Patent ID: 7730131

Claim:
In a computing system that provides presence information to a service provider that is configured to provide the computing system access to a network, the computing system comprising a processor and memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, implement a method for enabling the user to control the presence information that is provided to the service provider for publication, the method comprising: an act of providing a user interface in a user computing system, the user interface being configured to receive first presence information of a user for a service provider and to display the first presence information in one or more display frames of the user interface on a display screen; an act of simultaneously displaying second presence information corresponding with a user's actual presence on the network within one or more of the display frames of the user interface on the display screen; an act of enabling the user to provide user input at the user interface to dynamically edit the first presence information to reflect a change in a user's published presence on the network but without affecting the user's actual presence on the network; and an act of providing the displayed first presence information to the service provider for publication.