Patent ID: 7260605

Claim:
A method of displaying messages with a chat client in an information exchange system for transmitting and receiving the messages, the chat client transmitting and receiving the messages to and/or from at least two independent chat networks that each have one or more chat servers that provide independent chat communication service to chat clients, where the chat client is in chat communication with the two chat networks concurrently over a period of time, the method comprising: designating, with the client, at least one of the two chat networks as an active chat network for receiving messages transmitted by the client; requesting and obtaining cooperation from the two chat networks for display of messages of the two chat networks, a chat network having one or more chat channels, upon cooperation being obtained, a chat channel which the chat client connected on a chat network cooperates with chat channels that the chat client connected on another chat network; obtaining, with the client, the messages, at least some of which are transmitted to or received from a first of the at least two chat networks, and at least some of which are transmitted to or received from a second of the at least two chat networks; and displaying, with the client, the obtained messages in a first discrete display area independent of a message display area of each of the plurality of chat networks.