System and method for scoring new messages based on previous responses within a system for harvesting community knowledge

1. A method for knowledge management, comprising:

generating a client computer profile from a set of data items on a client computer;

generating a set of message response profiles from a corresponding set of message responses;

generating a set of new message profiles from a corresponding set of new messages;

storing the profiles on the client computer; and

scoring a new message with respect to the client and message response profiles wherein each of the generating elements includes: generating expertise vectors from data items in the client computer and the messages.

2. A method for knowledge management comprising:

generating a client computer profile from a set of data items on a client computer;

generating a set of message response profiles from a corresponding set of message responses which includes generating a set of generated message response profiles from a corresponding set of generated message responses;

generating a set of new message profiles from a corresponding set of new messages;

storing the profiles on the client computer; and

scoring a new message with respect to the client and message response profiles.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the scoring element includes: determining how related the new message profile is to the set of generated message response profiles.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the determining element includes: determining that messages are related if a distance between the messages' expertise vectors is less than or equal to a predetermined distance.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein: the generating a set of generated message response profiles element includes, adding a message answered attribute to a generated message response profile, if a corresponding new message has been answered; and the scoring element includes, increasing a new message's score if the new message is related to a predetermined number of generated message responses having the message answered attribute.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein: the generating a set of generated message response profiles element includes, adding a message deleted without response attribute to a generated message response profile, if a corresponding new message has been deleted; and the scoring element includes, decreasing a new message's score, if the new message is related to a predetermined number of generated message responses having the message deleted without response attribute.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein: the generating a set of generated message response profiles element includes, adding a client user interested attribute to a generated message response profile, if a corresponding new message has been opened; and the scoring element includes, increasing a new message's score if the new message is related to a predetermined number of generated message responses having the user interested attribute.

8. The method of claim 2 , wherein: the generating a set of generated message response profiles element includes, adding a client user ignored attribute to a generated message response profile, if a corresponding new message has not been opened; and the scoring element includes, decreasing a new message's score if the new message is related to a predetermined number of generated message responses having the user ignored attribute.

9. The method of claim 2 , wherein the generating a set of generated message response profiles element includes, adding a message answered attribute to a generated message response profile, if a corresponding new message has been answered; and adding a message deleted without response attribute to a generated message response profile, if a corresponding new message has been deleted; and the scoring element includes, determining that a new message and a generated response message having the message answered attribute are related if a distance between the messages' expertise vectors is less than or equal to a first predetermined distance; and determining that a new message and a generated response message having the message deleted without response attribute are related if a distance between the message' expertise vectors is less than or equal to a second predetermined distance.

10. A method for knowledge management, comprising:

generating a client computer profile from a set of data items on a client computer;

generating a set of message response profiles from a corresponding set of message responses;

generating a set of new message profiles from a corresponding set of new messages;

storing the profiles on the client computer;

scoring a new message with respect to the client and message response profiles;

identifying a set of received message responses corresponding to a new message, from within the message responses;

adding a response count attribute to a new message profile corresponding to the new message; and

incrementing the response count attribute by one for each received message response in the set of received message responses.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the scoring element includes:

calculating an elapsed time since a new message is first received by tile client computer; retrieving the new message's response-count from the client profile; and

periodically increasing the new messages score by a predetermined amount, if the new message's response-count during the elapsed time is less than a predetermined minimum count.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the scoring element includes:

calculating an elapsed time since a new message is first received by the client computer, retrieving the new message's response-count from the client profile; and

periodically decreasing the new message's score by a predetermined amount if the new message's response-count during the elapsed time is greater than a predetermined maximum count.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the identifying element includes:

identifying a message response ID within a received message response which corresponds with a new message ID within the new message.

14. A method for knowledge management, comprising:

generating a client computer profile from a set of data items on a client computer;

generating a set of message response profiles from a corresponding set of message responses;

generating a set of new message profiles from a corresponding set of new messages;

storing the profiles on the client computer;

scoring a new message with respect to the client and message response profiles; and

defining new messages as any message received by the client computer, having a message ID not previously observed.

15. A method for knowledge management, comprising:

generating a client computer profile from a set of data items on a client computer;

generating a set of message response profiles from a corresponding set of message responses;

generating a set of new message profiles from a corresponding set of new messages;

storing the profiles on the client computer; scoring a new message with respect to the client and message response profiles; and

defining message responses as any messages received or generated by the client computer, which correspond to a previously received new message.

16. A system for knowledge management, comprising:

means for generating a client computer profile from a set of data items on a client computer;

means for generating a set of message response profiles from a corresponding set of message responses;

means for generating a set of new message profiles from a corresponding set of new messages;

means for storing the profiles on the client computer;

means for scoring a new message with respect to the client and message response profiles;

means for identifying a set of received message responses corresponding to a new message, from within the message responses: means for adding a response count attribute to a new message profile corresponding to the new message; and means for incrementing the response count attribute by one for each received message response in the set of received in message responses.

17. A computer-usable medium embodying computer program code for commanding a computer to effect knowledge management, comprising:

generating a client computer profile from a set of data items on a client computer; generating a set of message response profiles from a corresponding set of message responses;

generating a set of new message profiles from a corresponding set of new messages;

storing the profiles on the client computer;

scoring a new message with respect to the client and message response profiles;

identifying a set of received message responses corresponding to a new message, from within the message responses;

adding a response count attribute in a new message profile corresponding to the new message; and

incrementing the response count attribute by one for each received message response in the set of received message responses.