Messaging between terminals in different communities

摘要

A communications system (10) includes a plurality of communities (14, 16) each associated with a service provider. Text-based messaging sessions, such as chat sessions, may be established between users in the communities (14, 16). A request is received from a user in a first community (14), the request indicating a desired text-based messaging session with a user in a second community (16). The user in the second community (16) is notified of a request, and it is determined if the user has accepted the request to establish a text-based messaging session. If so, the text-based messaging session is established between users in the first and second communities (14, 16). If the user is not available, predetermined information stored in a server (30) may be accessed to determine a plurality of devices that may be employed for communicating with the user. A message is sent to at least a selected one of the plurality of devices.