Patent ID: 8418069

Claim:
A method of providing an instant messaging (IM) space, the method comprising: providing a first graphical user interface (GUI) space for a first IM conversation; selecting a portion of the IM conversation; obtaining the selected portion of the first IM conversation represented on the first GUI space; and creating a second GUI space for a second IM conversation, the selected portion of the first IM conversation forming a basis of the second IM conversation, wherein the second GUI space opens with the selected portion of the first IM conversation pre-populated in the second IM conversation in the second GUI space, the selected portion including at least one text string from the first IM conversation, the second GUI space further including a link to the first IM conversation in the first GUI space, wherein the first IM conversation continues in the first GUI space after the creating the second GUI space for the second IM conversation, wherein the first GUI space further includes a first indicator for indicating which part of the first IM conversation forms the basis of the second IM conversation in the second GUI, and the second GUI space further includes a second indicator in the second GUI space, the second indicator indicating which part of the second IM conversation in the second GUI space is derived from the selected portion of the first IM conversation, the second indicator further persisting in the second GUI space when the second IM conversation continues, wherein each of the first indicator and the second indicator comprises at least one of: a formatting indicator, a typographical indicator, and an icon, wherein when the link is activated, the first GUI space opens to the location of the first indicator.