Patent ID: 8397168

Claim:
A computer-implemented method, comprising: on a display, displaying a spatial layout of zones of a virtual area in a network communication environment, wherein a user can have a respective presence in each of one or more of the zones; on the display, presenting navigation controls and interaction controls, wherein the navigation controls enable the user to specify where to establish a presence in the virtual area and the interaction controls enable the user to manage interactions with one or more other communicants in the network communication environment; establishing a respective presence of the user in each of one or more of the zones in response to input received via the navigation controls; and on the display, depicting respective graphical representations of the communicants in each of the zones where the communicants respectively have presence; with respect to interactions of one or more of the communicants in a particular one of the zones of the virtual area, enabling the user to perceive the interactions with a first level of detail when the user is present in the particular zone, and enabling the user to perceive the interactions with a second level of detail that is less than the first level of detail when the user is not present in the particular zone, wherein the particular zone is associated with a viewscreen object that has a respective graphical representation in the particular zone and is associated with functionality for sharing renderings of contents of data files between communicants who are present in the particular zone, when the user is present in the particular zone and a communicant in the particular zone is sharing a rendering of contents of a data file with one or more other communicants in the particular zone in connection with the viewscreen object, the enabling comprises presenting on the monitor visible geometric elements of the particular zone, a visual indication that the viewscreen object is in an active state, and a graphical representation of data being shared in connection with the viewscreen object, and when the user is present in a respective one of the zones other than the particular zone but is not present in the particular zone and a communicant in the particular zone is sharing a rendering of contents of a data file with one or more other communicants in the particular zone in connection with the viewscreen object, the enabling comprises presenting on the monitor visible geometric elements of the particular zone and a visual indication that the viewscreen object is in an active state without presenting any graphical representation of data being shared in connection with the viewscreen object.