Personalizing communications for a first communication platform includes accessing status information for communication sessions by a communication identity that leverage a first communication platform other than an instant messaging platform. A participant list associated with the communication identity and the first communication platform is passively configured to persistently reflect a list of participant identities from communication sessions in which the communication identity recently participated using the communication platform.

Passive personalization of buddy lists

Method and apparatus for previewing new events in a computing device having a plurality of applications for managing respective events are described. Applications are represented.by application icons on a screen of a graphical user interface. In response to a new event of a one of the applications, the application's icon is visually modified to notify of the new event. A visual modification may be determined in response to the new event, for example, to preview a content of the event. The visual modification may include a count of all new events that remain to be disposed. On a selection of the visually modified icon, additional previewing may be provided. Activation of the application having a visually modified icon may be configured to automatically initiate, the application at the new event.

Previewing a new event on a small screen device

A sender's degrees of separation from a recipient may be used to aid in spam filtering or to otherwise handle a communication. The “degrees of separation” represent a metric used to quantify whether/how the recipient is linked to the sender through intermediary people or other entities. For example, a recipient may know a first user (first degree of separation) and the first user may know a second user (second degree of separation) who knows the sender of an e-mail. In this case, the sender is separated from the recipient by two degrees of separation (by two other contacts). A level of “trust” or “legitimacy” about a sender's communication can be inferred by looking at whether the sender is linked to an intended recipient. Typically, user contact lists (e.g., address book, buddy list, and/or white list) are evaluated to determine the number of degrees (or hops) are required to link or relate two users.

Degrees of separation for handling communications

Perception of multiple online personas is enabled in an instant messaging communications session. At least two identities within a communications environment to whom messages may be directed are identified. A first persona of a user is enabled to be projected to a first of the identities while a second persona of the same user is enabled to be concurrently projected to a second of the identities. The first and second personas each include an avatar capable of being animated, and the first persona and the second persona differ.

Multiple avatar personalities

A portable electronic device for instant messaging is disclosed. One aspect of the invention involves a graphical user interface (GUI) on a portable electronic device with a touch screen display. The GUI has a set of messages exchanged between a user of the device and another person. The set of messages are displayed in a chronological order. In response to detecting a scrolling gesture comprising a substantially vertical movement of a user contact with the touch screen display, the display of messages are scrolled in accordance with a direction of the scrolling gesture. The detecting of the scrolling gesture is substantially independent of a horizontal position of the user contact with the touch screen display.

Portable Electronic Device for Instant Messaging

A selective call receiver device (10) having a processor readable medium of instructions (100) for setting markers (32) in a message for automatically tabbing to the markers (32) and including a processor (50), message marking and incrementing system (36) and a plurality of tactile keys (30, 22, 24) for manipulating the code (100), and a method for operating the device (10) and for setting markers (32) at selected locations within messages to facilitate direct access to the portions of the message marked.

Method and apparatus for marking messages in selective call receivers

A selective call receiver device (10) having a processor readable medium of instructions (100) for setting markers (32) in a text message for automatically tabbing to the markers (32) and including a processor (50), message marking and incrementing system (36) and a plurality of tactile keys (30, 22, 24) for manipulating the code (100), and a method for operating the device (10) and for setting markers (32) at selected locations within text messages to facilitate direct access to the portions of the text message marked.

Eugene Boynton Beach Lopatukin

Papers

Method and apparatus for marking messages in selective call receivers

Method and apparatus for marking message in selective call receiver