| 摘要 |
<p>A system for initiating conversations between callers (16) to a telephone receives calls from various callers (16), receives selections of various topics of conversation from the callers, and then establishes communication links between pairs of callers in accordance with the selected topics (22). In a given conversation, at least a portion of the call is billed at a special rate or provided at no cost. After a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the call is billed at a second rate unless terminated by at least one of the parties. A partner history (20) can be maintained and used by the system to ensure that previously partnered callers are not paired up again for at least a specified time span.</p> |
