Promoting Communicant Interactions In A Network Communications Environment

Abstract

In a network communication environment in which communicants operating from respective client network nodes connect to different server applications, communicants who are related to a target communicant are ascertained, statuses of the related communicants with respect to the different server applications are determined, and indications of the related communicants and the determined statuses of the related communicants are transmitted to the target communicant. Graphical representations of the related communicants and graphical indications of the statuses of the related communicants with respect to connections to the different server applications may be displayed on a display. A contact list including a respective graphical representation of each of one or more of the communicants also may be displayed in association with visual cues representing the ascertained types of current interaction activities respectively engaged in by the one or more communicants. A single universal user identifier may be used to identify each communicant.

1 - 69 . (canceled) 
     
     
         70 . A method, comprising:
 in a network communication environment in which a user and other communicants operating respective client network nodes connect to a communications service that is hosted by one or more server network nodes and supports realtime communications between communicants,   ascertaining ones of the other communicants,   identifying one or more ongoing communication sessions administered by the communications service between the client network nodes of respective ones of the ascertained communicants, wherein each communication session supports realtime communications between the communicants in the communication session,   generating a contact list comprising a sorted listing of the ascertained communicants, wherein the generating comprises grouping the ascertained communicants in each ongoing communication session in a separate respective group that is segregated from other ones of the ascertained communicants in the contact list, and   transmitting the contact list to the client network node of the user.   
     
     
         71 . The method of  claim 70 , wherein the generating comprises listing in the contact list each group of the ascertained communicants who are in an identified ongoing communication session ahead of the other ones of the ascertained communicants who are not in any ongoing communication sessions. 
     
     
         72 . The method of  claim 70 , wherein the transmitting further comprises transmitting to the network node of the user a specification of a graphical representation of the contact list. 
     
     
         73 . The method of  claim 72 , wherein the graphical representation of the contact list comprises a respective boundary visually demarcating each group of the ascertained communicants who are in a respective one of the one or more identified ongoing communication sessions. 
     
     
         74 . The method of  claim 72 , wherein the transmitting further comprises transmitting to the network node of the user indications of realtime activity states of respective ones of the ascertained communicants to display in the graphical representation of the contact list graphical representations of the ascertained communicants in association with indications of their respective realtime activity states. 
     
     
         75 . The method of  claim 72 , wherein for each group of the ascertained communicants who are in an identified ongoing communication session, the graphical representation of the contact list depicts a separate respective grouping of the graphical representations of the respective ones of the ascertained communicants in the group to show that ongoing communications between the co-present communicants are occurring between the ascertained communicants in the group. 
     
     
         76 . The method of  claim 70 , wherein generating comprises in the contact list listing the group of communicants who are in a particular one of the one or more ongoing communications sessions comprising the user ahead of all other ones of the ascertained communicants who are not in the particular ongoing communication session. 
     
     
         77 . The method of  claim 70 , wherein the generating comprises dynamically re-grouping respective ones of the ascertained communicants in the contact list in response to changes in ongoing communication sessions between communicants. 
     
     
         78 . The method of  claim 70 , further comprising dynamically re-sorting the contact list to reflect a current state of ongoing communication sessions between respective ones of the ascertained communicants. 
     
     
         79 . The method of  claim 70 , wherein the communications service provides virtual area zones each of which separately supports communicant presence and realtime communications between co-present communicants in the zone. 
     
     
         80 . The method of  claim 79 , wherein the identifying comprises identifying one or more zones of co-presence each of which corresponds to a respective one of the zones in which two or more of the ascertained communicants are co-present, and each identified zone of co-presence corresponds to a respective one of the identified one or more ongoing communication sessions. 
     
     
         81 . The method of  claim 80 , wherein the generating comprises in the contact list listing the communicants in the identified one or more zones of co-presence ahead of communicants who are not co-present with at least one other communicant in a respective one of the zones. 
     
     
         82 . The method of  claim 80 , wherein the generating comprises listing the user's current zone of presence ahead of all other zones in the contact list. 
     
     
         83 . The method of  claim 70 , wherein the ascertaining comprises selecting as the ascertained communicants the ones of the other communicants who are contacts of the user. 
     
     
         84 . At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by computing apparatus, cause the computing apparatus to perform operations in a network communication environment in which a user and other communicants operating respective client network nodes connect to a communications service that is hosted by one or more server network nodes and supports realtime communications between communicants, the operations comprising:
 ascertaining ones of the other communicants;   identifying one or more ongoing communication sessions administered by the communications service between the client network nodes of respective ones of the ascertained communicants, wherein each communication session supports realtime communications between the communicants in the communication session;   generating a contact list comprising a sorted listing of the ascertained communicants, wherein the generating comprises grouping the ascertained communicants in each ongoing communication session in a separate respective group that is segregated from other ones of the ascertained communicants in the contact list; and   transmitting the contact list to the network node of the user.   
     
     
         85 . Apparatus, comprising:
 a data processor-readable memory storing computer-readable instructions; and   a data processor coupled to the memory, operable to execute the instructions, and based at least in part on the execution of the instructions operable to perform operations in a network communication environment in which a user and other communicants operating respective client network nodes connect to a communications service that is hosted by one or more server network nodes and supports realtime communications between communicants, the operations comprising   ascertaining ones of the other communicants,   identifying one or more ongoing communication sessions administered by the communications service between the client network nodes of respective ones of the ascertained communicants, wherein each communication session supports realtime communications between the communicants in the communication session,   generating a contact list comprising a sorted listing of the ascertained communicants, wherein the generating comprises grouping the ascertained communicants in each ongoing communication session in a separate respective group that is segregated from other ones of the ascertained communicants in the contact list, and   transmitting the contact list to the network node of the user.   
     
     
         86 . A method, comprising:
 in a network communication environment in which a user and other communicants operating respective client network nodes connect to a communications service that is hosted by one or more server network nodes and supports realtime communications between communicants,   by the client network node being operated by the user,   connecting to the communications service,   from the communications service receiving a contact list comprising a sorted listing of a set of the communicants, wherein, for each ongoing communication session between the client network nodes of a respective subset of the communicants in the set, the contact list groups the communicants in the subset in a separate respective group that is segregated from other ones of the communicants in the set,   displaying the contact list as an array of graphical representations of the communicants in the set with the graphical representations of the communicants in each subset being depicted as a separate respective group that is segregated from other ones of the communicants in the set.   
     
     
         87 . The method of  claim 86 , wherein the displaying comprises for each ongoing communication session displaying a respective boundary visually demarcating the respective group of the communicants who are in the ongoing communication session. 
     
     
         88 . The method of  claim 86 , further comprising receiving indications of realtime activity states of respective ones of the ascertained communicants, wherein the displaying comprises in the contact list displaying the graphical representations of the communicants in association with indications of their respective realtime activity states. 
     
     
         89 . The method of  claim 86 , wherein the contact list lists the group of communicants who are in a particular one of the one or more ongoing communications sessions comprising the user ahead of all other ones of the communicants in the set who are not in the particular ongoing communication session.