The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 16, 2004
Filed:
Jun. 29, 2000
Harry R. Chesley, San Francisco, CA (US);
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA (US);
Abstract
A method of facilitating a discussion consisting of an exchange of electronic messages between members of a team including a team leader in a computer messaging system having messages that are arranged into a message hierarchy wherein related messages are represented by nodes and associated sub-nodes. A means for the leader to assign a node type to at least one of the nodes is provided. The node type is chosen from a set of discussion stages ranging from an initial stage to a final stage. A response framework is determined based on the assigned type. A response from a member is directed by evaluating a proposed response of the member based on the response framework and alerting the member if the proposed response is not proper based on the evaluation. The message hierarchy associated with a message being viewed by a team member is displayed and the display includes information about where the message being viewed fits into the message hierarchy.