Patent Document ID: 6026396
Application ID: 09208446

Base Claim:
1. Apparatus for providing information about a subject matter, including a knowledge base for automatically responding to a user message, the apparatus comprising: a logging means for receiving the user message when the knowledge base does not address the user message; a storage means for storing the logged user message; an output means for providing the logged user message to a subject matter expert; and a receiving means for receiving data input, for updating the knowledge base, from the subject matter expert, but not from other users of the system; said logged means comprises an identifier for the logged user message to associate additional future correspondence with said user related to the logged user message.

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Claim 2:
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: said storage means further maintains a list of subject matter experts, said subject matter experts comprising one or more persons with knowledge about a subject matter; said output means further sends a logged user message to one or more subject matter experts; and said apparatus further comprising a processor means for receiving a reply from at least one of the subject matter experts and logging the received reply in association with the logged user message in the knowledge base; and wherein said processor means returns said logged user message and said reply to a user.