The functions and operations of a matching service are disclosed. This includes approximating the satisfaction that a user of the matching service has in the relationships that the user forms with others and identifying candidates for a relationship with the user based on the approximated satisfaction. This also includes approximating the satisfaction that the user will have in a relationship with a particular candidate. The matching service also identifies two parties for a relationship. The matching service makes available a plurality of communication levels at which the parties can communicate. Each communication level allows the parties to exchange information in a different format. The parties are permitted to exchange information at one of the communication levels.
RELATED PATENT APPLICATION
This patent application discloses subject matter related to the subject matter contained in the U.S. Patent Application entitled "Method and System for Identifying People Who are Likely to Have a Successful Relationship," Ser. No. 09/635,889, filed on Aug. 10, 2000, and is incorporated by reference herein.
An online social network collects descriptive data about various individuals and allows those individuals to indicate other individuals with whom they have a personal relationship. The descriptive data and the relationship data are integrated and processed to reveal the series of social relationships connecting any two individuals within a social network. A maximum degree of separation setting is provided and set to at least two. The maximum degree of separation setting limits the amount of searching that is carried out when searching for a connection between two individuals in the social network.
A method and structure for identifying potential relationships between users of a computer network is disclosed. The invention extracts relationship information from databases in the computer network in order to establish multiple relationship chains of the users from the relationship information. More specifically, the invention evaluates network information and network communications between the users to produce metrics and processes the metrics to produce contact information. The contact information indicates whether a personal relationship exists between two users. In addition, the invention can produce relationship values representing strengths of social relationships between users of the computer network based on such relationship information.
The present invention is intended to provide a receiving apparatus and method, a recording medium, and a program. A script added as an attachment file to an electronic mail is extracted therefrom in response to a mail opening command, a syntax analysis is performed on the extracted script, predetermined information stored in the receiving apparatus is retrieved on the basis of the result of the syntax analysis, the retrieved predetermined information is determined whether or not it is attached with a predetermined attribute, and, if the predetermined attribute is found attached to the predetermined information, the personal information contained in the predetermined information is deleted, thereby outputting the predetermined information with the personal information deleted. Consequently, the novel setup can prevent the personal information of recipients of electronic mails containing a script which is intended to take out the personal information without notice.
A system for contact services enables face-to-face contacts between two or more persons immediately or almost immediately when their profiles match, i.e. they have similar requirements or interests. The system includes at least two devices termed "contact device". Each person, who wishes to use a contact service, carries a contact device with him/herself. Each contact device is equipped with a low-powered receiver for receiving information and an alarm which signals when the person's profile and another person's profile match. The contact device signals, for example, by beeping, by vibrating, or by blinking a small-sized light. By using a contact server it is possible to enlarge the area from which persons may receive either profiles or information concerning matching profiles. Profile mediators are intended for transmitting person's profile and the state information to the contact server.
A method, program and system are provided for selecting and matching personal profiles based on personal characteristics and psychological traits. The method includes creating a profile of a user based on the user's personal characteristics and answers to psychological test items, wherein the profile further includes user preferences concerning potential partners. A plurality of characteristics filters are applied to a database of target profiles, wherein each target profile passes through a given characteristic filter only if the characteristic in question in both the target profile and the user profile complies with the filter's rule. The operation of the filter may be influenced by preferences in the user profile and the target profiles. A compatibility index is calculated for the user relative to each target profile that passes through all of the trait filters. The invention then creates a match list that ranks target profiles relative to the user according to their respective compatibility index.
