Participant-Specific Markup for Conversation Edits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic communication systems, such as email and instant messaging, lack the ability to efficiently display changes made to messages and do not provide a clear indication of which participants made those changes, leading to duplication of content and difficulty in tracking edits.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that enables participant-specific markup of hosted conversations, allowing participants to view edits made since their last view by displaying a markup of the conversation changes, which includes receiving notifications of view states and edit requests from participants, and updating the conversation state accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If content is copied and modified in existing electronic communication systems, then the content can be changed and forwarded, but there is no way to quickly and efficiently view changes to the modified content
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color changes by displaying modified content in different colors or with highlighting to indicate changes. Specifically, the system displays a markup that visually distinguishes modified portions of content from original content, allowing users to quickly identify what has been changed without manually comparing versions.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple users make changes to content, then collaborative editing is enabled, but there is no mechanism for easily identifying which users made each of the changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system assigns different colors or visual markers to indicate which user made which changes. Each participant's edits are displayed with their identity associated with the modified content, allowing easy identification of the source of each change while maintaining collaborative editing functionality.
3Loss of substance
If content is copied between successive versions, then content can be preserved and modified, but common content is unnecessarily duplicated
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and displays only the modified portions of content rather than duplicating entire versions. By taking out and highlighting only the changed elements, the system avoids unnecessary duplication of common content while preserving the ability to view and track modifications across versions.
Data Source
AI summary
A conversation server hosts a conversation having a plurality of participants, the conversation server enables a first client to display at least a portion of a conversation to a first participant. The conversation server receives a notification the portion of the conversation was viewed by the first participant at a first time while in a first state. After receiving a notification that the portion of the conversation has ceased to be viewed by the first participant, the conversation is edited to a second state at a second time. At a third time that is after the second time, the conversation server sends, to the first client, information enabling the first client to display a markup of the portion of the conversation that is indicative of one or more edits that transition the portion of the conversation from the first state to the second state.