because it is sent in subsection 2. The comment "he" is provided to users A and F because it is sent in subsection 3. Note that when user A sent the comment "he", the number of subsections provided was increased (subsections 6 to 8 were added) compared to when user A sent the comment "ro". The comment "to" was provided to users A, C, and D to F because it was sent in subsection 6 by user D, whose number of subsections provided was increased. In this way, when a user sends a comment, if the number of subsections provided to other users increases due to an update of the user DB, the number of destinations for the comment also increases. In FIG. 5(b), the state in which the user DB has been updated is indicated by a dotted circle.

[0046] [Second method to prevent spoilers in comments] When the provision processing means 12b receives a comment posted by a general user, the provision processing means 12b may provide the comment to other general users to whom all the subsections provided to the general user have already been provided. In other words, when the provision processing means 12b receives a comment posted by a general user, the provision processing means 12b may provide the comment to other general users to whom the general user has been provided with the subsections currently being read and all the subsections that have been read. For example, the provision processing means 12b provides the reaction column 6g (see FIG. 14, etc.) including the comment posted by the general user to the general user and other general users who satisfy a predetermined condition via the information terminal 50.

[0047] 5 and 6, a specific example of processing related to the second method will be described. In the case of the second method, the comment "I" was sent in subsection 2, but since the sender, user A, is provided with subsections 1 to 4, it is only provided to users A and F. The comment "Ro" is provided to users A and F. The comment "Ha" was sent in subsection 1, but since the sender, user C, is provided with subsections 1 and 6 to 8, it is only provided to users C and F.

[0048] The comment "ni" is provided to users A to F. The comment "ho" was sent in subsection 2, but since user E, the sender, has been provided with subsections 1, 2, and 5 to 7, it is provided only to user E and not to other users. However, when another user who has been provided with subsections 1, 2, and 5 to 7 appears, the provision processing means 12b may provide the comment to that user. The same applies to other comments.

[0049] The comment "to" was sent in subsection 3, but since the sender, user A, has been provided with subsections 1-4 and 6-8, it is only provided to users A and F. The comment "to" was sent by user D when subsections 1 and 6 had already been provided, so it is provided to users A and C-F. In this way, when a user sends a comment, if the number of subsections provided to other users has increased due to an update to the user DB, the number of destinations for the comment will also increase (in this case, user A has been added).

[0050] The above can be summarised on a user basis as follows: Comments provided to user A: "i" "ro" "ni" "he" Comment provided to user B: "to" Comments provided to user C: "ha" "ni" Comments provided to user D: "to" "to" Comments provided to user E: "ni" "ho" Comments provided to user F: "i", "ro", "ha", "ni", "e", "to"

[0051] The comment providing process by the providing processing means 12b is not limited to the above two methods, and various methods with different providing conditions may be adopted. For example, the providing processing means 12b may provide only comments of other general users who selected the same option to a general user who is reading. When the providing processing means 12b receives a comment sent by a general user, it may link the comment to small section data and manage it, and provide the comment to other general users who are reading a small section related to the small section data.

[0052] The providing processing means 12b, when accepting a new creation of a subsection by a general user via the creation screen, may provide the administrative user with creation data including the new creation, and may register the new creation adopted by the administrative user as a new subsection. If a work includes a true ending and a false ending as subsections related to the ending, the providing processing means 12b, when accepting a new creation of a false ending by a general user via the creation screen, may provide the administrative user with creation data including the new creation, and may register the new creation adopted by the administrative user as a new false ending.

[0053] The providing processing means 12b may have a function of generating a social chat, inviting a general user or an administrative user who satisfies a predetermined condition to the social chat, and managing interactions between users in the social chat. That is, the providing processing means 12b may sequentially record information on interactions between users in the social chat in the chat database, and provide the latest information on the social chat to participating members.

[0054] The social chat may be a chat room associated with each of all the small sections that make up the work. In this case, the providing processing means 12b generates social chats associated with each of the small sections and made up of general users who are reading the small sections, and when providing a new small section to a certain general user, invites the general user to the social chat associated with the small section. When providing a new small section to a certain general user, if the general user is participating in a social chat associated with the small section provided previously, the providing processing means 12b may cause the general user to leave the social chat.

[0055] The social chat may be a chat room that is one-to-one linked to at least one of the small sections that make up the work. In this case, the providing processing means 12b generates a social chat that is one-to-one linked to at least one small section and has general users who are reading the small section as members, and when providing a new small section to which a social chat is linked to a certain general user, the providing processing means 12b invites the certain general user to the social chat linked to the small section. When inviting a certain general user to a social chat, if the certain general user is participating in the social chat to which the certain general user was invited, the providing processing means 12b may cause the certain general user to leave the social chat.

[0056] That is, the social chat may be generated in association with each of all the small sections, or may be generated in association with each of one or more small sections. The small section to which the social chat is associated may be set by the administrative user, or may be set automatically. Here, among the social chats in each work, a chat room whose members are only general users who have been provided with all the small sections that make up the main story is called a "completed chat." The providing processing means 12b may be configured to invite the administrative user to the generated complete-read chat when the complete-read chat is generated.

[0057] The social chat may be a chat room provided for each combination of small sections (including the case where there is only one small section). In this case, the providing processing means 12b generates a social chat linked to a combination of small sections set in advance, and invites general users who have been provided with all the small sections included in the combination to the social chat linked to the combination. When inviting a general user to a social chat, the providing processing means 12b may cause the general user to leave the social chat if the general user is participating in the social chat to which the general user was invited one before. It is more preferable that, when providing a new small section to a general user, the providing processing means 12b causes the general user to leave the social chat if the general user is participating in the social chat. That is, the providing processing means 12b may generate a social chat for each reading route (including the middle of the reading route) and may change the social chat in which each of the general users participates in a timely manner while referring to the user DB one by one.

[0058] Taking work X in Figure 5(a) as an example, in the no-return mode, where you cannot return to the branching point, the combinations of subsections are eight: "1," "1-2," "1-2-3," "1-2-3-4," "1-2-5," "1-6," "1-6-7," and "1-6-7-8." In Return OK mode, which allows you to return to the branching point and proceed on a different route, the following combinations are added: "1-2-6," "1-2-6-7," "1-2-6-7-8," "1-2-3-6," "1-2-3-6-7," "1-2-3-6-7-8," "1-2-3-4-6," "1-2-3-4-6-7," "1-2-3-4-6-7-8," "1-2-3-5-6," "1-2-3-5-6-7," "1-2-3-5-6-7-8," "1-2-5-6," "1-2-5-6-7," and "1-2-5-6-7-8" (in any order), bringing the total number of combinations of sub-sections to 23.

[0059] However, the provision processing means 12b does not need to generate social chats linked to all combinations, and may be configured to generate social chats linked to some combinations. That is, the provision processing means 12b may generate social chats linked to a combination of small sections set in advance, and invite general users who have been provided with all the small sections included in the combination to the social chat linked to the combination. Only one combination of small sections may be set, or multiple combinations may be set. That is, the provision processing means 12b generates one or multiple social chats depending on the settings. The combination to be linked to the social chat may be set by the administrative user, or may be configured to be automatically set.

[0060] When a general user answers a question, if the general user is participating in a social chat, the provision processing means 12b may cause the general user to leave the social chat and invite him / her to a social chat corresponding to the next small section to be provided. In other words, the social chat may be a chat room that is associated with each of the correct and incorrect answers to a question and has only users who have the same correct or incorrect answers to the question as its members. When a general user selects one of a plurality of options associated with a question, if the general user is participating in a social chat, the provision processing means 12b may cause the general user to leave the social chat and invite him / her to a social chat corresponding to the next small section to be provided. In other words, the social chat may be a chat room that is associated with each of the multiple options associated with a question and has only users who have selected the same option as its members.

[0061] In any case, in the work providing system 100, a general user who is reading can only participate in the social chat to which he / she is invited immediately after moving to the subsequent small section, and even if he / she participates in the social chat, if he / she moves to the subsequent small section, he / she is forced to leave at that timing. If a general user is able to participate in social chats linked to each of a plurality of small sections, there is a risk that he / she may comment on information of the subsequent small section in the social chat linked to the previous small section. In the social chat, so-called spoilers can be prevented by inviting and forcing the general user to leave simultaneously and consecutively. The social chat may be configured so that comments sent by a user who has left the social chat are displayed, or the comments sent by the user are deleted when the user leaves the social chat. The social chat may be configured so that comments of the user are deleted when a certain time has passed since the user left the social chat, or the comments are deleted sequentially starting from the comments for which a set time has passed.

[0062] The control unit 12 is composed of one or more processors. Specifically, the control unit 12 is composed of an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU, MPU, or GPU, and the various functions of the control unit 12 are realized by the arithmetic processing device and the work providing program 13p. Some of the various functions of the control unit 12 may be realized only by hardware. The work providing program 13p causes a computer (one or more processors) to function as the management control means 12a and the providing processing means 12b.

[0063] The operation terminal 20 includes, for example, a communication unit, an operation processing unit, a memory unit, an input unit, and a display unit, none of which are shown in the figure. The communication unit is an interface that enables the operation processing unit to communicate with external devices such as the work providing device 10 via wired or wireless communication. The memory unit stores various information in addition to the operation program of the operation processing unit. The memory unit is composed of RAM and ROM, flash memory, eMMC, SSD, HDD, etc. The input unit accepts input operations by the user and outputs an operation signal according to the content of the accepted operation to the operation processing unit. The display unit displays various information according to instructions from the operation processing unit.

[0064] The operation processing unit, for example, displays various information on the display unit, and executes processes such as updating the operating program of the control unit 12 in the work providing device 10 and updating various databases inside and outside the storage unit 13 in response to user operations on the input unit. The operation processing unit can be composed of a calculation device such as a CPU or GPU, and software that cooperates with the calculation device to realize the various functions described above.

[0065] The information terminal 50 includes, for example, a communication unit 51, an information processing unit 52, a storage unit 53, an input unit 54, and a display unit 55. The communication unit 51 is an interface for the information processing unit 52 to communicate with an external device such as the work providing device 10 by wired or wireless communication. The storage unit 53 stores various information in addition to the operation program of the information processing unit 52. The operation program of the information processing unit 52 also includes a division program transmitted from the work providing device 10 at appropriate times. The division program constitutes the work providing program 13p. The information processing unit 52 can execute simple processing such as switching the display of each element on the screen by operation based on the division program without communicating with the work providing device 10. The operation program of the information processing unit 52 is software that realizes various functions in cooperation with a calculation processing device such as a CPU, MPU, or GPU. The storage unit 53 is composed of a RAM and a ROM, a flash memory, an eMMC, an SSD, or an HDD.

[0066] The input unit 54 receives an input operation by a user and outputs an operation signal according to the content of the received operation to the information processing unit 52. The input unit 54 is composed of, for example, a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse or a trackball. The display unit 55 is composed of a liquid crystal display (LCD) or the like, and displays various information according to instructions from the information processing unit 52. The information terminal 50 may have a touch panel instead of the input unit 54 and the display unit 55, or together with at least one of them. The touch panel includes a display panel that displays characters, images, etc., and a detection means that is stacked on the display panel and detects a touch operation.

[0067] The information processing unit 52, in response to an operation signal from the input unit 54, causes the display unit 55 to display the initial screen 6A, reading screens 6B to 6E, and route confirmation screens 6F to 6H, 6J in cooperation with the work providing device 10. The information processing unit 52 accepts operations by the administrative user via each screen, and executes processing according to the operation content. The information processing unit 52 is configured with one or more processors. Specifically, the information processing unit 52 is configured with an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU, MPU, or GPU, and various functions of the information processing unit 52 are realized by the arithmetic processing device and an operating program. Some of the various functions of the information processing unit 52 may be realized only by hardware.

[0068] The management terminal 30 includes, for example, a communication unit 31, a management processing unit 32, a storage unit 33, an input unit 34, and a display unit 35. The communication unit 31 is an interface for the management processing unit 32 to communicate with external devices such as the work providing device 10 by wired or wireless communication. The storage unit 33 stores various information in addition to the operation program of the management processing unit 32. The operation program of the management processing unit 32 also includes a division program transmitted from the work providing device 10 at appropriate times. The division program constitutes the work providing program 13p. The management processing unit 32 can execute simple processing such as switching the display of each element on the screen by operating based on the division program without communicating with the work providing device 10. The operation program of the management processing unit 32 is software that realizes various functions in cooperation with a calculation processing device such as a CPU, MPU, or GPU. The storage unit 33 is composed of a RAM and a ROM, a flash memory, an eMMC, an SSD, or an HDD.

[0069] The input unit 34 accepts input operations by the user and outputs an operation signal according to the content of the accepted operation to the management processing unit 32. The input unit 34 is composed of, for example, a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse or a trackball. The display unit 35 is composed of a liquid crystal display or the like, and displays various information according to instructions from the management processing unit 32. The management terminal 30 may have a touch panel instead of the input unit 34 and the display unit 35, or in addition to at least one of them.

[0070] In response to an operation signal from the input unit 34, the management processing unit 32 cooperates with the work providing device 10 to display the initial screen 5A (5X, 5Y), the basic setting screen 5B, the editing screen 5C, or the statistics confirmation screen 5D on the display unit 35. The management processing unit 32 accepts operations from general users via each screen and executes processing according to the operation content. The management processing unit 32 is composed of one or more processors. Specifically, the management processing unit 32 is composed of an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU, MPU, or GPU, and the various functions of the management processing unit 32 are realized by the arithmetic processing device and an operating program. Some of the various functions of the management processing unit 32 may be realized by hardware alone.

[0071] Next, various information and authorities provided to the administrative user from the work providing device 10 will be specifically described with reference to the screens exemplified in Figures 7 to 12. Each display screen and display image, etc., is displayed on the display unit 35 by the management processing unit 32 based on various data provided by the work providing device 10. In each figure, the same reference numerals are used for similar configurations and descriptions are omitted or simplified. In each figure, some reference numerals may be omitted with the intention of avoiding cluttering of the drawings, etc.

[0072] FIG. 7 shows an example of an initial screen (management initial screen) provided to an administrative user who has logged in to the operating system. The management processing unit 32 displays, for example, an initial screen 5A as shown in FIG. 7 on the display unit 35 based on the management initial data transmitted from the work providing device 10. The management initial data is data related to the initial screen, and specifically includes various information and programs for displaying the initial screen 5A. The initial screen 5A illustrated in FIG. 7 has a work section 5 including a published work section 5a and an edited work section 5b. The published work section 5a displays information related to one or more works that are in a published state. The edited work section 5b displays information related to one or more works that are being edited by the logged-in administrative user.

[0073] The public works section 5a in Fig. 7 is configured to display information related to one or more works under the heading of "Public Works." The information related to a work is, for example, a combination of an image related to the work and the name of the work. At least one of the image related to the work and the name of the work functions as a virtual button that accepts a transition to a basic setting screen 5B for managing the work.

[0074] The edited work section 5b in FIG. 7 is configured to display information related to one or more works under the heading of "Work being edited". The information related to the work in the edited work section 5b is, for example, a combination of candidate images related to the work and candidate work names. However, if the candidate images related to the work are not registered, it is displayed as not displayed or undecided, and if the candidate work name is not registered, it is displayed as undecided. At least one of the candidate images related to the work and the candidate work name functions as a virtual button that accepts transition to a work editing screen for editing the work. The work editing screen has the same configuration as the basic setting screen 5B in FIG. 9, and the editing screens for each small section to which a transition can be made from the work editing screen have the same configuration as the editing screen 5C exemplified in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, so that these are omitted from the illustration.

[0075] The initial screen 5A illustrated in FIG. 7 includes a reaction display section 5c in which readers' reactions are displayed. For example, the reaction display section 5c displays the reader's comments and answers to questions for each work. The reaction display section 5c illustrated in FIG. 7 has a reaction display section A1 in which comments on work B and the like are displayed, and a reaction display section A2 in which comments on work C and the like are displayed. When the reaction display section A1 and the reaction display section A2 are not distinguished from each other, they are referred to as reaction display sections Ao. In the reaction display section 5c, a reaction display section Ao is provided for each work. The reaction display section Ao may be configured so that a comment display Am showing the reader's comments and an answer display As showing the reader's answer to the question are displayed in order of new arrival, and the time of the comment or answer may be added to each. The reaction display section Ao may be configured so that a notification section M showing that an impression on the work has been received is displayed. The work section 5 and the reaction display section 5c may be configured to be scrollable individually. The reaction display field 5c may display a reason display Ar corresponding to the reason field, similar to a second initial screen 5Y in FIG. 8(b) described later.

[0076] When a message has been received from a reader to the author via an individual button D or the like on the reading screen provided to general users (described later), the management processing unit 32 may display a notification section M indicating such information on the editing screen 5C. The notification section M in FIG. 7 is written as "Your comments have been received" and functions as a virtual button that accepts an operation to display the message. When the notification section M is pressed, the management processing unit 32 may display the received message in a sub-window or the like. The notification section M may be displayed outside the reaction display field 5c.

[0077] FIG. 8 shows an example of an initial screen (administration initial screen) provided to an administrative user who logs in to the operating system with a smartphone or the like. The work providing device 10 in this embodiment performs information provision and information processing based on a work providing program 13p, which is an application for smartphones, either automatically or in response to a user's designation. According to this application, for example, a first initial screen 5X as shown in FIG. 8(a) and a second initial screen 5Y as shown in FIG. 8(b) are switched by a user swiping (operation of sliding up, down, left, and right while pressing a finger on a touch panel). This makes it possible to prevent the disarray of the arrangement of each object on the screen and the decrease in visibility. The same is true for other screens (FIGS. 9 to 15, 17 to 25) described later, and it is preferable to configure the contents displayed on one screen on a PC monitor or the like to be distributed to multiple screens for a user who logs in with a smartphone or the like.

[0078] Fig. 9 shows an example of a basic setting screen provided to the administrative user. When the management processing unit 32 receives an operation to designate a work on the initial screen such as Fig. 7 or Fig. 8, it causes the display unit 35 to display, for example, a basic setting screen 5B as shown in Fig. 9. The basic setting screen 5B shown in Fig. 9 corresponds to the case where the administrative user designates work C on the initial screen of Fig. 7 or Fig. 8, so that "Work C" is displayed as the work name in the work name display 5d.

[0079] The basic setting screen 5B has a setting section Bx for setting basic settings, a transition section By for transitioning to an editing screen for each subsection, and a reader information management section Bz to which information about the reader is associated. In the example of Fig. 9, the setting section Bx includes a derivative work permission section 5e, a charge setting section 5f, a chat permission section 5g, a participation permission section 5h, and a disclosure instruction section 5j.

[0080] The derivative work permission section 5e is a section that accepts a setting as to whether or not derivative works of the work are permitted, and is composed of an explanation display B1 and a switching section S. The charge setting section 5f is a section that accepts a setting of a fee to be requested of a user who is reading, for example, for each subsection or for each answer to a question, and is composed of an explanation display B2 and a fee setting section P. The charge setting section 5f may be configured so that the fee setting section P is subdivided so that the requested amount can be set for each subsection or for each question, such as not charging when moving from chapter 1 to chapter 2, but charging when moving from chapter 2 to chapter 3.

[0081] The chat necessity section 5g is a section for accepting a setting as to whether or not to create an exchange chat, and is composed of an explanatory display B3 and a switching section S. The participation necessity section 5h is a section for accepting a setting as to whether or not the administrator user of the work will participate in an exchange chat of general users, and is composed of an explanatory display B4 and a switching section S. In this embodiment, the participation necessity section 5h is for setting as to whether or not the author of the work will participate in a complete reading chat.

[0082] The disclosure instruction section 5j is a section for accepting settings for whether the name of the creator of the work, etc., is not to be disclosed or the timing of disclosure, and is composed of an explanation display B5 and a disclosure setting section T. FIG. 9 shows an example of a pull-down type disclosure setting section T. The display contents of the explanation displays B1 to B5 are not limited to the example in FIG. 9, and may be changed as appropriate. The contents that can be set in the setting section Bx are not limited to the example in FIG. 9, and may be changed, increased, or decreased as appropriate.

[0083] The switching unit S is configured to change the display mode by an operation such as clicking or tapping (hereinafter, referred to as pressing, etc.). The form of the switching unit S is not limited to the examples in the figures, and various forms such as a radio button or a check box can be adopted. When the management processing unit 32 receives an operation on the switching unit S, it changes the display mode of the switching unit S and transmits switching data corresponding to the changed display mode to the work providing device 10 in response to a user operation or automatically. The management processing unit 32 may transmit the updated information to the work providing device 10 every time the setting items related to the basic settings are updated, but may also display an update button K as shown in FIG. 9, for example, and transmit the updated information to the work providing device 10 in response to pressing the update button K, etc.

[0084] In FIG. 9, it is assumed that work C has four chapters (subdivisions) constituting the main story and two false endings (subdivisions) relating to a separate story. Therefore, the transition section By has a division button 1z that accepts an instruction to move to an editing screen for chapter 1, a division button 2z that accepts an instruction to move to an editing screen for chapter 2, a division button 3z that accepts an instruction to move to an editing screen for chapter 3, and a division button 4z that accepts an instruction to move to an editing screen for chapter 4. Hereinafter, these will be collectively referred to as "division buttons." Furthermore, the transition section By has a false division button 5v that accepts an instruction to move to an editing screen for false ending 1, and a false division button 5w that accepts an instruction to move to an editing screen for false ending 2. Hereinafter, these will be collectively referred to as "false division buttons."

[0085] In the work C, a question is set for each subsection (each chapter), and a general user is configured to proceed to the subsequent subsection by answering the question. The reader information management unit Bz illustrated in FIG. 9 has a first reaction unit r1 that displays the reaction of general users to the question related to the first chapter, a second reaction unit r2 that displays the reaction of general users to the question related to the second chapter, and a third reaction unit r3 that displays the reaction of general users to the question related to the third chapter. Furthermore, the reader information management unit Bz has an impression unit d that displays impressions on the work, a chat display unit e that displays a complete reading chat, a creation display unit f that displays the creation of the subsection related to the separate edition posted by the reader, and a derivative creation unit g that displays the derivative creation by the reader. Each display (r1 to r3, d to g) in the reader information management unit Bz functions as a virtual button for displaying specific contents in a subwindow or the like. The type and number of each display in the reader information management unit Bz can be changed as appropriate. However, the reader information management unit Bz may be configured to display specific content relating to at least one of the displays.

[0086] The basic setting screen 5B may have a sending section W including an input field W1 for inputting a message and a send button W2. The sending section W is utilized when the administrative user wishes to send a message such as a reading hint to general users. The sending section W may be configured to allow selection of a subsection so that a message can be sent by specifying one or more subsections. With this configuration, the administrative user can mention subsections that general users have already read or questions after answers, while being mindful of spoilers.

[0087] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of an area including an upper part of an editing screen provided to an administrative user. FIG. 11 illustrates an example of an area including a lower part of an editing screen provided to an administrative user. When the management processing unit 32 receives an operation to specify a subsection on the basic setting screen 5B as shown in FIG. 9, the management processing unit 32 displays an editing screen 5C as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 on the display unit 35. That is, in response to pressing of each section button as shown in FIG. 9, the management processing unit 32 cooperates with the work providing device 10 to display an editing screen 5C as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 on the display unit 35. The editing screen 5C of the subsection related to the ending basically does not include elements related to questions. However, question data including questions such as questionnaires may be associated with the subsection related to the ending.

[0088] The editing screen 5C illustrated in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 corresponds to a case where Chapter 1 is specified by the administrative user on the basic setting screen of Fig. 9. Fig. 10 shows the text "Editing Chapter 1" as an example of a status display 5k. The editing screen 5C has a text display section 3a, a question section 3b, a selection section 3c, a required selection section 3d, a time limit setting section 3e, a correct answer setting section 3f, one or more incorrect answer setting sections 3g, an answer acceptance instruction section 3h, a other reader display setting section 3j, and an author comment setting section 3k.

[0089] The text display field 3a displays the text of the subsection linked to the editing screen 5C in a scrollable manner. In the editing screen 5C of the present embodiment, the text of the text display field 3a can be modified. The question field 3b is a field for managing questions associated with the subsection linked to the editing screen 5C. When a question text registered in advance is displayed in the question field 3b, the administrative user can modify or change the question text. When the question field 3b is blank, the administrative user can input a question text in the question field 3b and register it. The selection unit 3c has a plurality of option fields Co, each of which is an option. When a text registered in advance is displayed in the option field Co, the administrative user can modify or change the text. In the blank option field Co, the administrative user can input a text and register it.

[0090] The add button 3t is a virtual button for adding a question field 3b and a selection section 3c. That is, when the add button 3t is pressed, etc., a combination of the question field 3b and the selection section 3c is added, and the administrative user can add a new question and its options. The add button 3u is a virtual button for adding an option field Co corresponding to a new option. That is, when the add button 3u is pressed, etc., an option field Co is added, and the administrative user can increase the options.

[0091] The mandatory selection section 3d is a section that accepts a setting as to whether or not an answer to a question is mandatory. In the mandatory selection section 3d of FIG. 11, a switching section S is associated with the explanatory text "Answer mandatory." The time limit setting section 3e is a section that accepts a setting as to whether or not a time limit is to be set for answering a question, and the time limit if one is to be set. In the time limit setting section 3e of FIG. 11, a switching section S and a time setting section E are associated with the explanatory text "Set time limit." The time setting section E can be input when the switching section S is in the on state.

[0092] The correct answer setting section 3f is a section for accepting the setting of the correct answer to the question and the course at the time of the correct answer, and the incorrect answer setting section 3g is a section for accepting the setting of the incorrect answer to the question and the course at the time of the incorrect answer. When there are three or more options for the question, a plurality of correct answer setting sections 3f or a plurality of incorrect answer setting sections 3g are displayed on the display section 35. More specifically, the correct answer setting section 3f has a correct answer selection section S1 and a course selection section T1, and the incorrect answer setting section 3g has an incorrect answer selection section S2 and a course selection section T2. ​​The correct answer selection section S1 and the incorrect answer selection section S2 in FIG. 11 are configured to allow the selection of "Choice A" or "Choice B" in a pull-down format. The course selection section T1 and the course selection section T2 in FIG. 11 are configured to allow the selection of any one of the subdivisions in the work in a pull-down format. However, if the correct and incorrect answers to a question are already determined and no adjustment is required, the correct answer selection unit S1 and the incorrect answer selection unit S2 may be omitted. If the course for a correct answer is already determined and no adjustment is required, the course selection unit T1 may be omitted. If the course for an incorrect answer is already determined and no adjustment is required, the course selection unit T2 may be omitted.

[0093] The answer acceptance instruction section 3h is a section that accepts a setting as to whether answers from the second round onwards are accepted. In the answer acceptance instruction section 3h of FIG. 11, a switching section S is associated with the explanatory text "Accepting answers from the second round onwards". The other reader display setting section 3j is a section that accepts a setting as to whether reactions of other general users (readers) are provided to an arbitrary general user (reader). In the other reader display setting section 3j of FIG. 11, a switching section S is associated with the explanatory text "Display reactions of other readers". The author comment setting section 3k is a section that accepts a setting as to whether comments of the author are provided to general users. In the author comment setting section 3k of FIG. 11, a switching section S is associated with the explanatory text "Display author comment".

[0094] The editing screen 5C also has a reader information management section Cz to which information related to the reader pertaining to the small section is associated. The reader information management section Cz displays, for example, elements displayed in the reader information management section Bz that are related to the small section. The content displayed in the reader information management section Cz can be adjusted afterwards by the administrative user. The comment section d1 functions, for example, as a virtual button that displays comments from general users on the entire work.

[0095] Furthermore, the editing screen 5C has a statistics confirmation button 3m, a reader display confirmation button 3n, and a setting confirmation button 3o. The statistics confirmation button 3m is a virtual button for displaying a statistics confirmation screen 5D (see FIG. 12) in which information related to the question is organized. The reader display confirmation button 3n is a virtual button for referring to a reading screen provided to general users who are reading the small section. When the reader display confirmation button 3n is pressed, for example, a screen such as the reading screen (6B to 6E) in FIG. 14 to FIG. 18 and FIG. 23 to FIG. 25 is displayed on the display unit 35. The setting confirmation button 3o is a virtual button for displaying a setting confirmation screen (not shown) for the administrative user to confirm the overall setting contents related to the small section.

[0096] FIG. 12 illustrates a statistics confirmation screen provided to the administrative user. When the management processing unit 32 receives an operation to instruct the display of statistical data by pressing the statistics confirmation button 3m on the editing screen 5C as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the management processing unit 32 displays a statistics confirmation screen 5D as shown in FIG. 12 on the display unit 35. The statistics confirmation screen 5D illustrated in FIG. 12 includes a screen title 5p, an explanation 5q regarding the options, an option display Dp indicating the contents of each of the multiple options, and a selection rate R for each of the multiple options. As shown in FIG. 12, the statistics confirmation screen 5D may include a number of answers display section 5r and a dropout rate display section 5s.

[0097] The statistics confirmation screen 5D may have a reader information management section Dx to which information on the reader related to the small section is associated. The elements displayed in the reader information management section Dx are not limited to the example of FIG. 12 and can be changed as appropriate. The statistics confirmation screen 5D may have a comment section 5t in which comments related to the small section are displayed. The control section 12 may be configured to extract one or more comments useful for adjusting the content of the question text or options by a process combining natural language analysis and machine learning, and display the extracted comments in the comment section 5t. Note that the initial screen 5A (5X, 5Y), the basic setting screen 5B, the editing screen 5C, and the statistics confirmation screen 5D may include an author login display 5L indicating that the user is currently logged in as the author, as shown in each figure.

[0098] Next, various information and authorities provided from the work providing device 10 to general users will be described with reference to Figs. 13 to 25. Each display screen and display image are displayed on the display unit 55 by the information processing unit 52 based on various data provided from the work providing device 10. In each figure, the same reference numerals are used for similar configurations and descriptions are omitted or simplified. In each figure, some reference numerals may be omitted with the intention of avoiding cluttering of the drawings.

[0099] FIG. 13 shows an example of an initial screen (general initial screen) provided to a general user who has logged in to the operating system. The information processing unit 52 displays an initial screen 6A, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, on the display unit 55 based on the general initial data transmitted from the work providing device 10. The general initial data is data related to the initial screen 6A, and specifically includes various information and programs for displaying the initial screen 6A. The initial screen 6A illustrated in FIG. 13 has a work section 6 including a recommended work section 6a and a continuing work section 6b. The recommended work section 6a displays information related to one or more works that the general user is recommended to read. The continuing work section 6b displays information related to one or more works that the logged-in general user is reading. The configuration and function of the work section 6 are the same as those of the work section 5 in FIG. 7. The initial screen 6A illustrated in FIG. 13 has an information display section 6c in which information such as new information is displayed.

[0100] Fig. 14 shows an example of a reading screen provided to a general user. When the information processing unit 52 receives an operation to specify a work on the initial screen 6A as shown in Fig. 13, it causes the display unit 55 to display, for example, a reading screen 6B as shown in Fig. 14. The reading screen 6B shown in Fig. 14 corresponds to a case where the general user specifies work C on the initial screen 6A as shown in Fig. 13, so that "Work C" is displayed as the work name in the work name display 6d.

[0101] In addition, the reading screen 6B has a related data display 6x, a subsection display 6e, an explanation display 6f, a reaction section 6g, a transmission section W, a text display section 7a, a question section 7x, a selection button Sa, and a selection button Sb. The related data display 6x is a section where information related to the work related to the reading screen 6B is displayed, such as the author, the year of publication, version information, and evaluation. The subsection display 6e displays information about the subsection related to the reading screen 6B, and the text display section 7a displays the text of the subsection.

[0102] The question data is displayed in the question section 7x. The question section 7x illustrated in FIG. 14 is composed of a question sentence 7b and a selection section 7c. The selection section 7c includes a selection sentence 7m corresponding to the option A and a selection sentence 7n corresponding to the option B. The selection button Sa is a virtual button that accepts the selection of the option A, and the selection button Sb is a virtual button that accepts the selection of the option B. However, the selection sentence 7m may function as a virtual button for selecting the option A instead of the selection button Sa, and the selection sentence 7n may function as a virtual button for selecting the option B instead of the selection button Sb. The text display field 7a is configured to be scrollable, and in this embodiment, the question section 7x is configured to be displayed overlapping a part of the text display field 7a when the end of the text related to the small section is displayed on the reading screen 6B or when a set time has elapsed from that timing.

[0103] The explanatory display 6f is an explanatory text about the content displayed in the reaction field 6g, and the reaction field 6g is associated with a sending unit W that accepts comments sent by users. The sending unit W includes an input field W1 and a send button W2. The reaction field 6g is configured to display reactions (comments, etc.) from general users who are reading the work or have read it. In this embodiment, the reaction field 6g is configured so that the comment display restrictions change depending on the general users' progress in reading.

[0104] In addition, the work providing device 10 in this embodiment has two operation modes for providing text: a normal mode, which is a normal setting, and an immersive mode, in which a comment can be entered by quoting a part of a text related to a subsection, and the comment linked to the entered part can be easily confirmed. Therefore, the reading screen 6B has a mode switching unit Ms for switching between the normal mode and the immersive mode. The mode switching unit Ms illustrated in each figure has a configuration in which the switching unit S is associated with the characters "immersive mode", and the switching unit S is in the form of a radio button. Note that FIG. 14 illustrates an example in which the switching unit S is in the off state, that is, the radio button is not selected.

[0105] FIG. 15 shows an example of a reading screen related to the immersive mode, which is provided by a general user's selection. When the information processing unit 52 receives an operation to switch to the immersive mode on the reading screen 6B as shown in FIG. 14, the information processing unit 52 displays the reading screen 6B in the immersive mode on the display unit 55. However, if the initial setting is the immersive mode, the operation is the opposite of the above. In the immersive mode, a general user can input and register a comment by linking it to an extraction unit 7p arbitrarily specified as shown in FIG. 15. The insertion unit 7q, which is the part where the comment is registered, is configured to have a different appearance from other parts (an example underlined in FIG. 15 is shown). When the cursor is placed on the insertion unit 7q, a comment display unit 7r including the registered comment appears, for example, as shown in FIG. 15.

[0106] FIG. 16 illustrates a reading screen on which text for each small section is provided in a chat format. The reading screen 6C illustrated in FIG. 16 includes a text display field 7a having a text 7v related to the small section and a question section 7x. The question section 7x in FIG. 16 has an auxiliary display 7s together with a question 7b and a selection section 7c. In the case of a chat format, when a general user sends an answer 7z, a text display field 8a related to the small section according to the content is provided. In the reading screen of this format, a reaction field 6g as shown in FIG. 14 etc. may be displayed in response to a switching operation such as a swipe, as in the example of FIG. 8, and the input field D1 and the send button D2 may function similarly to the transmission section W.

[0107] FIG. 17 shows an example of a reading screen related to the second and subsequent small sections among the reading screens provided to general users. When the information processing unit 52 receives an operation to specify a work in the continuing work section 6b on the initial screen 6A as shown in FIG. 13, or receives an answer to a question on the reading screen 6B as shown in FIG. 14 or FIG. 15, the information processing unit 52 displays the reading screen 6D as shown in FIG. 17 on the display unit 55. Note that FIG. 17 shows an example of a state in which the question section 7x is not displayed immediately after a screen transition. The reaction field 6g may be configured so that comments, etc. corresponding to the small section displayed in the text display field 7a (comments, etc. sent during reading of the small section) are preferentially displayed.

[0108] The reading screen 6D in FIG. 17 is based on the assumption that, for example, in the chat necessity section 5g (see FIG. 9) of the basic setting screen 5B, a setting is made not to create a social chat. The individual button D is a virtual button for sending impressions to the author. When a general user presses the individual button D, an impression page (not shown) for inputting and sending an individual message to the author is displayed on the display unit 55. The review button 6z is a virtual button for displaying the previous subsection. In FIG. 17, it is assumed that a general user who has progressed to the third chapter or later has returned to the second chapter, so the progress button 6s is displayed. If a general user presses the progress button 6s, even if a question is set in the subsection, the general user can move to the subsequent subsection without answering the question.

[0109] FIG. 18 illustrates a reading screen related to a subsection of the ending among the reading screens provided to general users. There are true endings and false endings in the ending, and FIG. 18 illustrates a reading screen 6E related to a subsection of the true ending. As shown in FIG. 18, the reading screen 6E may have a path confirmation button Bm for confirming the reading path and returning to a subsection or branch as necessary. Although FIG. 14, FIG. 15, FIG. 17, and FIG. 18 show examples of moving between subsections using the look back button 6z and the progress button 6s, the reading screen may be configured to allow moving between subsections by a simple scroll operation.

[0110] 19 to 22 are explanatory diagrams illustrating examples of path confirmation screens for general users to confirm their own reading path. FIG. 19 illustrates a path confirmation screen provided to a general user who has read the entire main story. When the information processing unit 52 receives an instruction to confirm a path by pressing a path confirmation button Bm on the reading screen 6E (see FIG. 18) related to the true ending, the information processing unit 52 displays a path confirmation screen 6F as shown in FIG. 19 on the display unit 55. The path confirmation screen 6F in FIG. 19 has a Chapter 1 button H1, a Chapter 2 button H2, a Chapter 3 button H3, and a Chapter 4 button H4 (hereinafter collectively referred to as a subsection button H) as virtual buttons for confirming each subsection, and has a First Branch button K1, a Second Branch button K2, and a Third Branch button K3 (hereinafter collectively referred to as a Branch button Ko) as virtual buttons for confirming branches (questions, etc.) that have been passed. A general user can reconfirm the subsections and branches (questions, etc.) that have been passed by pressing these virtual buttons, etc. A general user can reconfirm the question by pressing a branch button Ko or the like and change the answer, thereby reading a subsection that is different from the main story, such as a false ending.

[0111] The route confirmation screen 6F may have a challenge button Ec that displays a creation screen (not shown) for a general user to create a subsection different from the main part. The route confirmation screen 6F in FIG. 19 is provided with a challenge button Ec for each branch, but the route confirmation screen 6F may be configured to have one challenge button Ec, and the target branch may be selected on the creation screen. Alternatively, the challenge button Ec may be configured to be displayed for each branch at the timing when all subsections linked to the branch are provided to the general user. Alternatively, the creation screen may be included in the screen after pressing the branch button Ko, or may be configured to transition to the creation screen from the screen after pressing the branch button Ko.

[0112] FIG. 20 illustrates a path confirmation screen provided to a general user who has reached a false ending. When the information processing unit 52 receives an instruction to confirm a path by, for example, pressing the path confirmation button Bm on the reading screen 6E related to the false ending, the information processing unit 52 displays a path confirmation screen 6G as shown in FIG. 20 on the display unit 55. The path confirmation screen 6G in FIG. 20 has a Chapter 1 button H1, a Chapter 2 button H2, and a BAD2 button U as virtual buttons for confirming each subsection, and has a First Branch button K1 and a Second Branch button K2 as virtual buttons for confirming the branches (questions) that have been passed. Note that the challenge button Ec is not displayed on the path confirmation screen 6G related to the false ending.

[0113] FIG. 21 illustrates a path confirmation screen provided to a general user who has reached the true ending by omitting some of the subsections constituting the main story. The path confirmation screen 6H in FIG. 21 is provided to a general user who has determined that the answer to the question in Chapter 2 is incorrect, for example. The path confirmation screen 6H in FIG. 21 has a Chapter 1 button H1, a Chapter 2 button H2, and a Chapter 4 button H4 as virtual buttons for confirming each subsection, and has a First Branch button K1 and a Second Branch button K2 as virtual buttons for confirming the branches (questions) that have been passed. However, one or more subsections relating to a separate chapter may be inserted between Chapter 2 and Chapter 4 for reasons such as mitigating the sense of incongruity when Chapter 3 is omitted from Chapter 2 and connected to Chapter 4.

[0114] In this way, when using a setting that omits some of the subsections that make up the main story, the work does not necessarily have to have a subsection related to a separate story. In other words, the operating system may handle a work that is composed only of multiple subsections that make up the main story. In other words, even if the work is composed only of subsections that make up the main story, it is possible to adjust the story development of the work for general users by taking advantage of the branching in the questions.

[0115] Fig. 22 shows another example of a route confirmation screen displayed to a general user who has been provided with multiple subsections relating to a separate volume. The route confirmation screen 6J in Fig. 22 is provided to a general user whose answer to a question in Chapter 2 has been determined to be incorrect, for example. The route confirmation screen 6J in Fig. 22 has a Chapter 1 button H1, a Chapter 2 button H2, a Separate 1 button V, and a BAD2 button U as virtual buttons for confirming each subsection.

[0116] In the route confirmation screens 6F to 6H and 6J illustrated in Figs. 19 to 22, other route display Rz showing routes not taken by general users is displayed relatively lightly (in each figure, dashed lines or gray are exemplified). This can stimulate the reader's interest in the small sections that have not been read. The route confirmation screen may have an end button 6u for ending reading. The initial screen 6A, reading screens 6B to 6E, and route confirmation screens 6F to 6H and 6J may include a reader login display 6L showing that the reader is currently logged in, as in each figure.

[0117] The reading screens in Fig. 23 to Fig. 25 are based on the assumption that, for example, in the chat necessity section 5g (see Fig. 9) of the basic setting screen 5B, a setting is made to create a social chat. First, with reference to Fig. 23 and Fig. 24, a screen transition when the chat field Dy is displayed in response to a switching operation will be described. Fig. 23 and Fig. 24 show, as an example, a reading screen 6D corresponding to Fig. 17.

[0118] The information processing unit 52 displays a reading screen 6D as shown in FIG. 23 on the display unit 55 when an operation to specify a work in the continuing work section 6b is received on the initial screen 6A as shown in FIG. 13, or when an answer to a question is received on the reading screen 6B as shown in FIG. 14 or FIG. 15. The reading screen 6D of FIG. 23 has an invitation button Ch for receiving a request to participate in a social chat. When a general user presses the invitation button Ch, a chat field Dy is displayed on the display unit 55 as shown in FIG. 24. That is, when the information processing unit 52 receives a request to participate in a social chat on the reading screen 6D as shown in FIG. 23, the information processing unit 52 displays the reading screen 6D including the chat field Dy on the display unit 55 as shown in FIG. 24. The chat field Dy illustrated in FIG. 24 is composed of a chat section Do in which messages exchanged between participants in the social chat are displayed, an input field D1 for inputting a message, and a send button D2. The chat field Dy of FIG. 24 is accompanied by the characters "Chapter 2 Social Chat" as the chat name Dt.

[0119] FIG. 25 illustrates a reading screen related to the subsection of the ending among the reading screens provided to general users. There are true endings and false endings in the endings, and FIG. 25 illustrates a reading screen 6E related to the subsection of the true ending. The reading screen 6E in FIG. 25 is an example of a state after the information processing unit 52 accepts a request to participate in the social chat. The chat field Ey illustrated in FIG. 25 includes a chat section Eo in which messages are exchanged between participants in the social chat. In FIG. 25, it is assumed that the author of the work C is participating in the complete reading chat, and the author's comments Sc are displayed in the chat section Eo. The chat field Ey in FIG. 25 is accompanied by the characters "complete reading chat" as the chat name Et. The reading screen 6E may have a path confirmation button Bm for checking the reading path and returning to a subsection or branch as necessary, as shown in FIG. 25.

[0120] Next, a work providing method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 26 to Fig. 31. First, an overview of the linkage processing between the work providing device 10 and the management terminal 30 will be described with reference to the sequence chart of Fig. 26, focusing on the processing content of the management terminal 30.

[0121] When the administrative user inputs login authentication information in the administrative terminal 30 and performs an operation to request login (step S101), the administrative terminal 30 transmits a login request including the input login authentication information to the work providing device 10 (step S102). Upon receiving the login request, the work providing device 10 performs a process of verifying the login authentication information and transmits data relating to the administrative user's initial screen (administration initial data) to the administrative terminal 30 (step S103), and the administrative terminal 30 displays, for example, an initial screen 5A as shown in Fig. 7 on the display unit 35 (step S104).

[0122] When the management terminal 30 accepts an operation to designate a work on the initial screen 5A (step S105), it transmits a work management request requesting management authority for the designated work to the work providing device 10 (step S106). The work providing device 10 transmits data relating to a basic setting screen for the designated work (basic work data) to the management terminal 30 (step S107), and the management terminal 30 displays a basic setting screen 5B, for example, as shown in Fig. 9, on the display unit 35 (step S108). The data relating to the basic setting screen includes various information and programs for displaying the basic setting screen 5B, and is hereinafter also referred to as "basic work data".

[0123] When the management terminal 30 receives an operation to change the settings of the setting section Bx on the basic setting screen 5B, that is, an operation to change the state of the switching section S, to change the input value of the amount setting section P, or to change the designation of the public setting section T, the management terminal 30 changes the display on the basic setting screen 5B according to the content of the operation (step S109). Then, when the management terminal 30 receives an instruction to update the setting section Bx by pressing the update button K or the like (step S110), the management terminal 30 transmits basic update data including the content changed in the setting section Bx to the work providing device 10 (step S111). The work providing device 10 updates the information in the setting database based on the basic update data (step S112). Note that when the management terminal 30 receives an operation to designate each element of the reader information management section Bz on the basic setting screen 5B, the management terminal 30 acquires information corresponding to each element from the work providing device 10 and displays it on the display unit 35.

[0124] When the management terminal 30 receives the designation of a subsection by, for example, pressing the section button or false section button on the basic setting screen 5B (step S113), it transmits a subsection request indicating the designated subsection to the work providing device 10 (step S114). The work providing device 10 transmits data related to an editing screen for the designated subsection to the management terminal 30 (step S115), and the management terminal 30 displays an editing screen 5C, for example, as shown in Figures 10 and 11, on the display unit 35 (step S116). The data related to the editing screen includes various information and programs for displaying the editing screen 5C, and is hereinafter also referred to as "editing data".

[0125] When the management terminal 30 receives an operation on the editing screen 5C, such as switching the state of the switching section S, changing the input value of the time setting section E, or changing the settings of each setting section (S1, S2, T1, T2), the management terminal 30 changes the display on the editing screen 5C according to the operation content. Furthermore, when the management terminal 30 receives an operation on the editing screen 5C to change the display content of the text display section 3a, the question section 3b, or the option section Co, the management terminal 30 changes the display content of each section according to the operation content (step S117). When the management terminal 30 receives an update instruction with the changed content (step S118), the management terminal 30 transmits small section update data including the changed content to the work providing device 10 (step S119). The work providing device 10 updates the information in the setting database based on the small section update data (step S120).

[0126] The management terminal 30 accepts an update instruction, for example, by pressing an update button displayed on the setting confirmation screen after pressing the setting confirmation button 3o. However, the editing screen 5C may be configured to include an update button, and the management terminal 30 may accept an update instruction by pressing the update button on the editing screen 5C. When the management terminal 30 accepts an operation to designate each element of the reader information management section Cz on the editing screen 5C, it acquires information corresponding to each element from the work providing device 10 and displays it on the display unit 35. When the reader display confirmation button 3n is pressed on the editing screen 5C, the management terminal 30 acquires data related to a reader display confirmation screen corresponding to the editing screen 5C from the work providing device 10, and displays a reader display confirmation screen in a form similar to the reading screens in Figures 14 to 18 and 23 to 25 on the display unit 35.

[0127] When the management terminal 30 receives an instruction to display statistical data, for example by pressing the statistics confirmation button 3m (step S121), it transmits a statistics confirmation request to the work providing device 10 (step S122). In response to the statistics confirmation request, the work providing device 10 transmits data related to a statistics confirmation screen to the management terminal 30 (step S123), and the management terminal 30 causes the display unit 35 to display a statistics confirmation screen 5D as shown in Fig. 12 (step S124). The data related to the statistics confirmation screen includes various information and programs for displaying the statistics confirmation screen 5D, and is hereinafter also referred to as "statistics confirmation data".

[0128] When the management terminal 30 receives a return instruction (an instruction to return to the previous screen) by, for example, pressing the return button 5u on the statistics confirmation screen 5D (step S125), it transmits a subsection request to the work providing device 10 in the same manner as in step S114 (step S126) to display the previous screen, and causes the display unit 35 to display the editing screen 5C based on the editing data from the work providing device 10 (steps S127 and S128). Of course, when the management terminal 30 receives a return instruction (step S125), it may also cause the display unit 35 to display the editing screen 5C based on the data held in the cache memory (step S128).

[0129] For the sake of convenience, the above description has been given of the interactions between the work providing device 10 and the management terminal 30 in the order of the step numbers in Fig. 26, but the order of each process can vary depending on the operations of the management user. For example, the process may move to step S113 after the process of step S107, and each process may be irregularly repeated as long as the operations of the management user continue.

[0130] Next, an example of the operation of the work providing method by the work providing device 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 27, focusing on the process of providing data to the management terminal 30. Processing contents that overlap with Fig. 27 will be appropriately simplified.

[0131] When the work providing device 10 acquires a login request from the administrative user (step S201), it provides the administrative user with an initial screen 5A via the administrative terminal 30 (step S202). When the work providing device 10 acquires a work management request from the administrative user via a work designation operation on the administrative terminal 30 (step S203), it provides the administrative user with a basic setting screen 5B via the administrative terminal 30, thereby granting the administrative user the authority to change the basic settings of the designated work (step S204). In this embodiment, the work providing device 10 is configured to provide the administrative user with reaction data representing reactions of general users to a work. For example, the work providing device 10 provides the administrative user with the reaction data via a reader information management section (Bz, Cz, Dx) displayed on the administrative terminal 30. Comments may be directly displayed in the reader information management section (Bz, Cz, Dx).

[0132] When the work providing device 10 receives a general operation on the basic setting screen 5B via the management terminal 30 (step S205 / Yes), it executes processing according to the operation content (step S206). A general operation on the basic setting screen 5B is an operation on the setting section Bx and the reader information management section Bz. When the work providing device 10 receives a designation of a subsection via the management terminal 30 (step S207 / Yes), it provides the management user with an editing screen 5C via the management terminal 30, thereby granting the management user authority to manage information related to the subsection (authority to correct, change, etc.) (step S209).

[0133] If the work providing device 10 has not received any operation, it is in a standby state (step S205 / No, step S207 / No, step S208 / No), and if it receives a return instruction, it transitions the display screen of the management terminal 30 to the initial screen 5A (step S208 / Yes).

[0134] When the work providing device 10 accepts an operation on the editing screen 5C via the management terminal 30 (step S210 / Yes), it executes a process according to the operation content (step S211). For example, when the work providing device 10 accepts an operation on the reader information management section Cz, the reader display confirmation button 3n, or the setting confirmation button 3o via the management terminal 30, it provides the management user with information according to the operation content.

[0135] If the work providing device 10 has not received any operation, it is in a standby state (step S210 / No, step S212 / No, step S213 / No), and if a return instruction is received, it transitions the display screen of the management terminal 30 to the basic setting screen 5B (step S213 / Yes). If the work providing device 10 acquires a statistics confirmation request via the management terminal 30 (step S212 / Yes), it provides the statistics confirmation screen 5D to the management user via the management terminal 30 (step S214).

[0136] When the work providing device 10 accepts an operation on the statistics confirmation screen 5D via the management terminal 30 (step S215 / Yes), it executes processing according to the operation content (step S216). The work providing device 10 continues to display the statistics confirmation screen 5D on the management terminal 30 until a return instruction is accepted (step S217 / No), and when a return instruction is accepted (step S217 / Yes), it transitions the display screen of the management terminal 30 to the editing screen 5C. However, if the statistics confirmation screen 5D is set to be displayed in a subwindow, the work providing device 10 can simply erase the statistics confirmation screen 5D that is overlapping the editing screen 5C of the management terminal 30 when an instruction to erase is accepted. The above explanation has been given in the order of the step numbers attached to FIG. 27, but the order of each process is not limited to this.

[0137] Next, with reference to the sequence chart of FIG. 28, an overview of the cooperative processing between the work providing device 10, the management terminal 30, and the information terminal 50 will be described, focusing on the processing content of the information terminal 50.

[0138] When a general user inputs login authentication information into the information terminal 50 and performs an operation to request login (step S301), the information terminal 50 transmits a login request including the input login authentication information to the work providing device 10 (step S302). Upon receiving the login request, the work providing device 10 performs a process of verifying the login authentication information and transmits data relating to the general user's initial screen (general initial data) to the information terminal 50 (step S303), and the information terminal 50 displays an initial screen 6A, for example, as shown in Fig. 13, on the display unit 55 (step S304).

[0139] When the information terminal 50 accepts an operation to specify a work on the initial screen 6A (step S305), it transmits a work request to the work providing device 10 to request the provision of the specified work (step S306). The work providing device 10 transmits data related to a reading screen of the specified work (reading data) to the management terminal 30 (step S307), and the information terminal 50 displays a reading screen (6B to 6E) such as those shown in Figs. 14 to 19 on the display unit 55 (step S308). More specifically, when an unread work is specified by a general user, the information terminal 50 displays a reading screen (6B, 6C) such as those shown in Figs. 14 to 16 on the display unit 55, and when a work being read is specified, it displays a reading screen (6D, 6E) such as those shown in Figs. 17 to 19 on the display unit 55.

[0140] The information terminal 50 scrolls the text display field 7a in response to a general user's operation, and when a question display condition is satisfied (step S309), displays a question section 7x on the display unit 55, for example, as shown in FIG. 14 or FIG. 15 (step S310). The question display condition can be set arbitrarily, such as the last text of a subsection displayed in the text display field 7a being displayed on the display unit 55, or a set time having elapsed since the last text of the subsection was displayed on the display unit 55. FIG. 15 shows an example in which the question section 7x is displayed overlapping the lower part of the text display field 7a, but this is not limiting, and the question section 7x may be displayed outside the text display field 7a. However, the work providing system 100 may be configured to display the question section 7x from the beginning in step S308, and omit steps S309 and S310.

[0141] When the information terminal 50 receives an answer to a question on the reading screen (step S311), it transmits answer data indicating the received answer to the work providing device 10 (step S312). Based on the answer data, the work providing device 10 extracts reading data including a subsection to be provided next from the storage unit 13, etc. If the answer to the question is information indicating an option, the work providing device 10 extracts reading data including a subsection linked to the option. If the answer to the question is a sentence, the work providing device 10 determines whether the answer is correct or incorrect by, for example, a process combining natural language analysis and machine learning, and extracts reading data including a subsection according to the result of the determination. At that time, the work providing device 10 updates the situation data and subsection data, etc., linked to the general user in the user DB (step S313). Then, the work providing device 10 transmits the extracted reading data to the information terminal 50 (step S314). The information terminal 50 displays, for example, a reading screen (6D, 6E) as shown in FIG. 17 or FIG. 18 on the display unit 55 based on the reading data (step S315).

[0142] In this embodiment, if the extracted reading data is related to the true ending, the work providing device 10 transmits chat invitation data for inviting the author of the work to the management terminal 30 (step S316). The management terminal 30 displays invitation information indicating an invitation to the complete reading chat on the display unit 35 based on the chat invitation data (step S317). When the management terminal 30 accepts participation in the complete reading chat by a predetermined operation of the management user who visually checks the invitation information (step S318), it transmits a participation application to the work providing device 10 (step S319). In response to the participation application, the work providing device 10 transmits chat data including the complete reading chat to the management terminal 30 (step S320). This allows the management user who is the author of the work to exchange messages with the reader in the complete reading chat.

[0143] When the information terminal 50 receives an operation to instruct route confirmation on the reading screen related to the conclusion subsection (step S321), it transmits a route request to the work providing device 10 (step S322). In response to the route request, the work providing device 10 transmits data related to the route confirmation screen (route confirmation data) to the information terminal 50 (step S323), and the information terminal 50 displays route confirmation screens (6F-6H, 6J) such as those shown in Figures 19-22 on the display unit 55 (step S324).

[0144] When a request to display a creation screen is made on the path confirmation screen 6F linked to the true ending (step S325), the information terminal 50 transmits a creation request to the work providing device 10 (step S326). In response to the creation request, the work providing device 10 transmits data relating to the creation screen (creation data) to the information terminal 50 (step S327), and the information terminal 50 displays the creation screen on the display unit 55 based on the creation data (step S328).

[0145] The information terminal 50 displays text in an input field on the creation screen in response to an input operation by the general user, and upon receiving a registration operation by the general user (step S329), transmits creation data including the input text (new creation) to the work providing device 10 (step S330). The work providing device 10 transfers the creation data transmitted from the information terminal 50 to the management terminal 30 (step S331). The management terminal 30 displays the text (new creation) as a candidate for a subcategory on the display unit 35 in response to a predetermined operation by the management user (step S332), and upon receiving an answer by the management user regarding acceptance or rejection (step S333), transmits acceptance or rejection data including the answer to the work providing device 10 (step S334).

[0146] If the adoption / rejection data indicates adoption, the work providing device 10 registers the text (new creation) linked to the adoption / rejection data as a new subcategory linked to the work (step S335), and transmits adoption data indicating adoption to the information terminal 50 (step S336). On the other hand, if the adoption / rejection data indicates rejection, the work providing device 10 links information indicating rejection to the adoption / rejection data (step S335), and transmits rejection data indicating rejection to the information terminal 50 (step S336). The information terminal 50 notifies the general user of the information related to the adoption / rejection by a preset method (step S337). The above explanation has been given in the order of the step numbers attached to FIG. 28, but the order of each process is not limited to this.

[0147] Next, an example of the operation of the work providing system 100 in selecting a destination to which reaction data is to be provided will be described with reference to the sequence chart in Fig. 29. Here, the flow of the process when a general user inputs a comment on the transmission unit W of the reading screen or route confirmation screen, etc., displayed on the information terminal 50 will be described.

[0148] When a general user inputs a comment in the input field W1 of a reading screen or the like and presses the send button W2 (step S401), the information terminal 50 additionally displays reaction data representing the input comment in the reaction field 6g (step S402), and transmits reaction processing data in which the content of the comment is linked to the user identifier of the general user to the work providing device 10. The reaction processing data may include information on the date and time when the comment was sent (step S403).

[0149] Upon receiving the reaction processing data, the work providing device 10 updates the reaction DB (step S404), and checks the user identifier linked to the reaction processing data against the user DB to extract situation data of the general user (step S405). Then, the work providing device 10 selects an information terminal 50 to which the comment will be provided (the general user providing the comment) based on the extracted situation data. For example, the work providing device 10 selects from the user DB a general user to whom all subsections already provided to the general user who sent the comment (hereinafter also referred to as the "sending user") have been provided. Alternatively, the work providing device 10 provides the comment to other general users to whom the sending user has already provided the subsection he is reading (step S406).

[0150] Then, the work providing device 10 transmits the reaction processing data to the information terminal 50 to which the selected one or more general users are logged in. The reaction processing data transmitted here does not need to include identification information of the general user who sent the comment. At this time, the work providing device 10 may transmit a completion notification to the information terminal 50 that sent the comment (step S407). The information terminal 50 that has received the reaction processing data additionally displays the reaction data included in the reaction processing data in, for example, the reaction column 6g on the display screen (step S408).

[0151] In the work providing system 100, a series of processes similar to those described above is executed each time a comment or the like is sent from an information terminal 50 constituting the system. However, although the above explanation has been given in the order of the step numbers in Fig. 29 for the sake of convenience, the order of each process is not limited to this.

[0152] Next, an example of an operation relating to approval of display of reaction data by an administrative user will be outlined with reference to the sequence chart of Fig. 30. The same processes as those in Fig. 29 will be assigned the same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted or simplified.

[0153] When a general user inputs a reaction such as a comment on the information terminal 50 (step S401), the information terminal 50 additionally displays the reaction data in the reaction column 6g or the like (step S402), and transmits the reaction data representing the reaction to the work providing device 10 (step S403). The work providing device 10 updates the reaction DB based on the received reaction processing data (step S404). At this time, the work providing device 10 may execute the processes of steps S405 and S406.

[0154] The work providing device 10 transmits the reaction processing data received from the information terminal 50 to the management terminal 30 (step S501). The management terminal 30 notifies the management terminal 30 that the reaction data to be approved has arrived (step S502). When the management user confirms the notification and performs an operation to confirm the reaction data (step S503), the management terminal 30 displays the reaction data included in the received reaction processing data (step S504).

[0155] When the administrative user performs an operation on the administrative terminal 30 to approve the display of the reaction data (step S505), the administrative terminal 30 transmits approval data indicating that the reaction data has been approved to the work providing device 10 (step S506). Based on the approval data, the work providing device 10, for example, sets an approval flag in the reaction processing data to register approval (step S507), and transmits the reaction processing data to one or more information terminals 50 to which other general users are logged in (step S407). The information terminal 50 that receives the reaction data displays the reaction data such as comments in the reaction column 6g of the reading screen (step S408). The above explanation has been given in the order of the step numbers attached to FIG. 30, but the order of each process is not limited to this.

[0156] Next, an example of operation related to a work providing method by the work providing device 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 31, focusing on the process of providing data to the information terminal 50. Processing content that overlaps with Fig. 28 will be appropriately simplified.

[0157] When the work providing device 10 acquires a login request from a general user (step S601), it provides the general user with an initial screen 6A via the information terminal 50 (step S602). When the work providing device 10 acquires a work request from the general user via a work designation operation on the information terminal 50 (step S603), it provides the general user with a reading screen via the information terminal 50 (step S604).

[0158] The work providing device 10 waits until it acquires the answer data (step S605 / No), and when it acquires the answer data (step S605 / Yes), it judges whether or not the general user is participating in the social chat (step S606). If the general user is participating in the social chat (step S606 / Yes), the work providing device 10 causes the general user to exit the social chat (step S607). Then, the work providing device 10 provides the general user with a reading screen related to a subsection according to the contents of the general user's answer via the information terminal 50. At that time, the work providing device 10 updates the situation data of the general user in the user DB (step S608). In this operation example, the social chat is not included in the reading screen provided by the work providing device 10 in step S608. Note that, if the general user is not participating in the social chat in step S607, the work providing device 10 proceeds to the processing of step S608.

[0159] When the work providing device 10 accepts a participation application based on the general user's approval for participation (step S609 / Yes), it provides the general user with a reading screen including a social chat as shown in Fig. 18 or 19 via the information terminal 50. When the work providing device 10 does not accept a participation application (step S609 / No), it continues to provide a reading screen not including a social chat.

[0160] If the reading screen provided in step S608 or S610 is not linked to the subsection related to the conclusion (final subsection) (step S611 / No), the work providing device 10 waits until answer data is acquired (step S612 / No). When the work providing device 10 acquires the answer data (step S612 / Yes), if a general user is participating in the social chat, the work providing device 10 causes the general user to exit the social chat (step S613). That is, the process of step S613 is substantially the same as the process of steps S606 and S607. Then, the work providing device 10 executes the processes of steps S614 to S616 in the same manner as the processes of steps S608 to S611.

[0161] If the reading screen provided in step S608 or S610 is linked to a subsection related to the conclusion (final subsection), when a route request is acquired from a general user (step S617 / Yes), the work providing device 10 provides a route confirmation screen (6F-6H, 6J) to the general user (step S618). If a general user operates the route confirmation screen (6F-6H, 6J), the work providing device 10 cooperates with the information terminal 50 to execute processing according to the operation content (step S619 / Yes, step S620).

[0162] When the work providing device 10 has not acquired a route request from a general user, that is, when the work providing device 10 is providing the general user with the reading screen 6E relating to the final subsection as shown in FIG. 19 (step S617 / No), if there is an operation by the general user, the work providing device 10 executes a process according to the operation content in cooperation with the information terminal 50 (step S619 / Yes, step S620). When the work providing device 10 acquires a termination request based on the operation by the general user, the work providing device 10 provides the general user with the initial screen 6A via the information terminal 50 (step S621 / Yes). The above explanation has been given in the order of the step numbers attached to FIG. 27, but the order of each process is not limited to this.

[0163] As described above, the work providing device 10 in this embodiment has a control unit 12 that provides a work, which includes a plurality of sentences and is divided into a set of small sections, to a user who has logged in as a reader, for each small section. The control unit 12 then provides the user with only comments from other users who share a common reading path. For example, when the control unit 12 receives a comment posted by a certain user, it is configured to provide the comment to other users to whom the small section being read by the user has already been provided. In this way, if the comment is made to reach only other users who have read or are currently reading the small section being read by the user who posted the comment, the user can post a comment without hesitation and can read the comments by other users with peace of mind.

[0164] That is, in conventional methods such as word of mouth, there is a risk of spoilers occurring because there are no restrictions on viewing. In this regard, the work providing system 100 grasps the status data of the user who posted the comment based on the user DB that is updated from time to time, and provides the comment only to other users whose reading progress is the same as or higher than that of the user. This increases the sense of security when posting a comment on a work and when checking comments posted by other users.

[0165] When the control unit 12 receives a comment posted by a user, the control unit 12 may provide the comment to other users to whom all the sub-divisions provided to the user have already been provided. In other words, when the control unit 12 receives a comment posted by a user, the control unit 12 may provide the comment only to other users to whom all the sub-divisions provided to the user have already been provided. In this way, the sense of security can be further increased when posting a comment on a work and when checking comments posted by other users.

[0166] The control unit 12 may generate a social chat linked to each of the multiple small sections and having users who are reading the small sections as members, and when providing a new small section to a certain user, may invite the user to the social chat linked to the small section. In such a configuration, the social chat has only users who are reading the same small section as members, so that the reading path of each member is basically common, and therefore, there is a low possibility that information about unread small sections will be transmitted in the chat room. Therefore, users can freely transmit comments and can enjoy comments by other users with peace of mind. When providing a new small section to a certain user, if the user is participating in a social chat linked to the small section provided one before, the providing processing means 12b may cause the user to exit the social chat. In this way, spoilers can be more reliably prevented, and participation in the social chat and active exchanges can be promoted.

[0167] The control unit 12 generates an exchange chat that is linked one-to-one with at least one small section and has users who are reading the small section as members, and when providing a new small section to which an exchange chat is linked to a certain user, the control unit 12 may invite the user to the exchange chat linked to the small section. Even in this way, the exchange chat is composed of users who have many common points in their reading paths, so that the possibility of information about unread small sections being transmitted in the exchange chat is low. When the control unit 12 invites a certain user to the exchange chat, if the user is participating in the exchange chat to which the user was invited one before, the provision processing means 12b may cause the user to leave the exchange chat. In this way, spoilers can be more reliably prevented, and participation in the exchange chat and active exchanges can be promoted.

[0168] The control unit 12 may generate a social chat associated with a combination of subsections set in advance, and invite users who have received all the subsections included in the combination to the social chat associated with the combination. Even in this way, only users who have many common reading paths become members of the social chat, so the possibility of information about unread subsections being transmitted in the social chat is low. When providing a new subsection to a user, if the user is participating in the social chat, the control unit 12 may cause the user to exit the social chat. In this way, spoilers can be more reliably prevented, and participation in the social chat and active exchanges can be promoted.

[0169] The control unit 12 may provide the administrative user with reaction data representing the reactions of all users who have received the work to the work, and may provide the user with reaction data related to other users that have been approved by the administrative user. Receiving the work refers to receiving at least one of the multiple subdivisions that make up the work. With this configuration, for example, it is possible to prevent comments that may lead to spoilers from being made public, thereby improving the reader's sense of security while reflecting the administrative user's intentions and suppressing a decrease in their desire to read. The control unit 12 may invite the administrative user to a complete reading chat. By having the author participate in the chat room, lively exchanges including questions to the author can be expected. In addition, the author can hear more frank opinions, including questions to the readers, and can use them in future creative activities while brushing up his / her work.

[0170] The control unit 12 may be configured to generate a chat room associated with each of the correct and incorrect answers to the question, with only users who have the same correct or incorrect answers to the question as members. Alternatively, the control unit 12 may be configured to generate a chat room associated with each of a plurality of options linked to the question, with only users who have selected the same option as members. Other users who have the same answer to the question basically have the same reading path, that is, the configuration of the provided subsections is basically the same. Therefore, there is a low possibility that information about unread subsections will be transmitted in the chat room, which can increase the user's sense of security.

[0171] When a user answers a question associated with a certain subsection, if the user is participating in a chat room, the control unit 12 may cause the user to leave the chat room and invite the user to a chat room corresponding to the answer of the user. Alternatively, when a user selects one of a plurality of options associated with a question associated with a certain subsection, if the user is participating in a chat room, the control unit 12 may cause the user to leave the chat room and invite the user to a chat room corresponding to the option selected by the user. In this way, it is possible to avoid a state in which a user participates in multiple exchange chats, and it is possible to prevent a situation in which information obtained in one exchange chat flows to another exchange chat, and to suppress spoilers.

[0172] The control unit 12 may provide only comments from other users who have the same answers to questions that have been answered correctly to the user who is reading. Alternatively, the control unit 12 may provide only comments from other users who have selected the same option to the user who is reading. In this configuration, the user can only confirm comments from other users who have arrived at the same small section by the same route, and information about unread small sections is unlikely to be displayed in the reaction field 6g, which can increase the user's sense of security.

[0173] The work providing program 13p is a program for causing a computer to function at least as the providing processing means 12b. For example, the providing processing means 12b provides a work, which includes a plurality of sentences and is divided into a set of small sections, to a user who has logged in as a reader for each small section. In addition, for example, when the providing processing means 12b receives a comment sent by a certain user, the providing processing means 12b provides the comment to other users to whom the small section being read by the certain user has already been provided.

[0174] In addition, the work providing method in this embodiment is configured to have one or more processors execute a small section providing step of providing a work, which includes a plurality of sentences and is divided into a set of small sections, to a user who has logged in as a reader, for each small section, and a comment providing step of, when a comment posted by a certain user is received, providing the comment to other users who have already been provided with the small section that the user is reading. The small section providing step and the comment providing step may be executed in any order, and may be executed in parallel.

[0175] The above-mentioned embodiment is an example of the work providing device, the work providing system, the work providing program, and the work providing method, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to these aspects. For example, each screen shown in each figure may be displayed on the entire screen of the display unit, may be displayed on a part of the display unit, or may be displayed as a sub-window. The work providing system 100 may omit the display of the reading screen (see FIG. 23) including the invitation button Ch, and may display the reading screen (see FIG. 24, FIG. 25) including the chat field (Dy, Ey) from the beginning on the display unit 55. The control unit 12 may preferentially display comments linked to the sub-section related to the ending in the reaction field 6g of the route confirmation screen (see FIG. 19 to FIG. 22). The route confirmation screen may be configured to have a chat field as shown in FIG. 24 or FIG. 25 instead of the reaction field 6g, and may be configured to be switchable between the reaction field 6g and the chat field.

[0176] The screens (5A, 5X, 5Y, 5B-5D, 6A-6H, 6J) illustrated in each figure are merely examples, and the layout of each element displayed on each screen, as well as the shape, font, expression, etc., can be changed as appropriate, and each element can be freely selected. Each figure is illustrated in grayscale, but in actual each screen, appropriate colors are used for characters, figures, etc. For example, the basic setting screen 5B may not have the reader information management section Bz. The editing screen 5C may not have the statistics confirmation button 3m, the reader display confirmation button 3n, and the setting confirmation button 3o, and may have at least one of the statistics confirmation button 3m, the reader display confirmation button 3n, and the setting confirmation button 3o. The statistics confirmation screen 5D may not have the comment section 5t. A scroll bar or the like may be provided at a scrollable portion of each screen, assuming that it will be displayed on a PC monitor. The control unit 12 may not have some of the functions of the above-mentioned management control means 12a, and may not have some of the functions of the above-mentioned provision processing means 12b. [Explanation of symbols]

[0177] 1z~4z Category buttons, 3a Text display section, 3b Question section, 3c Selection section, 3d Required selection section, 3e Time limit setting section, 3f Correct answer setting section, 3g Incorrect answer setting section, 3h Answer acceptance instruction section, 3j Other reader display setting section, 3k Author comment setting section, 3m Statistics confirmation button, 3n Reader display confirmation button, 3o Settings confirmation button, 3t, 3u Add button, 5 Work section, 5A Initial screen, 5B Basic setting screen, 5C Editing screen, 5D Statistics confirmation screen, 5L Author login display, 5X First initial screen, 5Y Second initial screen, 5a Published works section, 5b Edited works section, 5c Reaction display section, 5d Work name display, 5e Derivative creation possible section, 5f Charge setting section, 5g Chat necessary section, 5h Participation necessary section, 5j Publication instruction section, 5k Status display, 5p Screen title, 5q explanation, 5r number of answers display section, 5s dropout rate display section, 5t comment section, 5u return button, 5v, 5w fake category button, 6 work section, 6A initial screen, 6B~6E reading screen, 6F~6H, 6J route confirmation screen, 6L reader login display, 6a recommended work section, 6b continuing work section, 6c information display column, 6d work name display, 6e sub-category display, 6f, B1~B5 explanation display, 6g reaction column, 6s progress button, 6u end button, 6x related data display, 6z review button, 7a text display column, 7b question text, 7c selection section, 7m, 7n selection text, 7p extraction section, 7q insertion section, 7r comment display section, 7s auxiliary display, 7v text, 7x question section, 7z answer, 8a text display column, 10 Work providing device, 11, 31, 51 communication unit, 12 control unit, 12a management control means, 12b providing processing means, 12c chat processing means, 13, 33, 53 memory unit, 13p work providing program, 20 operation terminal, 30 management terminal, 32 management processing unit, 34, 54 input unit, 35, 55 display unit, 50 information terminal, 52 information processing unit, 100 work providing system, Ao, A1, A2 reaction display unit, Am comment display, Ar reason display, As answer display, Bm route confirmation button, Bx setting unit, By transition unit, Bz, Cz, Dx reader information management unit, Ch invitation button, Co option field, D individual button, D1, W1 input field, D2, W2 send button, Do, Eo, Go, Ho, Jo chat unit, Dp Option display, Dt, Et, Gt, Ht, JtChat name, Dy, Ey, Hy chat section, E time setting section, Ec challenge button, H sub-section button, H1 Chapter 1 button, H2 Chapter 2 button, H3 Chapter 3 button, H4 Chapter 4 button, K update button, K1 1st branch button, K2 2nd branch button, K3 3rd branch button, Ko branch button, M notification section, Ms mode switching section, N network, P amount setting section, R selection rate, Rz other route display, S switching section, S1 correct answer selection section, Sa selection button, Sb selection button, Sc author's comment, T public setting section, T1, T2 course selection section, U BAD2 button, V separate 1 button, d impression section, d1 comment section, e chat display section, f creation display section, g derivative creation section, r1 1st reaction section, r2 2nd reaction section, r3 3rd reaction section, W transmission section.

Claims

1. A storage unit that stores a work including a plurality of sentences and divided into small sections, and question data that corresponds to at least one of the small sections in the work and includes a question related to the content of the small section; a control unit for providing the work to a user who has logged in as a reader for each of the subsections, and for requesting an answer to the question associated with the subsection being provided to the user from the user, and for determining the next subsection to be provided to the user in response to the answer from the user; The control unit is The work providing device, when receiving a comment sent by a certain user, provides the comment to other users to whom the small section being read by the certain user has already been provided.

2. A storage unit that stores a work including a plurality of sentences and divided into small sections, and question data that corresponds to at least one of the small sections in the work and includes a question related to the content of the small section; a control unit for providing the work to a user who has logged in as a reader for each of the subsections, and for requesting an answer to the question associated with the subsection being provided to the user from the user, and for determining the next subsection to be provided to the user in response to the answer from the user; The control unit is The work providing device, when receiving a comment sent by a certain user, provides the comment to another user who has already been provided with all of the subsections provided to the certain user.

3. A work providing device according to claim 1 or 2; A work providing system having an information terminal equipped with a transmission unit that accepts comments sent by the user based on reading data transmitted from the work providing device, and a display unit that displays a reaction section in which comments sent through the transmission unit are displayed.

4. a computer is caused to function as a providing processing means for providing a work, which is composed of a plurality of sentences and is divided into a set of small sections, to a user who has logged in as a reader, for each of the small sections; At least one of the small sections in the work is associated with question data including a question related to the content of the small section; The providing processing means includes: A work providing program which requests the user to provide an answer to the question associated with the subsection being provided to the user, determines the next subsection to be provided to the user based on the answer from the user, and, when a comment sent by a certain user is received, provides the comment to other users to whom the subsection being read by the user has already been provided.

5. a computer is caused to function as a providing processing means for providing a work, which is composed of a plurality of sentences and is divided into a set of small sections, to a user who has logged in as a reader, for each of the small sections; At least one of the small sections in the work is associated with question data including a question related to the content of the small section; The providing processing means includes: A work providing program which requests the user to provide an answer to the question associated with the subsection being provided to the user, determines the next subsection to be provided to the user based on the answer from the user, and, when a comment sent by a certain user is received, provides the comment to other users to whom all of the subsections provided to that user have already been provided.

6. a subsection providing step of providing a work, the work being composed of a plurality of sentences and divided into a set of subsections, to a user who has logged in as a reader, for each of the subsections; a comment providing step of, when receiving a comment posted by a certain user, providing the comment to a user to whom the certain user has already provided the subsection that the certain user is reading, the comment providing step being executed by one or more processors; At least one of the small sections in the work is associated with question data including a question related to the content of the small section; The small section providing step includes: A method for providing a work, comprising a step of requesting an answer to the question associated with the subsection being provided to the user from the user, and determining the next subsection to be provided to the user depending on the answer from the user.

7. a subsection providing step of providing a work, the work being composed of a plurality of sentences and divided into a set of subsections, to a user who has logged in as a reader, for each of the subsections; a comment providing step of, when receiving a comment sent by a certain user, providing the comment to a user who has already been provided with all of the subsections provided to the certain user, the step being executed by one or more processors; At least one of the small sections in the work is associated with question data including a question related to the content of the small section; The small section providing step includes: A method for providing a work, comprising a step of requesting an answer to the question associated with the subsection being provided to the user from the user, and determining the next subsection to be provided to the user depending on the answer from the user.

Images