Selective Availability Mode for Messaging Services
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face inconvenience when trying to control their availability on messaging services, as they may receive messages despite setting themselves as busy or invisible, lacking a straightforward method to selectively manage communication with specific contacts.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that allows users to enter a selective availability mode, where they can set their status as unavailable to all contacts, and then selectively choose to allow communication with specific contacts, enabling easy management of availability without having to block or unblock each contact individually.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a user sets their status as busy or invisible, then they indicate unavailability to contacts, but they may still receive messages from contacts which creates inconvenience
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the availability control mechanism into two distinct modes: traditional status modes (available, busy, invisible) and a new selective availability mode. In selective availability mode, the system divides contact management into two groups: prohibited contacts who cannot message the user, and allowed contacts who can still communicate. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by providing granular control over which contacts can reach the user, making availability control more precise and reliable.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a dynamic availability control mechanism where users can switch between different availability states (available, busy, invisible, and selective availability mode). The system dynamically adjusts the availability status based on user selection, allowing real-time control over communication with different contact groups. This dynamic approach enables users to adapt their availability settings according to their current needs, resolving the contradiction between indicating unavailability and still receiving messages.
2Ease of operation
If a user wants to communicate with a selected number of contacts, then they need to manually block or unblock each contact individually, but this process is time-consuming and inconvenient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functionality of blocking and unblocking multiple contacts into a single selective availability mode. Instead of managing each contact individually, users can select this mode to simultaneously prohibit communication with all contacts except for a predefined list of allowed contacts. This merging operation dramatically reduces the time and effort required to manage availability, resolving the contradiction between precise contact management and time consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by allowing users to pre-select and pre-configure allowed contacts before entering selective availability mode. The system maintains a predefined list of contacts who are permitted to communicate with the user even when in unavailable status. This preliminary configuration eliminates the need for manual, real-time blocking and unblocking operations, significantly reducing the time required to manage availability while maintaining precise control over communication.
3Reliability
If a user sets themselves as unavailable to all contacts, then communication is prohibited, but the user cannot selectively allow specific contacts to communicate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the contact list into two distinct groups: prohibited contacts who cannot message the user and allowed contacts who can still communicate. This segmentation is achieved through the selective availability mode, which divides the contact management function into two independent subsets. The system maintains the prohibition for prohibited contacts while simultaneously allowing communication for allowed contacts, thus resolving the contradiction between reliable communication prohibition and selective adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different communication permissions to different contact groups within the same availability status. Instead of treating all contacts uniformly, the system assigns local properties (allowed or prohibited status) to specific contact subsets. This allows the user to maintain overall unavailability while creating local exceptions for specific contacts who are allowed to communicate, thereby achieving both reliable prohibition and selective adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and machine-implemented method for selectively setting the availability of a user with respect to one or more contacts within an messaging service, the method comprising receiving an indication of a user entering a selective availability mode while the user is logged into an messaging service, wherein the messaging service maintains a list of a plurality of contacts associated with the user and setting the availability status of the user to unavailable at the messaging service with respect to the plurality of contacts in response to the detection, such that the plurality of contacts are prohibited from communicating with the user through the messaging service, while the user remains logged into the messaging service.