Patent ID: 6978292
Filing Date: 2005-12-20
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A communication support method used in a chat system structured to include chat devices connected to a network and which share virtual chat spaces configured on said network and which can send and receive messages among themselves, comprising: associating and preparing specific keywords with specific keyword categories prior to recording a message volume, wherein messages sent or received in a virtual chat space have at least one of said specific keywords; associating and storing said specific keywords and said specific keyword categories with virtual chat space identifiers of said virtual chat spaces; calculating virtual chat space characteristics of said virtual chat spaces based on said specific keyword categories associated with the virtual chat spaces, the virtual chat space characteristics including a tabulation of relevance points associated with at least one of the specific keyword categories; and reporting said virtual chat space characteristics to users of said chat devices by displaying at least one of a specific keyword category having a highest tabulation of relevance points and a list of highest relevance point tabulations associated with a plurality of the specific keyword categories, wherein the message volume is recorded during a period of time after a message having at least one of the specific keywords is sent in the virtual chat space; wherein the recorded message volume having at least one of the specific keywords is proportional to an amount of interest of at least one user participating in the virtual chat space; and wherein the virtual chat space characteristics are calculated based on the total of at least the relevance points associated with said specific keyword category weighted by the recorded message volume and by the period of time a chat device that sent or received a message having at least one of the specific keywords remains in the virtual chat space.