Provisioning instant communications for a community of users

摘要

Techniques that enable instant communications services to be provisioned for an online community of users such that the members of the community can interact with each other using instant communications including using instant messaging (IM). In one embodiment, an instant communications facilitator operating from a first domain may provision instant communication services for members of an online community maintained in different domains from the first domain.

主权项

1. A computer-implemented method for provisioning instant communication services comprising:
generating an instant communication session associated with a first web page accessed by a first member of a first online community, the first web page from a website of the first online community, the generating the instant communication session including authenticating the first member for the instant communication session; responsive to authenticating the first member, receiving a first notification for the first member from the first online community; causing a first user interface to be displayed as an overlay on the first web page, the overlay covering a portion of the first web page, wherein the first user interface includes a chat window enabling the first member to exchange messages with a second member from a first set of members of the first online community and a list window displaying at least one member from the first set of members and the first notification for the first member, the list window adjacent to the chat window, the chat window enabling the second user to send a second notification to the first user; responsive to a second web page being accessed by the first member, retrieving session state information associated with the instant communication session, the messages exchanged between the first member and the second member and the first notification and the second notification sent to the first user, the second web page from the website of the first online community; and preserving, based on the session state information, the instant communication session from the first web page to the second web page by causing the same first user interface, including the chat window and the adjacent list window, to be overlaid on the second web page, the session state information describing a status of the instant communication session, including information describing one or more messages sent by the first member and the first notification and the second notification sent to the first user, the second web page accessed by the first member and from the website of the first online community.