Method, apparatus and system for hosting information exchange groups on a wide area network

Abstract

A method and system for hosting information exchange groups on a wide area network is disclosed, using various tools for promoting topical organization and self-evolution of the information exchange groups, and of a system of information exchange groups. These tools include methods for providing user rating of posts within the exchange group, for rating and ranking users of the exchange group, for rating and ranking links to related information pages and especially to related exchange groups operating according to the methods of the invention, and for continuously updating rating and ranking information. Additionally, methods are provided for users to found exchange groups, to filter information in exchange groups according to specified user preferences, and to protect private information from inadvertent disclosure to other users of the exchange group.

1 . A method for concealing private information exchanged between users, the method comprising:
 intercepting, by a computing device, an original message sent from a first user to a second user, the original message containing information associated with the first user;   accessing, by a computing device, a data structure storing private information associated with respective users in order to identify private information associated with the first user;   locating, by a computing device, any of the identified private information associated with the first user in the original message;   generating, by a computing device, an altered message by concealing at least a portion of the located private information; and   sending the altered message to the second user.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising concealing evidence of generating the altered message. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the private information associated with respective users comprises at least one of a phone number, an address, and a name of respective users. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein concealing the located private information comprises replacing at least a portion of the located private information with a substituted string. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the substituted string comprises information of the same type as the located private information. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the substituted string comprises located private information that has been encrypted. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying the original message to the first user without alteration. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the identified private information is provided by a third user. 
     
     
         9 . A method for private communication between users of an information exchange group, the method comprising:
 authorizing one or more users for access to an information exchange group;   receiving, by a computing device, a private electronic address for a first authorized user;   receiving, by a computing device, a request from a second authorized user via one or more user interfaces of the information exchange group to direct a message to the first authorized user;   receiving, by a computing device, content for the message from the second authorized users via one or more user interfaces of the information exchange group; and   sending, by a computing device, the message, including the content received from the second authorized user, to the private electronic address of the first authorized user, wherein the private electronic address of the first authorized user is not revealed to the second authorized user.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the private electronic address of the first user comprises an electronic mail address. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein receiving the request from the second authorized user comprises receiving a selection of a user interface object within another message authored by the first authorized user within the information exchange group. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein receiving the request from the second authorized user comprises receiving a selection of the first authorized user from a list of authorized users of the information exchange group. 
     
     
         13 . A method for rank ordering a list of links on a Web page, the method comprising:
 measuring, by a computing device, an amount of traffic to or from a first Web page generated by respective other Web pages, wherein the first Web page includes links to at least some of the other Web pages;   assigning, by a computing device, a rank for respective links of the first Web page according to the respective amounts of traffic generated by the other Web pages corresponding to the links; and   ordering the links on the first Web page according to the respective assigned ranks.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the amount of traffic comprises at least one of:
 a number of times the first Web page is requested from the respective other Web pages; and   a number of times the respective other Web pages are requested by accessing the links of the first Web page.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising receiving one or more ratings for the first Web page from users visiting the first Web page. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the one or more ratings each comprise one or more categories. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising assigning the rank to respective links of the first Web page according to the respective amounts of traffic and the one or more ratings for the first Web page. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising removing respective links having a rank less than a first selected value from the first Web page to a second Web page. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising removing respective links having a rank less than a second selected value from the second Web page.