International Business Machines Corporation

Sonya Purcell

Al Chakra

Sean Callanan

Hugh P Smyth

Patrick Joseph O'Sullivan

Cora Clerkin

Gary Denner

Cynthia E Barber-Mingo

Orla Daly

Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to instant messaging and persistent chats and provide a method, system and computer program product for controlling active and passive participation among participants in a thread of conversation in an instant messaging session or persistent chat. In one embodiment of the invention, a method for controlling active and passive participation among participants in a thread of conversation can be provided. The method can include creating a thread of conversation in a messaging system, adding participants to the thread, classifying the participants as one of either active or passive, and permitting only those participants classified as active participants to post to the thread while providing merely a view of the thread to the passive participants.

Controlling active and passive participation in a thread of conversation

In a chat alert method and system, a chat user creates alert profiles that include the requestor's level in an organizational hierarchy as a parameter and the alert type for the level. When a chat client receives a chat request from a requester for a receiver, the chat client determines if there is a chat alert profile that matches the requestor's level. If so, then an alert is issued to the receiver according to the matching chat alert profile. Optionally, the chat alert profile sets an alternate alert system, where if the receiver does not respond to the request within a specified time, an alert is sent using the alternate alert system. Chat requests from requesters higher up in the reporting chain can be highlighted for the receiver. The receiver can then prioritize the chat requests that he/she receives and respond to them in a timely fashion.

System and method to prioritize chat alerts based on an organizational hierarchical chain

Rule selection is enforced on user email inboxes using an inbox monitor and administrative rules at an email server. The inbox monitor includes a first agent for identifying inactive user inboxes from email messages stored at the email database, and a second agent for identifying, from the inactive user inboxes identified by the first agent, user inboxes without appropriate user rules activated. For each user inbox identified by the second agent, administrative rules are applied to the user inbox if the user inbox has been inactive for at least a predetermined period of time. If the user inbox has not been inactive for at least the predetermined period of time, a notification message is sent to a user associated with the user inbox. The notification message informs the user that administrative rules will be applied to the user inbox if appropriate user rules are not activated.

Enforcing rule selection on user inboxes

A method and system for enforcing rule selection on user email inboxes include an inbox monitor and administrative rules at an email server. The inbox monitor includes a first agent for identifying inactive user inboxes from email messages stored at the email database, and a second agent for identifying, from the inactive user inboxes identified by the first agent, user inboxes without appropriate user rules activated. For each user inbox identified by the second agent, administrative rules are applied to the user inbox if the user inbox has been inactive for at least a predetermined period of time. If the user inbox has not been inactive for at least the predetermined period of time, a notification message is sent to a user associated with the user inbox. The notification message informs the user that administrative rules will be applied to the user inbox if appropriate user rules are not activated.

A method, system and computer-readable medium for enhanced instant messaging in a data processing system are disclosed. The instant messaging application detects a number of instant messaging sessions of a first messaging participant with a number of other messaging participants and detects a hierarchy class of each of the other messaging participants. The application calculates an average response time for each of hierarchy classes. The application determines whether the average response time for each hierarchy class exceeds a predefined threshold. If the average response time does not exceed the threshold the application displays an indication of the average response time for the hierarchy class to each of the other messaging participants of the hierarchy class. If the average response time does exceed the threshold, the application displays an indication to each of the other messaging participants of the hierarchy class that the first messaging participant is unable to respond.

Optimizing the expectation of a response in instant messaging with an automatic hierarchical instant message assistant

A method of operating an instant messaging application comprises running an instant messaging dialogue session across a plurality of participant devices. When a user wishes to postpone the session, the application receives a postponement signal from a participant device, determines a future restart time and future participant devices, terminates the current instant messaging dialogue session, and initiates a new instant messaging dialogue session at the restart time for the future participant devices.

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Tipperary, Ireland

Sonya Purcell