Social Interaction Control Software Segmentation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional methods for protecting virtual community visitors from unauthorized social interaction are inadequate, particularly for providers of mixed content who seek to balance accessibility with the need to prevent inappropriate socialization, as they either restrict all users or fail to manage social interactions effectively.

Innovation Solution

A system utilizing social interaction control software that regulates access based on user identity and socialization levels, allowing access to commercial content without restrictions while prompting users to provide an identity and associate it with a socialization level for interactions, using permission databases to manage and restrict social interactions according to age and sophistication.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If users are required to register with the website to gain access to content, then protection from unauthorized social interaction is improved, but accessibility to commercial content deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprotection from unauthorized social interactionVSAvoidaccessibility to commercial content

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments access rights into different levels: full access for registered users and limited access for visitors. Commercial content is made accessible to visitors without registration, while social interaction features require registration. This segmentation allows the system to provide protection where needed while maintaining accessibility where appropriate.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different quality levels of access are provided to different parts of the system. Social interaction areas require registered user status (higher quality control), while commercial content areas allow visitor access (lower quality control). This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by applying registration requirements only where protection is necessary.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Ease of operation

If all users are treated equally with full access, then ease of operation is improved, but protection from inappropriate social interaction deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccessibility to contentVSAvoidprotection from inappropriate social interaction

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments users into two categories: visitors and registered users. This segmentation enables the system to provide full access to visitors for commercial content while reserving social interaction privileges for registered users, thereby maintaining ease of operation for content consumption while ensuring protection for social interaction.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different access qualities are applied locally to different functional areas. Commercial content areas maintain high accessibility for all users, while social interaction areas implement stricter quality control requiring registration. This local quality differentiation allows the system to meet both ease of operation and protection requirements simultaneously.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If registration is required for all content access, then protection from inappropriate interaction is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprotection from inappropriate social interactionVSAvoiduser interface complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments content into two types: commercial content (accessible to visitors) and social interaction content (accessible to registered users only). This segmentation allows the system to maintain simple visitor access for commercial content while implementing registration only where social interaction is available, reducing overall interface complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses an intermediary mechanism (visitor status) that provides sufficient protection for commercial content without requiring full registration. This intermediate level of authentication acts as a mediator between complete openness and full registration, reducing the complexity burden on users while maintaining adequate protection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS8037540B2Method and system for protecting a virtual community visitor from unauthorized social interaction

Publication Date: 2011.10.11 DISNEY ENTERPRISES INC

AI summary

There is provided a method of protecting a virtual community visitor from unauthorized social interaction comprising receiving a request from the virtual community visitor seeking access to a virtual community content, determining whether the virtual community content includes at least one social interaction opportunity, prompting the virtual community visitor to provide a visitor identity if the virtual community content includes at least one social interaction opportunity, associating the visitor identity with a socialization level, and utilizing the socialization level in one or more permission database to regulate social interaction. In one embodiment, a system for protecting a virtual community visitor from unauthorized social interaction comprises a virtual community content server, and a processor configured to execute instructions included in a social interaction control software to associate a socialization level with the virtual community visitor and utilize the socialization level in one or more permission database.