FR2762460A1 - SYSTEM INTENDED TO PROVIDE AN ENHANCED ENVIRONMENT AND USER INTERFACE FOR ONLINE DISCUSSION TECHNOLOGIES - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a system for providing an enhanced interface to chat technology, the system comprising: a super-server application (114), the super-server application providing information that augments the information otherwise available to the inside chat technology; anda client applet (112), the client applet using information provided by the super-server application to provide an enhanced interface to the chat technology.

Description

RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

  The present patent application claims the benefit of the provisional application of the United States of America N 60/040 028 entitled "Usenet News Reader" (ie program for reading articles from the USENET server) filed by Richard Simoni and Douglas Pan, March 4, 1997 whose

  description is incorporated into this memo as

reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

  The present invention relates in a way

  general to discussion technologies by computer

  than. More particularly, the present invention consists of a method and an apparatus for providing interfaces

  improved chat technologies

  such as electronic news (electronic mail,

  picnic, voice mail, Internet dialogue, voice conference, videoconference, fax for email, email, etc.).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

  Electronic news is a chat technology that has become familiar to computer users around the world. In a typical electronic news system, users post articles to newsgroups also known as newsgroups. Users also read and respond to articles posted by other users. Each item

  and response are archived for a period of time, allows

  both users to participate in discussions in a

delayed mode.

  On the Internet, the most widely used form of electronic news is news

  news broadcast on the specialized USENET network, couram-

  called USENET news. USENET news started with a simple process by which users exchanged items via email. From this simple start, USENET news has evolved into a complex system in which news articles are archived on news server systems. Archived news articles are transferred5 on demand to client systems using the protocol (NNTP) (ie, network news transfer protocol or USENET transfer protocol) described in Internet document RFC 977. Users client systems view news articles using user interfaces provided by programs

  known as news readers.

  The USENET news system turned out to be

  an effective and popular form of electronic news.

  In fact, thousands of different USENET newsgroups are now available on the Internet, and millions of articles are posted every week. Basic USENET technology is also widely deployed within the internal networks, or intranets, of many companies and organizations. These companies and organizations use news server systems such as USENET and the NNTP protocol to distribute articles.

  inside their internal IT systems.

  Despite the overall effectiveness of the USENET news system, practice has shown that it exists

  always a need for improvement in this techno-

  house. In particular, practice has shown that a large number of users find the user interfaces offered by the numerous news reader programs.

  as somewhat abstruse and difficult to use.

  Even interfaces that do not appear to be abstruse are still lacking many of the features that users have come to expect when using other programs such as

  World Wide Web browsers or web browsers.

  Thus, there is a need for improved user interfaces which can simplify the use of the system of

USENET news.

  Unfortunately, the production of interfaces

  improved users turned out to be a difficult task

  ficile. This difficulty is manifold due to the widespread use of USENET technology. In short, there is a large installed base of news reader programs and a large installed base of news server systems. Any modifications made to provide an improved news reader program must

  be compatible with a large amount of pre-

  existing. In particular, this means that it is not realistic to make changes to the news server systems or to the NNTP protocol. The need to provide an improved user interface while maintaining compatibility with existing software is not unique to the new USENETs. In fact, this need exists in the context of other discussion technologies, including electronic news systems, telematic information services (BBS), and non-oriented telematic dialogue systems.

  USENET. Thus, a need exists for a user interface

  improved news reader program that is compatible with existing USENET and related technologies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

  The present invention includes a method and apparatus for providing the improved interfaces to computer chat technologies such as electronic news. An environment representative of the present invention comprises a computer network comprising server and client computer systems. Preferably, the present invention is intended for use in Internet or Intranet environments in which client systems may include stations.

  work, personal computers, computer systems

  only networks and televisions with Internet access. In the preferred environment, one or more news servers are provided. Preferably, the news servers distribute news articles using the NNTP protocol described in Internet RFC 977 (the mention of

  RFC 977 is incorporated into this document for reference

  rence). Alternatively, other protocols and systems of

  news distribution can be used.

  To achieve the objectives of the present invention, one or more of the server systems incorporated in the computer network are designated by the term super-server systems. Each super server system

  has a super server application. The super app

  server provides information inside the network

  IT using a super-server protocol (SSP).

  The information provided by the SSP supplements the articles of

  news delivered by news servers. Inside

  of compatible news reader programs, the information provided by the SSP authorizes the use

  improved user interfaces.

  The information provided by the SSP is intended to be used within a range of different types of news reader programs. For a first embodiment of the present invention, a news reader program (called news reader in the remainder of the memo) is provided by a small application also called a client "applet". The client applet is preferably implemented in the form of a Java applet which is

  downloaded on demand to client systems on the network.

  Once downloaded, the client applet is run under the control of a Java compatible browser, such as Netscape Navigator. (Java is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems Inc.) (Navigator is a registered trademark of Netscape Communications Corporation). During execution, the client applet communicates with the system

  super server and news server systems.

  The client applet uses the information included in the SSP to provide an improved interface for accessing new electronics. The interface provided by the combination of the super-server system, SSP and the client applet has many features that simplify the access task

  electronic news. More specifically, when

  that it is used in combination with a browser, the present invention provides an interface of the "Web" type (that is to say in hypertextual network presentation

  multimedia) to access electronic news.

  The web-like interface sorts newsgroups into logical categories. Each category has an associated name which

  describes the content of the discussion groups in the category.

  Each category or discussion group can also have one or more associated real-time dialogue forums. Grouping discussion groups and dialogue forums into categories provides users with an intuitive guide to the various topics of discussion groups that

are available on the Internet.

  The categorization of newsgroups and live chat forums also allows the web-like interface to intelligently respond to user usage profiles. For example, a commercial for a music store

  online can be sent to users who have the skills

  tude to connect to a category of music discussion groups. According to another example, if many

  users are used to accessing a category group

  gories, a new supercategory can be created for

  meet the needs of these users.

  The advantages of the invention will be explained, in part, in the description which follows and, in part,

  will be appreciated by those skilled in the art from the description

  or can be demonstrated by practicing the invention.

  The advantages of the present invention will be realized and achieved by means of elements and combinations, such as

  particularly emphasized in the claims and

  equivalent. In the accompanying drawings which illustrate several embodiments of the invention and which,

  together with the description, serve to explain the

  principles of the invention: Figure 1 is a block diagram of a

  computer network represented as an environment represented

  of the present invention; Figure 2 is a block diagram of a host computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the relationship between the software components of an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a block diagram of a computer network shown as a representative environment for an alternative embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a diagram showing a first screen of a user interface as used in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 is a diagram showing a second screen of a user interface as used in an embodiment of the present invention;

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing three

  the fifth screen of a user interface as used in an embodiment of the present invention; and

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a qua-

  third screen of a user interface as used in an embodiment of the present invention; and Figures 9 to 14 are diagrams showing additional screens of a user interface such

  as used in an embodiment of the present invention. 5 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

  Reference is now made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated by the accompanying drawings. Where possible, the same reference numerals have been used in the drawings to refer to the elements

identical or similar.

ENVIRONMENT

  In Figure 1, a computer network 100 is shown as an environment representative of the present invention. Network 100 includes a mixture of client systems 102a to 102c and server systems 104a to 104d. The number of client systems 102 and systems

  servers 104 is intended to be representative in kind.

  Thus, Figure 1 could incorporate any number of client systems 102 or server systems 104. Client systems 102 and server systems 104 can be selected from a wide range of types of computer systems, including personal digital assistants , workstations and personal computers. Client systems 102 may also include appropriately configured network computer systems or television compatible Internet systems. Referring briefly to Figure 2, a

  computer system 200 is shown as implemen-

  Representative representation of client systems 102 and server systems 104. In terms of structure, the computer system 200 comprises a bus 202 connecting one or more processors 204 to one or more memories 206. An input / output device 208 is also connected to bus 202. The input / output device 208 represents a wide range of various I / O (input / output) devices such as disk drives, keyboards, modems, network adapters, printers and monitors. display. The computer system 200 also includes one or more mass storage devices 210 of any suitable type such as a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a non-volatile flash storage system or the like. In general, it can be appreciated that the host computer system 200 is intended to be representative of computers.

  universal. The computer system 200 aims to be represented

  tative of a wide range of types of computers. Thus, certain implementations of the computer system 200 may not require each structural component represented in FIG. 2. For example, in the case where a television compatible Internet system or a network computer system is chosen as client system 102, the

  mass storage 210 may be superfluous.

  On the network 100 of FIG. 1, each server system 104a to 104c has an appropriate application. These

  applications are the NNTP 106 server application, the application

  tion server dialogue 108 and the mail server application

  , intended for server systems 104a to 104c, respectively

  tively. Because of these applications, the server systems 104a to 104c will be designated as the NNTP server system.

  104a, dialog server system 104b and server system 104c.

  An important point is that the network 100 can include any number of NNTP server systems 104a, dialog server systems 104b, and systems

mail servers 104c.

  The NNTP server system 104a provides network news using the NNTP protocol described in the Internet RFC 977 (the mention of RFC 977 is incorporated in this specification for reference). Dialog server system 104b provides access to real-time dialog forums

  using Internet Relay Chat (IRC) protocol (i.e.

  to say "real-time text relay") described in Internet RFC 1459 (the mention of RFC 1459 is incorporated in this memo for reference). The mail server system 104c provides access to electronic mail using a protocol such as the electronic mail transfer protocol (SMTP) defined in the Internet RFC 821 (the mention of RFC 821 is incorporated in this specification for reference) . In general, it will be appreciated that, although Figure 1 shows NNTP, IRC and SMTP protocols, the present invention is particularly intended for use with a wide range of chat technologies, including BBS technologies

  (telematic information service) and Minitel.

  OVERVIEW OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE

PRESENT INVENTION

  A preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a method and apparatus for providing an improved interface to chat technologies in environments such as network 100. In general, the present invention is applicable to a wide range of

  different chat technologies. For purposes of-

  descriptive, however, the following description focuses

  on the use of the present invention as a method and apparatus for providing an improved interface to the

USENET news system.

  Structurally, a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a client applet and a super server application. The latter are represented as client applets 112a to 112c and super-server application 114 in FIG. 1. For the embodiment described, the client applet 112 functions as a user interface or a news reader program, for USENET news. The user interface provided by the client applet 112 is preferably screen-oriented, providing the user with a series of screens through which he can navigate. Each screen is made up of a collection of information and graphic elements. The style and content of each screen depends largely on the particular implementation of the present invention. In many cases, a screen will include one or more links to other screens. The user of the client applet 112 activates these links to move between the successive screens. Inside some of the screens provided by the client applet, there are links to groups of

  USENET discussion and links to categories. A category

  gorie is a game of related USENET newsgroups.

  The user of the client applet 112 activates a discussion group link to access the content of this discussion group. A category link is activated to access a group of related USENET newsgroups and / or

other subcategories.

  The super-server application 114 maintains information concerning the users of the client applet 112. The super-server application 114 also maintains information which is used by the applet

  client 112 to build its user interface.

  The client applet 112 accesses the information maintained by the super-server application 114 using a super-server protocol (SSP). Client applet 112 uses the information included in the SSP to provide the interface

  improved access to USENET news.

CLASS OF KNOTS

  The super-server protocol used by the application

  tion super-server 114 and the applet client 112 is a protocol based on request / response messages. In some cases, these requests and responses require that the data structures be passed between the super-server application 114 and the client applet 112. To simplify

  this process, the client applet 112 and the super application

  server 114 has a class of nodes. Each instance of the Node class is identified by a unique integer identifier. The whole identifier works as a portable method for referencing nodes. In particular, the integer identifier means that the value used to reference a given node does not differ between the client applet 112 and the super-server application 114. Thus, the node referenced by the integer value five in the client applet 112 is the same node referenced by the integer value

  five in the super-server application 114.

  The Node class is an abstract data type that functions as a base class for a series of derived classes. Each derived class extends the node class to a particular objective. For example, to describe a screen, a derived class that contains information describing the screen is used. The derived classes include the attributes of the base node class. Consequently, derived classes are identified by unique integer identifiers. For the sake of simplicity, the rest of this document refers to Knots

  without distinction between the various derived classes.

SUPER-SERVER PROTOCOL

  In the super-server protocol, each request has an integer operation code. The whole value operation code is followed, when appropriate, by one or more operands. Each request has an associated response. The following table lists the operation code, the integer value of the operation code, the operands and the response for each request included in a representative implementation of the super-server protocol: Operation code Value Operands Result LOGIN 0 Username Boolean TRUE or FALSE (login) Password GET HOME SCREEN 1 Instance Associated node (get home screen) on the home screen GET NEWSCROUP Name of discussion group (get group of 2 discussions) GETSCREEN, 3 Identifier Node Instance Associated node ( get screen) from screen to screen requested GET READ ARTICLES 4 Name of discussion group Range of articles read (get articles read) SET READ ARTICLES 5 Name of discussion group (position articles read) Range of articles read GET CANDIDATES 6 List of candidates (get candidates) for whom to vote GET VOTING RESULTS 7 List of articles List of results of (get vote results) vote Vote 8 List of articles List of votes For authent if a user, the applet

  client 112 sends a LOGIN request (connection) to the application

  super-server 114. The request contains, in order, the value zero, followed by the character strings making up the name and password of the user. In response to the LOGIN request, the super-server application 114 returns a TRUE Boolean value if the user has authorization

  access and FALSE if this is not the case.

  For the described embodiment, a home screen is included. The home screen represents the top level in the hierarchy of screens and functions as a starting point for users of the client applet 112. To access the data corresponding to the home screen, the client applet 112 send a GET_HOME request

  SCREEN (get home screen) to the super app

  server 114. The request has the value one and has no operands. In response to the GETHOMESCREEN request, the super-server application 114 returns the instance of the

  Node class which describes the home screen.

  To access data corresponding to screens other than the home screen, the client applet 112 sends

  a GET_SCREEN request (get screen) to the super application

  server 114. The request has the value three, followed by the id-

  integer identifier of the Node class instance associated with the desired screen. In response to the GETSCREEN request, the super-server application 114 returns the node class instance which is associated with the identifier. The node class instance carries information that describes the desired screen.

  To access a special discussion group

  culier, the client applet 112 sends a GETNEWSGROUP request (get discussion group) to the super-server application 114. The request includes, in order, the value two, followed by a string for the name of the group discussion desired. The super-server application 114 responds by returning the node class instance which corresponds

  to the particular focus group.

  To obtain the range of articles already read in a particular discussion group by a given user, the client applet 112 sends a request GET_READ_ARTICLES (get articles read) to the superserver application 114. The request comprises, in order, the value four, followed

  a string that corresponds to the name of the discussion group.

  The super-server application 114 responds by returning a string to the client applet 112, which defines the range of items that the user of the client applet 112 has

  already read for the particular newsgroup.

  To position the range of previously read articles in a particular discussion group, the client applet 112 sends a SET_READ_ARTICLES request (set read articles) to the super-server application 114. The request5 includes, in order, the value five, followed by a string that corresponds to the name of the newsgroup and a second string that defines the range of articles that the user of the client applet has read for the particular newsgroup. In response, the super-server application 114 updates the range of items that the user of the applet

  client 112 read for the particular newsgroup.

  When a user expresses his opinion by voting on an article, he or she selects from a list of candidates such as "approve", "disapprove", "funny", "watering", etc. To obtain the list of candidates on which the user can express his opinion by vote, the client applet 112 sends a request GET_CANDIDATES (get candidates) to the super-server application 114. The request has the value six and contains no20 operand. In response, the super-server application 114

  returns a list of channels representing the candidates.

  In order to display the results of the ballot

  tion of the user, the applet client 112 must recover

  the results from the super-server application 114.

  To retrieve the results, the applet client 112 sends a request GETVOTING_RESULTS (to obtain results of the votes) to the super-server application 114. The request comprises, in order, the value seven, followed by a list of strings representing the message identifiers of the articles for which the results of the vote must be retrieved. In response, the super-server application 114 returns a list of objects representing the results of the vote for each of the

  items specified in the request.

  In order to record the votes of a user, the client applet 112 sends these votes to the super-server application 114. To send the votes, the client applet 112 sends a VOTE request to the super-server application 114 The request has, in order, the value eight,

  followed by a list of channels representing the identifiers-

  messages of the articles for which the votes are being sent, followed by a list of representative objects,

  for each article, the candidates for which the use

  the voter voted. In response, the super-server application 114 records and aggregates the internal vote to include it in responses to future GET_VOTING_RESULTS requests that

  the super-server application 114 will receive.

SUPER-SERVER APPLICATION The super-server application 114 is preferably implemented under the

  form of a Java program. As shown in FIG. 3, the super-server application 114 comprises a database 300 and a request manager 302. The database 300 is used to store the information intended for the users of the client applet 112. This information include the ranges of articles that users have read in specific newsgroups. User preferences can also be maintained as part of the database 300. The database 300 is also used by the super-server application 114 to maintain the user interface information that is used by

the client applet 112.

  The request manager 302 is called by the super-server application 114 to process the requests received from the client application 112. In response to a request, the request manager 302 first determines

  the request's super-server protocol operation code.

  Based on the operation code, the request manager

  302 performs or calls the functions required to implement

  lie on the server side of the super server protocol.

  Figure 1 shows a super application

  single server 114 inside network 100. It may be preferable to include multiple super-server applications 114 in network 100. This is particularly true in cases where load balancing functions

  or automatic troubleshooting are required.

CUSTOMER APPLETTE

  The client applet 112 is preferably implemented in the form of a Java applet. The client applet

  112 is also preferably downloaded on demand from a server system 104 incorporated in the network 100.

  Once downloaded, the 112 applet client is run under the control of a Java-compatible web browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, or Netscape Navigator. Alternatively, the applet client 112 can be implemented using ActiveX or other programming language.

  mation. The applet client 112 can also be implemented as a standalone application which operates without the aid of a Web browser. 20 As shown in FIG. 3, the applet client 112 comprises a user interface software suite 306 and a client software suite 308. The client software suite 308 comprises, for its part, an NNTP software suite 310, a dialog class 312, a mail class 314 and a super-server class 316. The user interface software suite 306 provides the user interface for the client applet 112. The NNTP 310 software suite, the dialog class 312, the mail class 314 and the super-server class 316 provide the client applet 112 with the ability to communicate with the server application NNTP 106, the dialog server application 108, the mail server application 110 and the super-server application 114, respectively.

  CLIENT AND HTML SERVER (Document Description Language

  In general, although the use of Java compatible browsers is becoming relatively common, a large number of older browsers, which are not Java compatible, are still in use. In addition, some users choose to disable Java in their Java-enabled browsers. To cope with this situation, an alternative embodiment of the present invention is proposed. The use of the alternative embodiment of the present invention can be better understood by referring to the network 400 in FIG. 4. In more detail, it can be seen that the network 400 comprises a large number of elements of the network 100 of Figure 1. Network 400 is different, however, in that client system 102c incorporates an HTML client 402 and a system

  104e server which includes an HTML 404 server application.

  The HTML 404 server application can be implemented in

  using any appropriate technology such as Java.

  Within the network 400, the HTML server application 404 functions as a pseudo-client of the super-server application 114. Instead of interacting with a

  user of client applet 112, however, the applica-

  The HTML 404 server works as a web page provider in HTML format within the 400 network. The web pages provided by the HTML 404 server application mimic

  the user interface provided by the client applet 112.

  This provides non-validated Java browsers, such as the HTML 402 client, with an improved interface that is similar to the usability offered by the 112 applet client.

USER INTERFACE

  A first screen of the user interface provided by the client applet 112 is represented in FIG. 5 and is generally designated by the reference 500. As represented in FIG. 5, the screen 500 aims to be a screen opening or reception and is displayed when the client applet 112 is invoked by a user of the client systems 102. The screen 500 comprises a series of icons 5 of which the icons 502a to 502c are representative. Each icon 502 corresponds to a particular category or grouping of network discussion groups and dialogue forums and other subcategories. Clicking on a particular icon 502 aims to activate the corresponding category10. The screen 500 also includes a search box 504 activated by a search button 506. The search box 504 allows the user to enter a search request in the form of a text string. Clicking the search button 506 activates a search engine, causing it to locate one or more categories and / or newsgroups that relate to the text entered in the search box 504. In Figure 6, a second screen of the user interface provided by the client applet 112 is shown

  and is generally designated by the reference 600.

  The screen 600 is displayed by the client applet 112 each time the user activates the commercial category by clicking on the trade icon 502c. Screen 600 has a series of icons 602a to 602c. Each 602 icon corresponds to a discussion group that is included in the commerce category. An important point lies in the fact that each icon 602 includes text which describes, in an easily understandable manner, the theme of the associated discussion group. Importantly, instead of a group of

  single chat, each 602 icon can also represent

  feel a grouping of articles logically selected from multiple discussion groups. The screen 600 also includes a series of icons of which the icons 604a to 604c are representative. Each 604 icon corresponds to a sub-category which is included in the theme of the

trade category.

  In FIG. 7, a third screen of the inter-

  user side provided by the client applet 112 is represented and is generally designated by the reference 700. The screen 700 is an example of the screens which are displayed by the client applet 112 when the user activates one discussion groups included in screen 600. Screen 700 has a number of headings 702. Each heading 702 corresponds to a "thread" or a group of one or more network news articles taken from a

  specific network discussion group.

  Each heading 702 has a title 704

  describing the theme of related network news articles.

  Each item 702 can also include a visual status attribute 706. When appropriate, the visual status attribute 706 informs the user that he or she has already read all of the articles included in a message chain ( as in the

  visual state attribute 706a). Alternatively, the attribute

  visual state goal 706 can inform the user that a particular message chain contains articles that were posted after the user's last access to the discussion group (as is the case with the attribute of visual state 706b). Other visual state attributes 706

  may be appropriate in other situations.

  Each item 702 can also include a visual voting indicator 708. The visual voting indicator represents a result of a voting process among the users of the super-server protocol. In particular, the visual voting indicator 708 indicates the total result among the users who voted on the content of a particular message chain. The visual vote indicator 708 may be a "thumbs up" symbol (approval symbol), as in the case of the visual vote indicator 708a or a "thumbs down" symbol (disapproval symbol) ) as is the case with the visual voting indicator 708b. The thumbs up and thumbs down symbols may be mixed into a single icon to indicate a split vote, as in the case of the visual vote indicator 708c. The visual vote indicator 708 can also use other symbols and icons as in the case of the smiling face used for the visual vote indicator 708d. The visual vote indicator can also be

  in the form of a tin can (spam) (trade mark

  canned meat) to indicate that a particular article has been misused to a wide variety of newsgroups. Preferably, item 702 can

  also include a count of unread items 710.

  Screen 700 also includes a series of resource icons 712. The action of clicking on a resource icon 712 activates a resource available within the network which is related to the theme of screen 700. For example, clicking on the active 712a resource icon

  a real-time dialogue forum relating to investments

  stock market. Clicking on the resource icon

  712b causes the content of a question file to be displayed

  Frequently asked questions (FAQ) relating to stock market shares. The resource icon 712c is linked to a space

  interactive salesperson, such as a web page, for merchants

  sayings and matters relating to stock market actions. The 712d resource icon is linked to a web page with links (possibly contributory on the part of the user)

  to other web pages related to stock market stocks.

  In FIG. 8, a fourth screen of the inter-

  user side provided by the client applet 112 is represented and is generally designated by the reference 800. The screen 800 is accessed when a user activates an item 702 included in the screen 700 and the screen 800 works as a browser for the articles included in the activated section 702. The screen 800 includes text 802 which corresponds to one of the articles included in the activated section 702. The screen 800 also includes a "next" button 804 and an 806 jump button that allow the user to navigate through the various items

  included in activated item 702.

  A response button 808, a poster button 810 and a save button 812 allow the user to respond to the article posted (by sending an e-mail to the author and / or by posting a response), to post a new

  article and save the displayed article, respectively.

  Voting buttons 816a and 816b allow the user to vote to approve or disapprove the article displayed. The vote button 816c allows the user to indicate that the current item is "funny" or humorous. The particular voting choices are representative. Thus, any relevant voting criteria can be used. Therefore, voting buttons could be incorporated to indicate that a

  particular article is outrageous or that a particular article

  culier was inappropriately posted to a wide range of discussion groups (i.e., the article

was "watered").

  The screen 800 also includes an an-

  818 advertising announcements. Preferably, the 818 advertising space is used to display advertisements or promotional offers which are targeted to correspond to the theme of the articles incorporated in the activated section 702. The display of advertisements to the the interior of the advertising space 818 is preferably timed to remain on the screen for a predetermined period of time. Display for a period of time

  predetermined increases the likelihood that an advertisement

  shut up displayed inside the ad space

  818 is read by the user.

  Author information 820 is displayed within screen 800. Typically, author information 820 will include data identifying the author of the article displayed such as the name of the author and his email address. In some cases, a graphic image of the author may be displayed to help

  identification of the author. The additional information

  Preferably, such as the date of dispatch of article 824 or a card showing the origin of article 822 are also incorporated into screen 800. The vote icon 826 shows how users voted on the article displayed. In the case of the vote icon 826, it can be seen that the users responded favorably to the article displayed. It can be appreciated,

* however, that a "thumbs down" or other voting icons are appropriate for other articles. The various resources 712 incorporated in screen 700 are also included in screen 800.

EXTENSIONS

  The previous description of the features and

  of the user interface provided by the client applet 112 aims to be representative of the characteristics and

  possible user interfaces authorized by the cooperative

  tion between the super-server application 114 and the client applet 112. It is important to note that the cooperation between the super-server application 114 and the client applet 112 allows the characteristics and the user interface of the client applet 112 to be extended beyond the

  previous description in many ways. The section

  The following is intended to describe at least some of these extensions. Client applet 112 can be extended to include a better hierarchy than the existing USENET hierarchy. The existing USENET newsgroup hierarchy contains inane "words" such as "alt", "soc", "comp", "rec", among others. Inside client applet 112, this is replaced by newsgroup names that use whole English words and are more representative of the content of newsgroups. Newsgroups can also be accompanied by graphical icons that the user can click to visit a newsgroup or a category containing multiple newsgroups or other categories. These extensions are implemented by storing the

  improved hierarchy inside the super app

  server 114 and by downloading said hierarchy to the client applet 112 on the fly as required (including the action of extracting in advance and caching the hierarchical graph from the point where the user currently sits). Alternatively, the improved hierarchy can be stored within the client applet 112 and updated, if necessary, by uploading a new copy of the client applet 112 to the systems

customers 102.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to provide access to all newsgroups at any time. More particularly, the client applet 112 can be extended to incorporate a text entry box for

  allow users to search tex-

  one or more newsgroups of interest. The super-server application 114 can be configured to store even more information about each newsgroup than is normally provided by the NNTP server application 106. As a result, the search can be much more complete than that allowed by traditional USENET architecture. Search can also incorporate search for newsgroup content by running a pre-indexing pass on the articles in each newsgroup. Alternatively, searchable information can be stored inside the applet

  112 client and updates, when necessary, by tele-

  loading a new copy of the client applet 112 to

client systems 102.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to provide user-friendly introductions to new discussion groups. A special "new groups" section of the improved newsgroup hierarchy can be incorporated to assist novice users in newsgroups that have been newly created or newly added to the improved newsgroup hierarchy. A newsgroup can remain in the "new groups" section until a user sees it once or a specified number of times or it can remain in the "new groups" section for a certain number of days. The fact of being in the "new groups" section does not prevent the discussion group from being incorporated into the permanent part of the improved hierarchy simultaneously. The "new" section

  groups "may incorporate more detailed descriptions of

  newsgroups as well as their common names (improved), since the topic may be new to the user. The information defining the "new groups" section can be stored inside the super-server application 114 and be accessed.

  by the client applet 112 using the super protocol

  server. Alternatively, the same information can be stored inside the client applet 112 and updated, if necessary, by downloading a new copy of

  the client applet 112 to the client systems 102.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to

  provide descriptions to facilitate access to groups of

  discussion. In the newsgroup hierarchy

  improved, user can access description

  somewhat more verbose and detailed in the content or charter of each discussion group or category of discussion groups available to the user at the current position of the user in the hierarchy of groups of

  discussion. Focus group descriptions may

  be stored in the super-server application 114 and be accessed by the client applet 112 using the super-server protocol. Alternatively, the same information can be stored inside the client applet 112 and updated, when required, by uploading a new copy of the client applet 112 to the client systems 102. The client applet 112 can be extended to increase the hierarchy of newsgroups by

  resources other than newsgroups. These res-

  additional sources may include links to category related web pages, text or multimedia documents related to the category (for example, reference materials, video clips, audio clips), real-time chat rooms related to category - category, lists of products or companies relating to the category, answers to frequently asked questions concerning the category, etc. Hierarchy can therefore act not only as a means of navigating through discussion groups relating to topics of interest to the user, but as a general mechanism for navigating through all the online resources relating to these headings. The information describing additional resources can be stored inside the super-server application 114 and be accessed by the client applet 112 using the super-server protocol. Alternatively, the same information can be stored inside the client applet 112 and updated, when required, by uploading a new copy of the client applet 112 to the client systems 102. The client applet 112 can be extended to indicate (or simply display) those of messages selected by "editors". Users can designate themselves as editors for groups of

  individual discussion or for all discussion groups-

  if we. Publishers may incorporate personal information about themselves and a profession of

  faith for careful reading by other users.

  The articles that the publishers select are then made available to all users. The information concerning each publisher and the list identifying the articles which he or she selects is stored inside the super-server application 114 and distributed to the applet

client 112 according to demand.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to provide a user vote on each item. Users can vote on each item. Typical entries they can select include "I approve of this article", "I disapprove of this article", "This article is funny", etc. Many other entries are possible. In fact, the entry types can even be selected by the user writing the original article on which other users express their opinion by vote. The entries may be accompanied by pictograms representing the feeling, for example, a "thumbs up" icon,

  a thumbs down icon, or a smiley face icon.

  A summary of the voting results for each message chain (a group of articles with the same theme) can be

  presented with the subject on the screen from which the user

  teur selects the chain of messages to read. The summary can be represented graphically or not; for example, lots of "I agree" votes may be represented by a large "thumbs up" icon, while some "I disapprove" votes may be represented by a small "thumbs down" icon. The entries for each article and the number of votes for each entry for each

  item are stored inside the super app

  server 114 and distributed to the client applet 112 according to the

request.

  This voting mechanism can also be applied to approve things other than articles, including but not limited to newsgroups, announcements

  advertising, email and websites.

  Voting on e-mail messages is useful when the same e-mail message is sent to several recipients as in the case where a mailing list is used to send a message. The selected entries and the number of votes for each entry for each polling topic (e.g., advertisements, email messages, websites,

  etc.) are stored inside the super app

  server 114 and distributed to the client applet 112 as required. Client applet 112 can be extended to provide flexible filtering of unwanted content, such as articles, newsgroups, advertisements, e-mail messages, and unwanted websites. This allows a user to personalize their viewing of content by specifying two lists: "show only content with these characteristics" and "do not show content with these characteristics". To each list the user can add authors, dates, a search string in the message line, a search string anywhere in the body of the messages, content selected by individual editors, voting results , and / or words

  keys. Other criteria are also possible. Preferably

  rence, the filtering criteria of a user are stored inside the super-server application 114. The filtering itself is also preferably carried out inside the super-server application 114. In this way, the cost and time to filter large amounts of text on a

  slow network connection (such as a modem) are avoided.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to provide cooperative message filtering. One criterion on which newsgroup filtering can be based is whether a particular article and / or series has been read (and possibly approved by vote) by other users who share the same likes that the user of the client applet 112. For each user, the super-server application 114 determines those of the other users whose sets of articles read / series of 10 messages overlap significantly and those of the others. users who voted in the same way on articles. Each user can then use this information as a filter criterion for example, to show him only the articles read by other people

having similar tastes.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to provide a summary screen that shows the first few lines not cited (the lines cited are lines included from other messages in order to respond to them) of each article in a series of messages or a discussion group. A user can then go directly to a complete visualization of any message he finds interesting by clicking on the summary lines for this article. The performance of this feature is greatly improved by incorporating summary information inside the super-server application 114 and downloading it when necessary, to the client applet 112. In this way, the client applet 112 avoids to have to download all the articles to be summarized from the NNTP 106 server application. This is particularly true when a slow network connection (such as a modem) connects the client applet 112 and the NNTP 106 server application. Client applet 112 can be extended to provide WWW (World Wide Web) links. Any URL (Uniform Resource Locators) contained in the text of articles can be made "alive" when they are displayed, that is to say that the user can click on them and send his browser Web to network location signified by URL. Client applet 112 can be extended to show the face (or face chosen by the author) and the

  personal information about the author. The users

  Tutors can fill in a user profile with more or less personal information depending on their preference. This information is then available to other users reading articles from authors who have provided a user profile. The user profile can include contact information such as a business card (for example

  example, name, company, address, phone number, phone

  copy, electronic mail address (email), etc.), CV-type information (skills, experience, training, etc.), and personal information (e.g. interests, hobbies, inquiries, etc.), and other free information, the nature of it

  can be determined by the user. The user profile

  The user can also incorporate the user's face.

  The face can be photonumeric, or the user can

  select from a number of graphic descriptions

  provided with realistic faces or photographic faces, or the user can construct a face by interactively selecting eyes, a nose, a mouth, a

  hair, glasses, a face shape, etc. The informa-

  tion concerning each user is stored inside the super-server application 114 and distributed to the applet

client 112 as required.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to provide easy access to the original article in a series of messages. Often, a user may wish to read the initial article which caused a series of messages which are posted as replies. This feature allows the user to indicate that he or she wishes to access the original article in the series; the client applet 112 then automatically determines which article is the original and displays it. Client applet 112 can be extended to

  provide easy access to an original article that has been cited.

  If a user is reading an article that

  contains text cited from another article, the

  sator can go to the full text of the cited article by clicking on the citation. The super-server application 114 can be configured to store articles for a longer period of time than the NNTP server application 106. In this case, access to cited articles can be maintained for periods which exceed the traditional USENET architecture. Client applet 112 can be extended to provide intelligent control of fonts in articles. The software can somehow intelligently redistribute the articles displayed for the user, display them normally in a spaced font proportionally easy to read, but switch to a fixed-spacing font if the presence of a batch of white space such as tabs or multiple spaces indicates that column information is incorporated into the article. The fixed-spacing font that must allow columns to be aligned correctly, can be used only for column information embedded in the article, or the entire article can be displayed in a fixed-spacing font if no column information

is not detected in the article.

  Client applet 112 can be expanded to provide users with the ability to read different newsgroups in different ways. Possibilities include "chained" or "not chained" (ie having or not having all the articles on a given subject reduced in a single header with this subject), sorted by date, sorted

  by author, sorted by voting result, sorted by selection

  tion by individual publishers, sorted by the number of publishers choosing the article, sorted by popularity (superserver 114 can be configured to maintain popularity information for each article or series of articles), articles and / or series of articles comprising one or more search strings within the subject line of the article / series, and articles and / or series of articles comprising one or more search strings within inside the body of the article or series of articles. The performance of this characteristic is highly improved by sorting the

  articles inside the internal discussion groups

  of the super-server application 114 and by downloading the results to the client applet 112. In this way, the client applet 112 is dispensed from downloading all of the

  items to be sorted from the NNTP 106 server application.

  This is especially true when a slow network connection (such as a modem) connects the 112 client applet and

the NNTP 106 server application.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to provide easy access to lists of "frequently asked questions". Many newsgroups have a "frequently asked questions" or FAQ article that is posted periodically by someone who has volunteered to maintain this article. The article includes questions that new participants in a focus group frequently ask, and answers that have been suggested by

  focus group participants in the past.

  Unfortunately, incorporating FAQs into newsgroup articles means that FAQs may not be easy to find. Worse, since the articles included in the newsgroups expire and are purged regularly, it may not be possible to find the FAQs of a newsgroup at all times. To avoid this difficulty, the client application 112 can be configured to include a link, or similar device, which allows users to easily access the FAQ article.

  without having to find it in a long list of articles.

  When the link is activated, the client application 112 automatically retrieves the FAQ from the NNTP server application 106 or from the super-server application 114. Important point, by storing the information describing the location of each FAQ at inside the super server application

  114, it becomes possible for a human to verify the accuracy

  study of each FAQ. In particular, it becomes possible to verify that each FAQ is actually the correct FAQ article.

  for his associated discussion group.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to provide an opportunity to join an associated real-time chat group. Each discussion group can have one or more corresponding real-time dialogue groups

  pertaining to sub-headings of the discussion group.

  While reading a discussion group, the client applet 112 can indicate to the user how many people are in real-time conversation concerning the subject in a chat group or online meeting room. The client applet 112 can also indicate which users are currently in real-time dialogue. The client applet

  112 can also indicate whether the author of the article that the user

  sator is reading, is currently in dialogue (even if the author is in dialogue in a group of

  real-time dialogue corresponding to a discussion group

  different from the one the user is reading). The client applet 112 can then allow the user to join the dialogue group in real time if he wishes. The real-time dialogue groups can be hosted on the super-server application 114 or the dialogue server application 108, and the client applet 112 can communicate with the super-server application 114 and / or the server application Chat 108 in a way that allows the user to participate in the chat group in real time. Client applet 112 can be extended to provide custom discussion groups created by applying filter criteria to multiple groups of

  discussion. This allows a user or the administrator

  creator of the 114 super-server application to create a custom "newsgroup" which, although it appears to be a newsgroup to the user, is not actually a separate newsgroup conveyed by the servers NNTP. Rather, the custom discussion group is an aggregate of messages that meet a set of criteria

  specified by the user or administrator of the application

  super server 114. He or she can specify the newsgroups or the part of the enhanced newsgroup hierarchy through which the specified filter criteria are applied. Using this mechanism, a user or administrator can create what appears to be a custom discussion group consisting, for example, of all articles in newsgroups relating to stock market investments25 that include the word "penny". As another example, a moderator can review all posted articles to one or more newsgroups. Items deemed suitable for children, or the like

  audiences, can be incorporated into a personal group

nalised.

  When custom discussion groups are used, topics 702, incorporated in screen 700, can be drawn from multiple discussion groups. For example, section 702a can be associated with a chain found in a discussion group relating to actions which have been traded on places

  national stock exchanges. In the same example, section 702b can be associated with a series of messages found in a discussion group relating to stocks which have been traded5 on international stock exchanges.

  Like other filtering tasks, the custom discussion group feature is implemented to

  optimally inside the super-server application 114. This eliminates the need for the client applet 112 to have to

  load many articles from discussion groups

  different criteria in order to apply the selection criterion.

  Custom discussion groups can optionally be "moderated", in which all messages posted to the custom discussion group15 are first sent to a human moderator for approval. Only messages approved by the moderator are then made available to users reading the custom discussion group. This feature can be used, among other things, to create personalized discussion groups20 aimed at children so that a human can rule out any questionable posted articles before they reach the readership of the personalized discussion group made up of minors. Client applet 112 can be extended to

  provide user-created discussion groups

  teurs. This allows a user to start a discussion group on the topic of their choice. Even though he

  appears to be a real discussion group to users

  However, a discussion group is not created within the USENET hierarchy stored on the NNTP servers. On the contrary, the newsgroup is completely hosted by the super-server application 114 and all articles posted to the newsgroup are stored inside

the super-server application 114.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to migrate mailing lists to newsgroups. This allows the person responsible for updating a mailing list to create a discussion group (as explained above) and create a gateway between their mailing list and the discussion group. This gateway works as follows: each message posted to the newsgroup is distributed to members of the mailing list, and each message posted to the mailing list is also posted to the newsgroup. In this way, the person responsible for updating the mailing list can migrate its users to a discussion group, in which a large volume of posted messages will not clutter up.

  users' mailboxes.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to provide private discussion groups. This allows users to create a discussion group (using the previously mentioned feature "creation of a discussion group by users") and to specify a

  list of users or IP domains or sub-

  IP address ranges that are allowed to access the newsgroup. The user can decide whether the

  focus group must be coded or not. In the affirma-

  tive, all information concerning the discussion group which is transmitted over the Internet is coded by the sender and decoded by the recipient. This improves the level of confidentiality offered by the focus group. As already mentioned, the super-server application 114 stores all the articles posted to user-created discussion groups. In particular, the super-server application 114 and the client applet 112 can both incorporate modules for coding and

decode this information.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to provide support for subgroups within a discussion group. The improved newsgroup hierarchy can include subgroups within a newsgroup, or subgroups can be listed after the user has entered a newsgroup for the purpose of reading it . These subgroups can allow users to find articles of interest more quickly, particularly in large-charter discussion groups with large volumes of messages. Unlike the discussion groups described above in which the articles are stored on the super-server application 114, the articles in the subgroups are in fact the same articles as in the discussion group itself and are therefore stored on the NNTP 106 server application. The only indication that the articles belong to a subgroup is an additional line in the article header identifying

  the subgroup (s) to which the article belongs.

  The super-server application 114 retains the track only of the subgroups which exist and of the place where they are in the hierarchy of the newsgroups. When a user posts a message to a subgroup of a group

  it is posted to the discussion group itself

  even with the header line identifying the message as belonging to said subgroup. People using software with traditional USENET architecture will see the message in the usual discussion group. Users of client applet 112 can see the message in the subgroup. Optionally, users of

  the applet client 112 can opt to pass the sub-

  groups and read the message in the discussion group itself

  even. Client applet 112 can be extended to provide support for the creation of private article archives. User can create one or more archives

  appointed. The archives contain articles that the use

  the author decides to save in these archives. Archives can be nested one inside the other, forming a tree or an archive graph. The user can add articles to their archives or remove them as desired. The

  archive names can be chosen by the user

  or can be chosen automatically.

  If chosen automatically, the name of the archive set can be the (improved) name of the discussion group from which the stored items originate, and the archives can be stored hierarchically in a similar or identical structure to the hierarchy of improved newsgroups, or can be maintained

  flat. The articles in the archives, or a list identi-

  relying on items in the archive, can be stored on the user's local drive or can be stored

  on the super-server application 114.

  The super-server application 114 can be configured to archive all newsgroups and articles (or a subset of them). All or a large number of newsgroups and articles can be stored inside the super-server application 114 without limitation. This allows users of the applet client 112 to search for items from a group of items that may have expired a long time from their NNTP server. In addition, this allows users who have little disk space or are short of disk space (e.g. users with a dedicated Internet terminal without an internal disk, users

  connecting to the Internet via digital assistants

  personal disc-free) to archive items, since the super-server application 114 can store either user-archived items or a list

  identifying articles archived by a user.

  The applet client 112 can be extended to ensure a continuous search of personal archives.

  nelles and communes. A user may wish to search for the articles he has saved or may wish to search for the complete archives maintained on the super application.

  server 114. In other cases, the user may wish to search both the archives, perhaps with the articles he has saved, coming from the top of the list of articles corresponding to the search criteria specified by

the user.

  The applet client 112 can be extended to ensure the publication of personal archives for

  other users with or without annotations. A user

  the author can selectively make his archives personal.

  available to other users for information.

  Personal archives can also contain personal annotations of articles contained in archives, allowing the user to put his editorial point of view on his archives both by the articles he has selected and by the feelings he has added to said articles. Archives with their annotations can

  then be stored in the super-server application 114.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to provide an interface to local database engines. The search engine can be integrated to search not only the archives stored on the user's local machine and in the super-server application 114, but also any databases maintained in the user's local environment. For example, a company may maintain an internal SQL-oriented or Lotus Notes-oriented database containing articles and information related to the company's business; when a user performs a search, the

  search can incorporate a search for these resources.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to ensure automatic assembly and decoding / reproduction of files. In newsgroups where the primary objective is to disseminate auxiliary (i.e. non-text) media such as images and sounds, files are always encoded as text in some way (for example by the coder program UUENCODE) and frequently divided into multiple messages. The super-server application 114 and the client applet 112 can automatically execute the assembly necessary for multiple messages (that is to say by assembling the messages which were originally divided) and the decoding necessary to display or reproduce the type of non-text media, thus making these operations transparent to the user. 15 The applet client 112 can be extended to ensure automatic fragmentation and encoding of files. In newsgroups where the primary goal is to disseminate auxiliary (i.e. non-text) media such as images and sounds, files are always encoded as text in a way any (for example by the encoder program

  UUENCODE) and frequently fragmented into multiple messages.

  If the user wishes to post a message incorporating non-text media to a discussion group, the applet

  client 112 can automatically execute the necessary encoding

  ning non-text media data and breaking up the resulting code into multiple messages, making these operations transparent to the user. In addition, the applet client 112 can directly capture the auxiliary media (rather than having to first store it in a file) from an appropriate input device such as a digital camera. fixed or video, window sensor, CD-ROM, DVD (digital video disc),

  scanner, audio CD or microphone.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to

  ensure the integration of media in text messages.

  Client applet 112 can support the incorporation of auxiliary media within normal text messages. For example, a text article can be embellished with a diagram or a photo or a video clip. This can be encoded using the MIME standard (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions or Methods for encoding files attached to a message) for posting to newsgroups; additional data or data of a type not supported by the MIME standard can be stored on the super-server application 114 and be the subject of a

  access by users of the client applet 112.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to accommodate the incorporation of formatting information into text messages. For example, text messages can come with additional information specifying the font, size, color, style and position on the screen, allowing the text to be displayed by the applet client 112 with setting page rather than as plain text. This formatting information can be included in an orderly manner in the text (as in the case

  HTML standard), or can be included separately in the

  message head or as a footnote in the body of the message text. The separate incorporation of the layout allows the text to be easily read by users of newsgroup reader programs that do not support this formatting feature. Alternatively, the formatting information can be stored not

  not in the article itself, but on the super app

  server 114, making information available to

the client applet 112 on request.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to provide the ability to launch appropriate third party viewers. Client applet 112 can recognize multiple types of media and launch an appropriate viewing program for each type on the user's computer. The client applet 112 can be extended to allow easy quotation of other messages (possibly multiple). The software can help the user to easily browse other messages in the same chain while composing his own message, which makes it easy for any user interface mechanism (for example drag and drop) to cite other messages in his own message. Client applet 112 can be extended to provide spell checking before posting. Like many word processing packages, the applet client 112 can check the spelling of the message newly composed by the user before posting it

to a discussion group.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to provide an option to optionally choose another text editor. If the user is not satisfied with the text editor incorporated in the client applet 112, or is used to his own editor and prefers it, the user may be in a situation of using an optional editor of his choice to compose his messages. This editor can go beyond the basic text and also allow you to edit non-text media such as graphics, images, sounds, video images, etc. The client applet 112 can be extended to integrate facial expressions. User can choose to incorporate any of a number of icons

  facial expressions represented graphically inside

  laughing at the text of the messages composed by him. These icons can be used to enrich the expression of the message,

  by presenting a facial expression that conveys the feelings

  the author, such as happy, sad, angry, joking, sarcastic, indifferent, etc. The graphic icons can be provided by the user, personalized by the user or chosen from a menu of options provided by the client applet 112. As posted 5 to the NNTP server, the message can contain an equivalent "emoticon" (emotional icon) (facial expressions commonly used in USENET messages and represented by text characters in the normal ASCII character set), such as the smiling face from the side ":-)". To replace these emoticons with richer and more graphic equivalents, the necessary information indicating the selection and the position of the graphic icons can be contained in the header of the posted message or can be stored on the super-server application 114 The data encoding the graphic icons themselves can be encoded in

  the message header or stored on the super app

  server 114. As a variant, the icons can be stored inside the client applet 112 and updated, when required, by downloading a new copy of

  the client applet 112 to the client systems 102.

  The 112 client applet and the super-

  server 114 can be extended to provide anonymous posting. The user can choose whether his name should be attached as the author to a message he posts, or whether the message should be posted anonymously. The default as to whether posting to a newsgroup is anonymous or not may depend on the newsgroup.

  discussion to which the user posts these messages.

  The user can optionally include an email address to which replies can be sent; this address is not posted, but rather saved in the super-server application 114, which can then direct all the responses received to the address

  specified. Alternatively, the responses can be saved.

  kept in a private "newsgroup" (as described before, it is not a stored newsgroup

  on the NNTP server in the traditional sense of the term, but rather a discussion group which is only hosted in the super-server application 114, but appears as a normal discussion group for the user) accessible only by the user.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to

  ensure the classification of the discussion groups. Inside

  laughter of the client applet 112, this is implemented by incorporating a mechanism (such as a series of buttons) that allows parents to classify each discussion group. Alternatively, rankings may be provided by a company or organization for the benefit of users of the applet client 112. Rankings may indicate whether the discussion group contains material considered inappropriate for children. There may be separate ratings for each category of material that parents may want to block (for example, sexual content, violent content, religious content, anti-religious content). The classifications for each group

  chat rooms can be stored inside the app

  cation super-server 114 and downloaded, on demand, to

the client applet 112.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to

  display only selected newsgroups.

  The 112 applet can allow parents to select

  Specify which newsgroups are available to the user and which newsgroups are blocked from the user. Selection can be made on a group basis or overlay based on rankings

  given to each focus group.

  Client applet 112 can be extended to block individual articles and / or message chains based on the inclusion of selected words. Parents can order the applet client 112 to block all articles and / or all message chains incorporating

  a list of words considered inappropriate for their children.

  The applet client 112 can be preconfigured with a list of default words, which can then be edited by the parents.

  The 112 client applet and the super-

  Server 114 can be extended to optimize their internal operations to account for link speed and the speed of the user's computer. By accessing system parameters and / or by sending a test message and

  by synchronizing it, the client applet 112 and / or the applica-

  The super-server 114 can roughly determine the speed at which data can be transferred to and from the affected client system 102. By accessing system parameters and / or running a processor test bench and timing it, the client applet 112 can roughly determine the speed of the same client system 102. These two pieces of information can be used to optimize the user experience,

  given the constraints of its IT environment.

  For example, the number of articles retrieved by default when a user enters a newsgroup could depend on the speed of the link; users with faster links can receive more articles by default. In addition, the super-server application 114 can support more responsibilities with regard to operations which must moreover exceed the capacities of

  the user's computer or its communications links

  cation in the normal amount of time a user wants

  wait for the execution of an order.

  The 112 client applet and the super-

  server 114 can be extended to allow selection

  automatic application of the most efficient super-server application 114. There may be several super-server applications 114 available inside the network 100 or on an external network, such as the Internet. However, the client applet 112 does not always need to choose to communicate with the nearest super-server application 114. In some cases, the client applet 112 can improve performance by communicating with a more distant super-server application 114. This may be the case if

  the nearest super server application 114 is currently-

  Lely very busy while more distant super-server applications 114 are less loaded. He could also

  be better to communicate with a super app

  more distant server 114 if the link to the super application

  nearest server 114 is very busy or completely down. By sending a test message asking for the status of the superserver application 114 and timing its response as often as possible, the client applet 112 can determine on the fly which super server application 114

  will give him the best performance; the client applet 112 can then switch from the super-server application 114 with which it is communicating to the new super-server application 114, or can communicate with the two super-server applications 114.

  The 112 client applet and the super-

  server 114 can be extended to provide pre-

  population-based extraction and caching

  rite of an article and / or a vote. One way to speed up the response time is to do the following: while the user is reading an article, the client applet 112 extracts the following articles that the user is likely to read and stores them in memory. , being ready to display them without waiting for the network if the user actually requests these items in the near future. The selection of the next likely item can be made by obtaining

  the following article from the current message chain.

  Another option is to extract articles that show

  very positive voting results, since the use of

  The author may well look at the articles that have received a very positive response first. The super server application

  114 can also track which articles and / or message strings are most frequently read by other users.

  teurs. The super-server application 114 can therefore inform the client applet 112 of the articles that the user could read soon if his tastes are similar to the user base as a whole. A step further, if the super-server application 114 finds a correlation between the articles that the user chooses to

  read in a typical way and the particular articles that other users choose to read, then the app

  superserver 114 can use these other users as a reader set on which to base predictions about which articles this user is likely to read.

  The 112 client applet and the super-

  server 114 can be extended to provide pre-

  extraction based on a user directive. The use

  sator can specify, if possible, the order in which he usually reads articles, message chains, and / or newsgroups. The client applet 112 can then

  use this information to guide its pre-

extraction accordingly.

  The 112 client applet and the super-

* server 114 can be extended to provide a "resource center" which adds additional space to each discussion group. Each resource center can be hosted on the super-server application 114. These resources can be group-specific, so that the discussion group on the client applet 112 can serve as a launch point from which the user can access other resources. Examples of these resources include live chat groups associated with the discussion group and FAQs associated with the discussion group. Another resource can be a listing

  of events. This resource incorporates calen-

  events with descriptions of the events. The

  events can relate to the topic of the discussion group from which the user accesses event listings. Events can be online events (e.g. online chats, online discussion boards, online conferences) or events taking place at specific physical locations and times (e.g. presentations, conferences, meetings, concerts, events sports). The events themselves can be

  provided either by users using a form

  the area provided as part of the client software, or

  by administrators of the super-server application 114.

  Another resource may be a listing of classified advertisements. This resource displays classified advertisements. These announcements can relate to the section of the newsgroup from which the user accesses classified announcements. The zone can be a simple list of advertisements without any particular organization, or the advertisements can be grouped into categories (for example for sale, request for assistance, job applications, offers of services) in the manner of classified advertisements in a newspaper. The categories can be the same as those encountered in all the discussion groups or the categories can be made specific for each discussion group (for example "Condominiums for sale" can be a category in a discussion group devoted to real estate ). The advertisements themselves can be the object of a contribution either by the users by using a form provided as an integral part of the client software or by the administrators

of the super-server application 114.

  Another resource can be a commercial space.

  cial. In this space, goods and services are sold to users. These goods and services are potentially related to the section of the discussion group from which the user accesses the commercial space. For example, music CDs may be sold in the commercial space accessible from various music discussion groups. The user purchases items by entering the information necessary for the seller to complete the transaction. Goods and services for sale and their descriptions can be provided either by users using a form provided as part of the client software or by

  administrators of the super-server application 114.

  Long-lived documents are

  another possible resource. This space allows users to

  ters to access documents that are perceived to have lasting value beyond the quantity of punctual items that are normally stored on servers

  typical USENET items (eg NNTP servers).

  These documents are potentially related to the

  section of the discussion group from which the user

  access to the documentary space. These documents can be the subject of a contribution either by users using a form provided as an integral part of the client software or by the administrators of the application.

super-server 114.

  Web links are yet another possible resource. This space allows users to access links to pages on the World Wide Web. These links are potentially related to the topic of the discussion group from which the user accesses the link space. These links can be contributed by either users using a form provided as part of the client software, or administrators

of the super-server application 114.

  Another possible resource is external web link pages. This space can be a World Wide Web page or World Wide Web links provided by a third party company potentially unrelated to the client application or the super-server application 114. For example, access to this space can the user to a 5 page of links on a search service such as Yahoo, Lycos, or Excite. These links shown there are potentially related to the topic of the discussion group from which the user accesses the space of

external links.

  The 112 client applet and the super-

  server 114 can be extended to provide automatic connection to an NNTP 106 server application. Maintaining a database of NNTP 106 server applications on

  the super-server application 114, the selection of the application

  User 106 NNTP server can be rendered

  transparent to the user. In other words, the use of

  does not need to enter the network address or the name of the

  Internet domain of its NNTP 106 server application.

  The NNTP 106 server application database can be constructed using a utility software program that scans the "PATH (path):" lines in the USENET article headers. Each Internet machine name found can be saved in the database. To connect to an NNTP server application 106, the client applet 112 first sends a notification message to the super-server application 114. The notification message informs the super-server application 114 of the network address of the client applet 112. Using this network address, the super-server application 114 creates a corresponding domain name. The super-server application 114 then consults the database, looking for the name of the application

  NNTP 106 server in the same domain. The super app

  server 114 then transmits the logical names of all the NNTP server applications 106 found in the database to the client applet 112. The client applet 112 then attempts to connect to the NNTP 106 server applications. If the attempts made by the applet client 112 to connect to NNTP server applications 106 all fail, and only then the user is asked to give the name or address of his server application

NNTP 106.

  Other embodiments are obvious to those skilled in the art from the specification and the implementation of the invention as described above. It goes from

  the description and the embodiments given below

  before are to be considered as an example in no way limited

  tative, the true scope of the invention being defined in

  the following claims and equivalent.

Claims (82)

  1. A system for providing an improved interface to online chat technology, the system comprising: a super-server application, the super-server application providing information that enhances the information otherwise available within the online chat technology; and   a client applet, the client applet used   s information provided by the super-server application to provide an improved interface to chat technology. 2. Super-server application for execution by a server system connected by network to at least one client system in order to provide the users of at least one networked client system with at least one application for increasing access to messages online, the super-server application comprising: a request management system for processing requests for online messages originating from users of client systems networked with the server system; and a database for storing information regarding queries from these users, in which   the super-server application provides users   an interface for accessing online messages based on   the information stored in its database.   3. Super-server application according to the res-   dication 2, characterized in that the database stores user-specific data used by the super-server application to provide interfaces   custom users to specified users.   4. Super-server application according to the res-   dication 3, characterized in that the user-specific data for a given user is based on   processed requests from said user.   5. Super-server application according to claim 3, characterized in that the user-specific data are based on user input. 6. Super-server application according to claim 3, characterized in that the data specific to   the user for a given user are based on previously processed requests from a group of users.10 7. Super-server application as claimed   cation 3, characterized in that the super-server application further includes a filter for filtering messages accessible to the users specified on the basis of their   user-specific data.   8. Super server application according to the res-   dication 3, characterized in that the online chat applications include existing chat groups, and the super server app further includes a custom chat group filter for applying   filter criteria on existing discussion groups   tants, identifying online messages within these discussion groups that meet the filtering criteria,   and grouping these messages into a personal discussion group nalised.   9. Super server application according to the res-   dication 3, characterized in that online messages accessible by online chat applications are classified by users, and based on user-specific data, the super-server application identifies online messages with rankings meeting a predetermined criterion for transmission to users.   10. Client application for execution by a client system connected by network to a server system to provide users of the client system with at least one chat application for accessing online messages, the client application comprising: a software package client providing at least one online chat application allowing the client system to communicate with a networked server system using online chat technology; and a user interface package for providing custom user interfaces to authorize the client system to access online messages, in which user interfaces are customized based on the use of chat applications. line by users.   11. Client application according to claim, characterized in that the networked server system downloads the client application to the client system by   response to a request from the client system.   12. Client application according to claim   , characterized in that in response to a user request   Using an online chat application in the client software, the user interface software displays links to information categorized by subject, including predetermined discussion groups.   provided by the application of online discussions.   13. Client application according to claim   12, characterized in that the user interface software   tor displays a link as an icon.   14. Client application according to claim 13, characterized in that an icon incorporates a visual state attribute to indicate whether the messages associated with   the icon contains messages unread by the user.   15. Client application according to claim 13, characterized in that a visual status attribute is a vote indicator for indicating the results of a vote by users accessing the messages available through   the link indicated as an icon.   16. Client application according to claim 12, characterized in that a user selects a link   to access the information corresponding to the link.   17. The client application of claim 12, further comprising a browser program for scanning   information corresponding to a link.   18. Client application according to claim 12, characterized in that the link provides access to the minus a web page.   19. Client application according to claim 12, characterized in that the links include links to digital files, including files accessible from the client system and files accessible from of the server system.   20. Client application according to claim 12, characterized in that related information can   include links embedded with additional information-   nelles. 21. Client application according to claim 12, characterized in that the user interface software allows a user to personalize the display of the links according to a criterion specified by the user. 22. Client application according to claim 10, further comprising a filter for personalized discussion groups, characterized in that, in response to criteria specified by the user via an online discussion application, the client application determines groups of existing discussions on the basis of the criterion specified by the user and groups messages into said existing discussion groups that meet the criteria in a personalized discussion group   specified by the user, and the user interface package provides a user interface for accessing said custom discussion group.   23. Client application according to claim, characterized in that the online chat applications allow a user on the client system to download messages online, the client application further comprising an archiving system for storing downloaded messages to a user. 24. Client application according to claim 23, characterized in that the archiving system publishes the archived messages of a user by making them accessible to other users and clients of the networked server system. 25. The client application according to claim, further comprising a search engine to identify sources of information accessible by the chat rooms provided in the client software package.   the basis of search criteria entered by a user.   26. Client application according to claim, characterized in that the search engine also searches for databases maintained in the environment local to the client system.   27. The client application according to claim, further comprising a blocking application for blocking access to information based on criteria of predetermined blocking.   28. Client application according to claim 27, characterized in that the blocking criterion is based on   user-defined criteria.   29. Client application according to claim, further comprising a server selector for estimating the performance of at least two server systems tuned by network to the client system and selecting a server system   based on estimated performance.   30. The client application according to claim, further comprising a cache application for automatically extracting beforehand and for putting   cached messages based on predeter criteria-   mined, without waiting for the user to request these messages.   31. Client application according to claim 30, characterized in that the predetermined criteria include classifications of the messages and the caching application extracted beforehand and caches messages having classifications above a predetermined threshold. 10 32. Client application according to claim, characterized in that the predetermined criteria include relationships between the messages, and when the client application downloads a first message to a user, the caching application extracted from the   and caches related messages.   33. Client application according to claim 32, characterized in that the related messages include messages corresponding to a link incorporated in the first message.   34. Client application according to claim 32, characterized in that the messages include articles from discussion groups and the replies to these articles, and the messages relating to a first message include messages which are the responses to the first   message and messages to which the first message replies.   35. Client application according to claim, characterized in that the client software includes a   third party application software.   36. Client application according to claim 35, characterized in that the software of the third company comprises viewing applications for accessing messages. 37. Client application according to claim, characterized in that the software of the third company   includes editing applications for editing messages.   38. Method for organizing online information for a user of a client system connected by   network to a server system in a chat environment   online session, comprising steps of: determining user-specific criteria; apply user-specific criteria to multiple existing discussion groups in   the online discussion environment to identify messages within said existing discussion groups   that meet the specific criteria for use   guardian; and create a custom discussion group for access identified messages.   39. Method according to claim 38, charac-   terized in that the step of determining criteria   user-specific is based on user input tor.   40. Process for personalizing the environment   and the user interface for accessing, reading and managing data and information available on a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet to which at least one server system, one client workstation and the minus a storage device, characterized in that it consists of:   - implement on said server an applica-   tion called "super-server application", adapted to maintain and   update information representative of the environment   user interface, to manage the requests launched by a user of the client station and to respond to these, - implement on said client station a small client application called "client applet" adapted to the request of the user, to: (i) configure the user interface, and / or (ii) organize the data and information   received from said wide area network via said super application   server, and / or (iii) create a personal user profile   and incorporate it into the data and information received from the WAN, and / or (iv) select all or part of this data and information with a view to requesting its storage on said storage device, - implementing a database on said adapted super-server, under the control of said super-server application and at the request of said client applet to   selectively, store, update, sort and restore   kill, on the one hand, the environment and user interface configuration information, and on the other hand, the information received via said wide area network and   incorporating the personal profile created by the user.   41. Method for customizing the environment and the user interface according to claim 1,   characterized in that the data and information received from the wide area network are representative of articles contained in discussion groups of the "USENET discussion groups" type.   42. Computer intended to be used as a server system, comprising at least one processor (204) and a memory (206), connected by a bus (202) and connected to a wide area network such as the Internet, the wide area network comprising at least a client station (102), characterized in that it is controlled by a super-server application, suitable for: - cooperating with a small application called "client applet", implemented on said client station, intended, on demand of a user, to: (i) configure a user interface defined on said client station, and / or (ii) rearrange the data and information received from said wide area network via said super-server, and / or (iii) create data personal data and incorporate them into the data received, and / or (iv) select all or part of this information with a view to ordering its storage on a storage device, - accessing, at the request of said applet   client, to a database adapted to, selectively   tive, store, update, sort and restore, on the one hand, the environment and user interface configuration information, and, on the other hand, the information received via said wide area network and incorporating a profile personnel created by the user, and maintain and update the information representative of the user interface, manage the requests launched by the user of said client station and respond to these.   43. Device (102) intended to be used as a client station, connected to a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, and comprising at least one server system, characterized in that it is controlled by a small client application called " client applet ", adapted, at the request of a user of said device, to: - by itself: (i) configure a user interface defined on this device, and / or (ii) organize the data and information received from said network extended via said server system, and / or (iii) create a personal profile for the user and incorporate it into the data and information received from the WAN, and / or (iv) select all or part of this data and information for the purpose of '' order storage on a storage device, and   - in connection with an application called "applica-   super server "controlling the server system, managing a database adapted to selectively store,   update, sort and restore information on the one hand   configuration of the environment and the user interface, and, on the other hand, the information received via said wide area network and incorporating the personal profile created   by a user of the client computer, said super application   server being adapted to maintain and update the information representative of the user interface, to manage the requests launched by the user and to respond to these last.   44. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the online chat technology comprises USENET newsgroups.   45. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the online chat technology comprises the electronic mail (email).   46. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the online chat technology comprises   Internet real-time dialogue forums (chat).   47. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the online chat technology comprises voice mail (Voicemail).   48. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the online chat technology comprises video mail (videomail).   49. Method for implementing a computer system in order to personalize the possibility for a   user to access, read and manage data and information   mations available from a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, characterized in that the method consists in: - executing on the data available from the wide area network a pre-indexing pass according to a predetermined criterion, and - establish, as an integral part of a database, a first hierarchy of information based   on the data resulting from the pre-indexing pass.   50. Method according to claim 49, charac-   characterized in that the predetermined criterion is based on keywords.   51. The method of claim 50, charac-   terized in that the first hierarchy is provided on a super-server. 52. Super-server application according to claim 2, characterized in that it further comprises a section of discussion groups. 5 53. Super-server application according to claim 2, characterized in that the names of the groups of   discussion are words or phrases from everyday language. 54. The method of claim 49, charac-   terrified in that the hierarchy includes other resources than focus groups.   55. Super-server application according to the res-   dication 3, characterized in that the user-specific data for a user is based on   messages selected by editors.   56. Super server application according to claim 3, characterized in that the user interface   incorporates a summary of messages. 57. Super-server application according to the res-   dication 3, characterized in that indices associated with   the author of a message is displayed with the message.   58. Super-server application according to claim 3, characterized in that a link is provided on   the original article in a message chain.25 59. Super-server application according to the res-   dication 3, characterized in that a link is provided on a article cited in a message.   60. Super server application according to claim 3, further comprising intelligent control of   display fonts in articles.   61. Super-server application according to the res-   dication 3, including further reading preferences   different for each focus group.   62. Super-server application according to the resale   dication 3, including a link to access FAQs (frequently asked questions).   63. Super-server application according to the res-   dication 3, which also includes access to   real-time dialogue (chat group) associated with a message.   64. Super server application according to claim 3, further comprising the possibility of enabling   users to create pseudo-discussion groups.   65. Super-server application according to the res-   dication 3, further comprising a mail gateway electronic to news.   66. Super-server application according to the res-   dication 3, further including the possibility of groups of private discussion.   67. Super-server application according to the res-   dication 3, further including the possibility of subgroups   inside a discussion group.   68. Super-server application according to the res-   dication 2, characterized in that the request management system further increases the information otherwise available within the online chat technology. 69. Client application according to claim, characterized in that the online chat applications allow a user on the client system to download messages online, the client application also comprising one or more filing systems for store messages.   70. Client application according to claim, characterized in that the online chat applications allow a user on the client system to download messages online, the client application further comprising an archiving system for storing messages on the server.   71. Super-server application as claimed   cation 3, characterized in that it further comprises the possibility for a client to establish one or more sets   archives of private articles on the server. 72. Super server application according to resale   dication 3, which also includes the possibility of storing all newsgroups and articles on the server.   73. Super-server application according to the claim   tion 71, further comprising the possibility for a user   search for associated private archives and all   WAN resources in one command.   74. Client application according to claim, characterized in that one or more sets of personal archives can be published for the benefit of other users.   75. Super-server application according to the res-   dication 3, further comprising an interface to motors   database maintained locally.   76. Super server application according to resale   dication 3, further comprising decoding and reproduction automatic files.   77. Client application according to claim   , including decoding and automatic production ques files.   78. Super-server application according to the res-   dication 3, further including the incorporation of media into   text messages as directed by the user.   79. Super-server application according to the res-   dication 3, further comprising the provision of rankings discussion groups.   80. Super-server application according to the res-   dication 3, further comprising the provision of a   resources in each discussion group.   81. Super-server application according to the res-   dication 3, further comprising an automatic connection to a associated NNTP server.   82. Local network comprising at least one server system and at least one client station, connected to a wide area network such as the Internet, characterized in that: - the server system is controlled by an application called "super-server application" , adapted to maintain and update the information representative of a user interface defined on said client station, to manage the requests launched by the user of the client station and to respond to them, - said client station is controlled by a small client application called "client applet" adapted, at the request of said user, to: (i) configure the user interface, and / or (ii) rearrange the data and information received from said wide area network via said super-server system, and / or (iii) create personal data and incorporate it into the data and information received by the wide area network, and / or (iv) select all or part of this data and information with a view to ordering it storage on said storage device,   - said client applet is adapted to   quote while said super-server application is adapted to control a database implemented on said server system to selectively store, update,   sort and restore, on the one hand, the configu-   ration of the environment and the user interface, and, on the other hand, the information received via said wide area network   and incorporating the personal data created by the user tor.