Methods and systems for selecting criteria for a successful acknowledgement message in instant messaging

Abstract

Methods and systems are described for permitting a user to specify the criteria for determining the success or failure of the transmission of an instant message. A computer system first identifies the user specified criteria. When the server computer system receives an instant message, the computer system determines whether the user specified criteria have been met. If the criteria are met, the computer system returns a successful acknowledgement message to the user. Since the user sets the criteria by which success will be determined, the meaning of a successful acknowledgement message will be clear to the user.

1 . In a computer network that includes a plurality of networked computer systems, wherein a sending computer system sends an instant message through a chain of one or more computer systems to a destination computer system, a method of acknowledging delivery of the instant message, wherein the criteria for determining the success or failure of the delivery are user specified, the method comprising the following: 
 an act of the sending computer system identifying the user specified criteria for returning a successful acknowledgement message corresponding to the instant message;    an act of the sending computer system sending the instant message to the destination computer system and receiving a successful acknowledgement message;    an act of the sending computer system, upon receiving a successful acknowledgement message, determining whether the user specified criteria for returning a successful acknowledgement message are met; and    an act of the sending computer system returning a successful acknowledgement message corresponding to the instant message only if the user specified criteria have been met.    
   
   
       2 . A method in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the sending computer system comprises a server computer system associated with a sending client computer system.  
   
   
       3 . (canceled)  
   
   
       4 . A method in accordance with  claim 3 , wherein the act of the computer system identifying the user specified criteria for returning a successful acknowledgement message comprises the following: 
 an act of the sending server computer system receiving a data field representing the user specified criteria with the instant message; and    an act of the sending server computer system reading the data field to identify the user specified criteria.    
   
   
       5 . (canceled)  
   
   
       6 . (canceled)  
   
   
       7 . A method in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein 
 the user specified criteria is a “deep or” criteria, and    the act of the sending computer system determining whether the user specified criteria for returning a successful acknowledgement message are met comprises an act of determining that at least one of the intended recipients successfully received the instant message under the “deep or” criteria.    
   
   
       8 . A method in accordance with  claim 7  wherein the act of determining that at least one of the intended recipients received the instant message comprises the following: 
 an act of the computer system transmitting the instant message to the next computer system in the chain of computer systems along with an indication that the user specified criteria for returning a successful acknowledgement message is that at least one of the intended recipients successfully received the instant message under the “deep or” criteria;    an act of the computer system receiving an acknowledgement message from the next computer system in the chain of computer systems indicating whether or not at least one of the intended recipients successfully received the instant message under the “deep or” criteria; and    an act of the computer system determining that at least one of the intended recipients has received the instant message if the acknowledgement message from the next computer system indicates that at least one of the intended recipients successfully received the instant message under the “deep-or” criteria.    
   
   
       9 . A method in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein 
 the user specified criteria is a “deep and” criteria, and    the act of the sending computer system determining whether the user specified criteria for returning a successful acknowledgement message are met comprises an act of the sending computer system determining that all of the intended recipients successfully received the instant message under the “deep and” criteria.    
   
   
       10 - 15 . (canceled)  
   
   
       16 . A computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling a sending computer system to determine whether delivery of an instant message was successful, by a method comprising: 
 sending via a computer network the instant message to a destination computer system;    receiving via the computer network a successful acknowledgement message for the instant message;    determining whether the successful acknowledgement message satisfies a user-specified criterion for success of delivery of the instant message; and    when it is determined that user-specified criterion is satisfied, indicating that delivery of the instant message was successful.    
   
   
       17 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 16  wherein the sending computer system receives the instant message from a client computer system that originated the instant message and provides the user-specified criterion.  
   
   
       18 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 17  wherein the indicating includes sending a successful acknowledgement message to the client computer system.  
   
   
       19 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 16  wherein the sending computer system is a client computer system that originates the instant message and the indicating includes notifying a user that the delivery of the instant message was successful.  
   
   
       20 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 16  wherein the instant message is sent to multiple destination computer systems and the user-specified criterion specifies that the delivery is successful when at least one destination computer system receives the instant message.  
   
   
       21 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 16  wherein the instant message is sent via a chain of one or more computer systems to the destination computer system and the user-specified criterion specifies that the delivery is successful when at least one of the computer systems in the chain receives the instant message.  
   
   
       22 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 21  wherein the delivery is successful when the first computer system in the chain receives the instant message.  
   
   
       23 . A sending computer system for determining whether delivery of an instant message sent via a network was successful, comprising: 
 a component that sends via the network the instant message to a destination computer system;    a component that receives via the network a successful acknowledgement message for the sent instant message; and    a component that indicates delivery of the instant message was successful when the successful acknowledgement message satisfies a user-specified criterion for successful delivery of the instant message.    
   
   
       24 . The system of  claim 23  wherein the sending computer system receives the instant message from a client computer system that originated the instant message and provides the user-specified criterion.  
   
   
       25 . The system of  claim 24  wherein the component that indicates delivery of the instant message was successful sends a successful acknowledgement message to the client computer system.  
   
   
       26 . The system of  claim 23  wherein the sending computer system is a client computer system that originated the instant message and the component that indicates notifies a user that the delivery of the instant message was successful.  
   
   
       27 . The system of  claim 23  wherein the instant message is sent to multiple destination computer systems and the user-specified criterion specifies that the delivery is successful when at least one destination computer system receives the instant message.  
   
   
       28 . The system of  claim 23  wherein the instant message is sent to multiple destination computer systems and the user-specified criterion specifies that the delivery is successful when all the destination computer systems receive the instant message.  
   
   
       29 . The system of  claim 23  wherein the instant message is sent via a chain of one or more computer systems of the network to the destination computer system and the user-specified criterion specifies that the delivery is successful when at least one of the computer systems in the chain receives the instant message.