Patent ID: 7177905

Claim:
A method of conducting a pre-conference scheduling negotiation for an Internet-based conference at a network conference platform, the method comprising the steps of: a) receiving, at the conference platform, a conference set-up request from a conference host, the conference set-up request including a minimal plurality of attributes including a proposed conference date/time, a proposed agenda and a list of potential conference participants; b) sending a conference invitation, including the received conference set-up request, from the conference platform to the list of potential conference participants; c) allowing for modifications, by each conference participant on the list of potential conference participants, of the minimal plurality of attributes; d) receiving replies at the conference platform from each potential conference participant, each reply being either an acceptance of the minimal plurality of attributes, or a modification of one or more attributes; e) collecting, at the conference platform, the replies from each potential conference participant and transmitting all modified attributes to the host and the list of potential conference participants; and f) repeating steps c)–e) until a defined consensus is obtained.