Abstract: A method and system for providing extended presence information defined by third parties and for detecting when the extended information has changed significantly is provided. An extensible presence service defines a presence document for a publishing user having a section reserved for extended information provided by one or more third parties and publishes the presence document to a presence server. Subscribing users send subscription requests to the presence server to receive updates when the presence document for the publishing user changes. When the extended information provided by the third party is updated, the third party updates the extended information and indicates whether the change to the extended information is significant. Next, the presence server sends the updated presence document containing the updated extended information to subscribed users.

Abstract: A system controls forwarding of an incoming call. The system receives the incoming call directed to an original recipient. Forwarding settings are processed for routing the incoming call. In some embodiments, the forwarding settings may include a listing of at least one group having more than one member and at least one forwarding instruction based on the at least one group. In these embodiments, the incoming call is forwarded according to the at least one forwarding instruction to at least one first member and at least one second member of the at least one group. The forwarding settings may be based on a user's presence settings, subject to categorization rules, and/or utilize protocol extensions. In some embodiments, the system can map communication routing scenarios to a markup document, such as an XML document, that the system can use to implement team or forwarding call rules. In some embodiments, client devices can set preamble routing independent from the communication server.

Abstract: A presence aggregation system provides a presence aggregation server that allows for the publication of presence state of a publisher from the publisher's multiple endpoints. A presence state includes an availability value and an activity. An activity may include an activity token and/or a custom string. When any one of the publisher's endpoints makes a presence state publication on the presence aggregation server, the presence aggregation server generates an aggregated state of the publisher (i.e., the availability of the publisher aggregated across all of the publisher's endpoints) and publishes the generated aggregated state to each of the publisher's endpoints. The presence aggregation server may also provide the publisher's aggregated state to the subscribers of the publisher's aggregated state information.

Abstract: A method and system for presenting a user interface displaying a view of a user's presence aggregated across multiple endpoints is provided. The view provides a visual display of the user's aggregated availability by displaying an indication of the user and an icon that pictorially indicates the aggregated availability of the user. The aggregated availability is the availability of the user aggregated across the user's multiple endpoints. The view may also include a text string describing the user's current aggregated availability or activity. The user interface may also display a view of the user's contacts, which includes an icon that indicates each contact's current aggregated availability.

Abstract: A presence aggregation system provides a presence server that allows users to publish information regarding their availability with the presence server. The presence server maintains a record of each user's published information. When an endpoint publishes information regarding a user's availability at that endpoint with the presence server, the presence server provides all of the user's published information, including the information just published, to each of the user's endpoints, including the endpoint which published the information. This allows each of the user's endpoints to generate an aggregated availability of the user. The presence server may also provide all of the user's published information, including the information just published, to each of the subscribing users' endpoints. This allows the subscribing users to also generate a view of the user's aggregated availability.

Abstract: A facility is described for providing contextual information automatically. In various embodiments, the facility receives an indication to start a conversation, automatically determines an identification for an item indicated by the indication, encodes the identification in a message, and sends the message so that a recipient of the message can locate the item. The facility can include a responder component and an initiator component. The initiator component can receive an identification for contextual information and an identification of the responder, initiate a conversation with the responder's computing device, and automatically encode the received indication of the contextual information in a message that it sends to the responder component so that the responder component can cause a link to the contextual information to be provided that, when selected, causes an application executing on the responder's computing device to load the contextual information.

Abstract: A method and system for providing context of a caller to a callee when a call is initiated is provided. The context system executing on the calling device collects context for the call. The calling device initiates the call and sends a message to the callee that includes the context. Upon receiving the message, the callee device notifies the caller that a call has been initiated and displays the received context. The callee can decide based on the received context whether to answer the call or not answer the call.

Abstract: Techniques for associating one or more real-time sessions, which are each signaled separately, into one logical conversation without a centralized control, are provided. Some techniques share a conversation identifier that uniquely identifies a logical conversation across the real-time sessions that belong to the logical conversation. The conversation identifier is generated before the first real-time session belonging to the logical conversation is signaled, and distributed to the other participants in the logical conversation via the signaling channel. A called participant can use the conversation identifier for associating the previous real-time sessions belonging to the logical conversation, and for making new invitations for other real-time sessions that are associated with the same logical conversation.

Abstract: Techniques for managing the continuity of real-time conversations are provided. Some techniques allow a participant to restore a conversation that previously occurred and has ended, and continue a thread of the conversation by reusing history data associated with the conversation and appending new data. A participant who is invited to a conversation that is being continued is provided with the history data or provided access to the history data, thus allowing the invited participant to “catch up” in the conversation. The invited participant may also continue the thread in a similar manner afterwards.

Abstract: A method and system for accepting invitations sent to multiple endpoints for an instant messaging participant is provided. The acceptance system allows multiple endpoints of a participant to be registered at the same time with an instant messaging service. The endpoint of the inviting participant sends an invitation to the instant messaging service indicating that the receiving participant is to be invited to establish a conversation with the inviting participant. When the instant messaging service receives the invitation, it detects that the receiving participant has multiple endpoints registered and forwards the invitation to each registered endpoint. When an endpoint receives the invitation request, it displays an information window asking whether the receiving participant wants to accept the invitation. Upon acceptance, the endpoint sends an acceptance to the endpoint of the inviting participant to establish the conversation between that endpoint and the endpoint of the inviting participant.

Abstract: A method and system for aggregating contact information of contacts from multiple contact sources is provided. The aggregation system collects contact information for a user from various contact sources. The aggregation system stores the collected content information in a contact data store. The aggregation system may also store an indication of the contact source of the collected contact information. The aggregation system provides a user interface through which the user may search the contact information of the contact data store to find contact information of contacts that are collected from the different contact sources. The aggregation system allows a user to add a contact to a real-time contact list to enable real-time communications with that contact.

Abstract: A method and system for providing expanded presence information of publishers to subscribers is provided. The presence system receives expanded presence information from a publisher. A client component of the presence system sends the expanded presence information to a presence server of the presence system. Upon receiving the expanded presence information, the presence server stores the expanded presence information in association with the publisher. When the presence server is to provide the presence information of a publisher to subscribers, the presence server identifies the current presence state of the publisher and retrieves the expanded presence information. The presence server then provides the current presence state and the expanded presence information to the subscribers.

Abstract: A method and system for aggregating contact information of contacts from multiple contact sources is provided. The aggregation system collects contact information for a user from various contact sources. The aggregation system stores the collected content information in a contact data store. The aggregation system may also store an indication of the contact source of the collected contact information. The aggregation system provides a user interface through which the user may search the contact information of the contact data store to find contact information of contacts that are collected from the different contact sources. The aggregation system allows a user to add a contact to a real-time contact list to enable real-time communications with that contact.

Abstract: A method and system for aggregating contact information of contacts from multiple contact sources is provided. The aggregation system collects contact information for a user from various contact sources. The aggregation system stores the collected content information in a contact data store. The aggregation system may also store an indication of the contact source of the collected contact information. The aggregation system provides a user interface through which the user may search the contact information of the contact data store to find contact information of contacts that are collected from the different contact sources. The aggregation system allows a user to add a contact to a real-time contact list to enable real-time communications with that contact.

Abstract: A muting system that allows audio of a computing device to be automatically muted when a telephone call is received on a telephone number associated with the computing device is provided. When an incoming call event occurs for that telephone number, the computing device directs a software component to mute the audio. When the muting system subsequently receives a call event indicating that the call has terminated, it may automatically un-mute or resume the software components. The muting system may allow a user to manually specify to un-mute or resume the software components.

Abstract: A call forwarding system forwards telephone calls based on presence information of a user as reported by computing devices associated with a telephone number. When a telephone system receives an incoming call directed to one of the telephone numbers of the user's computing devices, it sends an incoming call event to each computing device. Upon receiving the incoming call event from a telephone system, each computing device determines whether the user is most likely present at that computing device based on the presence information. When a computing device determines that the user is most likely present at that computing device, it sends a notification to the telephone system to forward the incoming call to the telephone number associated with that computing device to effect the automatic forwarding of a call based on presence information.

Abstract: A method and system for providing notifications of changes in the presence state of contacts is provided. A notification system allows a user to specify those contacts of interest for whom the user wants to be notified when the contact enters a certain presence state. When presence information is received about a contact, the notification system determines whether the contact is a contact of interest as specified by the user. If so, then the notification system determines whether the presence information indicates a change in presence state that is of interest to the user. If the contact and the change in presence state are of interest to the user, the notification system notifies the user.

Abstract: The present invention comprises a system and methods for facilitating third-party call control using a peer-to-peer configuration with SIP.

Abstract: Subscribers are able to selectively reveal their availability for communicating to various entities, based on the interaction of one or more customizable policies, preferences and active status of communicating devices. Availability status software comprising one or more agents determines and indicates the availability mode of specifically identified entities. Subscribers are able to establish a personal agent and control policies and preferences remotely using, for example, an internet connected computer-based device. Alternatively, service providers are able to modify the content of the agent of behalf of their subscribers in accordance with predetermined communication preferences (automatic or defined by subscribers).