Instant Message User Management

摘要

Techniques are disclosed for improving management of user information in instant messaging systems. Expiration criteria are defined, whereby one or more users or user groups may be considered as having “expired” from consideration by instant messaging functions such as presence determination. In particular, instant messaging activity is preferably used as an expiration criterion. Absence of inbound or outbound messages for a specified amount of time (or since a particular date/time) can therefore be used as a trigger for treating a user or group of users as expired. As a result, efficiency of an instant messaging system is improved by omitting the expired users and groups from subsequent management operations. Optionally, an expired user or group may be revived upon occurrence of certain events (such as a newly-arriving instant message from, or a change in presence status of, the user or group).

主权项

1. A system for managing user information in an instant messaging (“IM”) system, comprising:
a computer comprising a processor; and instructions which are executable, using the processor, to perform functions comprising:
determining, for an IM client that is operably connected to the IM system, whether any of a plurality of users remembered for the IM client should be treated as expired due to absence of communication with the IM client; andperforming a presence detection function of the IM system to determine current presence status on behalf of the IM client, comprising:
for each one of the plurality of users for whom the determining determines that the user is to be treated as expired, omitting this user as a remembered user when the presence detection function determines the current presence status, but not deleting this user from the plurality of users remembered for the IM client; andincluding all others of the plurality of users as remembered users when the presence detection function determines the current presence status.