Systems and methods for enabling dialog amongst different participant groups
An electronic communication system, such as a question-and-answer service, is provided in which a user submitting a question specifies one or more recipients of the question. Authenticated responses by a recipient are published to the asker and other recipients. Responses may be made available to external users, with content contributors being either publicly identified or anonymous.
1. An electronic communication system hosted on one or more servers communicating with a plurality of user devices via one or more digital communication networks, the servers having one or more processors and memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processors, cause the servers to perform a method comprising:
receiving user-input from an opening user via communication between a user device associated with said opening user and one or more of said servers, the user-input to include (a) opening dialog content, and (b) individual identification of one or more target responders;
alerting the target responders to the opening dialog content by conveying information to one or more user devices associated with each of the target responders;
making the opening dialog content available via request to a networked database; and
accepting responses to said opening dialog content from user devices associated with the target responders, the opening user or one or more other users;
making the opening dialog content and content from each of the responses available only to each of the target responders and the opening user, without revealing a contributor's electronic contact address to other target responders.
2. The system of claim 1 , in which the step of making the opening dialog content available via request to a networked database is further comprised of implementing an Internet web site, the web site including user interface elements to present dialog content requested from the networked database, and to query the networked database for dialog content.
3. The system of claim 1 , in which the step of making the opening dialog content available via request to a networked database is further comprised of providing an application for download onto user electronic devices, the application when executed rendering user interface elements on the user electronic devices to present dialog content requested from the networked database, and to query the networked database for dialog content.
4. The system of claim 1 , the method further comprising:
automatically creating a reusable dialog network by storing within a database a dialog network record comprising references to the individual identification of the one or more target responders; and
subsequently presenting a first user interface element to said opening user enabling selection of said reusable dialog network while identifying target responders during creation of a subsequent dialog.
5. The system of claim 4 , said dialog network record further comprising an individual identification of the opening user, in which the method further comprises: subsequently presenting a second user interface element to one or more of said target responders, enabling selection of said reusable dialog network by a target responder during creation of a subsequent dialog by said target responder.
6. The system of claim 5 , in which the method further comprises: presenting a third user interface element enabling the target responders to modify the individual identifications of target responders and opening user contained within the selected reusable dialog network in connection with the subsequent dialog.
7. The system of claim 4 , in which the method further comprises: presenting a third user interface element enabling the opening user to modify the individual identifications of target responders within the selected reusable dialog network in connection with the subsequent dialog.
8. The system of claim 1 , in which the opening user has dialog special privileges greater than those of target responders and other users.
9. The system of claim 1 , in which the target responders have dialog special privileges greater than those of other users.
10. A method of conducting group communications over a digital computer network by one or more communication servers, the method comprising the steps of:
receiving from an opening user specification of opening dialog content and individual identification of one or more target responders;
alerting the target responders to the opening dialog content by conveying information to one or more user devices accessing the communication servers;
making the opening dialog content available to the target responders and to one or more other users via request to a networked database; and
accepting responses to said opening dialog content from user devices associated with the target responders, the opening user or the one or more other users;
making the opening dialog content and content from each of the responses available only to each of the target responders and the opening user, without revealing a contributor's electronic contact address to other target responders.
11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising making the responses available via request to the networked database.
12. The method of claim 10 , in which the step of making the opening dialog content available to the target responders and one or more other users is comprised of making the opening dialog content available via a web site.
13. The method of claim 12 , in which the step of making the opening dialog content available via a web site is comprised of making the opening dialog content available via a publicly accessible Internet web site.
14. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
automatically creating a reusable dialog network by storing within a database a record comprising references to the individual identification of the one or more target responders; and
enabling selection of said reusable dialog network by the opening user while identifying target responders during creation of a subsequent dialog.
15. The method of claim 14 , in which the step of automatically creating a reusable dialog network further comprises storing within the record individual identification of the opening user; and in which the method further comprises:
enabling selection of said reusable dialog network by one or more of the target responders during creation of a subsequent dialog by the target responders.
16. The method of claim 15 , in which the method further comprises: enabling the target responders to modify the individual identifications of target responders and opening user contained within the selected reusable dialog network.
17. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
enabling the opening user to modify the individual identifications of target responders within the selected reusable dialog network.
18. An electronic communication system hosted on one or more servers communicating with a plurality of user devices via one or more digital communication networks, the servers having one or more processors and memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processors, cause the servers to perform a method comprising:
receiving user-input from an opening user, the user-input comprising (a) opening dialog content, and (b) individual identification of one or more target responders, with at least one of the target responders not previously registered with the servers;
transmitting notification of the opening dialog content to each of the target responders;
accepting responses to said opening dialog content from contributors, the contributors comprising any of the target responders; and
making the opening dialog content and content from each of the responses available only to each of the target responders and the opening user, without revealing a contributor's electronic contact address to other target responders.
19. The system of claim 18 , in which the method further comprises:
enabling the opening user and any of the target responders to designate an additional target responder by specifying a further electronic contact address.
20. The system of claim 19 , in which the step of making the opening dialog content and content from each of the responses available to each of the target responders and the opening user comprises: making content available via request to a networked database.
21. The system of claim 20 , in which the step of making content available via request to a networked database comprises: implementing an Internet web site, the web site including user interface elements to present, to the opening user and target responders, opening dialog content and content from the responses.
22. The system of claim 19 , in which the step of making the opening dialog content and content from each of the responses available to each of the target responders and the opening user comprises: transmitting, by the servers, messages containing the content to each of the electronic contact addresses.
23. A method for group communications with variable privacy in an electronic communications platform, the method comprising:
receiving, by one or more servers, user-input from an opening user, the user-input to include opening dialog content submitted for publication to an explicit group of one or more target responders consisting of a subset of the registered users;
receiving, by the servers, responses to the opening dialog content or responses thereto, from the target responder group and/or the opening user;
making, by the server, the opening dialog content and content from the responses available with author attribution to the opening user and the target responders; and
making, by the servers, the opening dialog content and content from the responses available without author attribution to all registered users other than the opening user and target responders.
24. The method of claim 23 , in which the step of making the opening dialog content and content from the responses available with author attribution to the opening user and/or the target responders comprises:
receiving a query for dialog content at a network-connected database from a query originator;
determining that the query originator is the opening user or one of the target responders; and
publishing a dialog view comprising personally identifiable author attribution for dialog content contributed by target responders.
25. The method of claim 23 , in which the step of making the opening dialog content and content from the responses available without user attribution to all registered users other than the opening user and target responders, comprises:
receiving a query for dialog content at a network-connected database from a query originator;
determining that the query originator is not the opening user or one of the target responders; and
publishing a dialog view excluding personally identifiable author attribution for dialog content contributed by the target responders.
26. The method of claim 25 , in which the personally identifiable author attribution comprises a real name.
27. The method of claim 25 , in which the personally identifiable author attribution comprises an electronic contact address.
28. The method of claim 25 , in which the personally identifiable author attribution comprises a username.
29. The method of claim 25 , in which the personally identifiable author attribution comprises a link to an author biographical profile.
30. The method of claim 23 , further comprising:
receiving, from the opening user or a target responder, a request to add a further registered user to the group of target responders; and
adding the further registered user to the group of target responders.