Patent ID: 7317791

Claim:
A method of using a computer to control communications between a plurality of participants in a conference calling center, the method comprising: connecting a first participant and a second participant to a conference call within a conference calling center after identifying said first participant and said second participant; and applying an attribute to said first participant that restricts the ability of the first participant to communicate with the second participant in the conference call; displaying, for each of the plurality of participants, including a host, a conference call graphical user interface having a participant information section and a message section; wherein the attribute is applied only to the first participant and is not applied to a group or a pre-defined group designation; wherein the participant information section contains a plurality of information regarding each participant and each participant's attributes; wherein the message section includes a message screen, a recipient menu, a message data entry field, and a send button so that the host can send a written message to the first participant; and wherein a message sent by the host to the first participant is displayed on a first message screen of a first participant's graphical user interface and a message sent to the host from the first participant is displayed on a second message screen of a host's graphical user interface.