International Business Machines Corporation

Mark Richard Laff

Wendy Anne Kellogg

Peter Kenneth Malkin

Philip Shilung Yu

Thomas David Erickson

John Thomas Richards

Jason Benjamin Ellis

Philip Shi-lung Yu

Rachel K E Bellamy

Tracee L Wolf

Jonathan P Brezin

Rachel Ke Bellamy

A method and apparatus for optimizing information-retrieval related system performance based on users' communication relationships. Users' interactions and relationships with each other are tracked by a 'relationship analyzer' that queries multiple heterogeneous information sources, such as e-mail logs, organization charts, calendar entries, phone logs, etc. A data structure is created for each user reflecting the intensity of communication relationship with other users, and modified over time as the data in the information sources change. A relationship group is defined based on the data structure and preference or importance ratings for each type of communication relationship that includes each user's group of highest-priority other users. A derived relationship group may also be defined based on high-priority users of a user's highest-intensity relationships. The relationship analyzer then acts as a proxy for user queries, and may modify queries and create persistent data stores or store the results of queries or sub-queries in order to improve system performance in a variety of ways: for example, to shorten retrieval time, to resolve missing or ambiguous results, to prioritize information for downloading to limited-resource computing devices, or to propagate updated information among closely related users. A way to derive a relationship group based on subject lines of communications, or other text-based content of communication-related information, is also described.

Optimization of system performance based on communication relationship

The present invention relates to a method for representing users within an online environment. The method allows users to define environmental parameters for controlling user interaction, define user representation parameters of user data within the environment, capture user data from the users, build an abstract graphical display of the environment, and build a user representation within the abstract graphical display for each user's data.

Method for translucent online interaction

The present invention provides a method, system and apparatus enabling user-defined, genre-structured interaction online. The present invention enables users to define their own genres, including rules of interaction, as well as rules of enforcement. Genre definitions also can include the specification of roles, parameters, and states. The present invention also facilitates a given user to modify a given genre definition. Allowable modifications include addition, modification, and deletion of parameters and interaction and enforcement rules. The present invention also provides dynamically updated graphical representations of the state of genre instances, these graphical representations definable by the users.

User-defined online interaction method and device

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Mount Kisco, NY, United States of America

Mark Richard Laff