Patent ID: 7328258

Claim:
A computer-implemented data communication method for exchanging data among a plurality of computers which are mutually coupled via a network, each of the computers comprising a communicating function configured to transmit and receive data to and from one or more other computers, a data processing function configured to process data which are transmitted and received, and an output function configured to output data to an output section including a display depending on a process of the data processing function, said data communication method comprising: a storing step to store data received by the communicating function by the data processing function in one computer when receiving data from one or more other computers by the communicating function; a mode judging step to judge whether or not to output the received data to the output function of said one computer depending on a mode attribute of the received data and a communication mode of said one computer; a public mode receiving step to immediately output the received data to the output function of said one computer and to reflect the received data to the display made by the output function of said one computer when said mode judging step judges that the mode attribute of the received data indicates a public mode and said one computer is in the public mode; and a local mode receiving step not to output the received data to the output function of said one computer while maintaining the display made by the output function of said one computer independent of the received data when said mode judging step judges that the mode attribute of the received data indicates the public mode but said one computer is in a local mode.