Abstract: Participants in a chat session can control the archiving of chat messages in the chat session. Participants in a chat session send and receive a first set of chat messages, which are archived. A command to deactivate archiving is made by one of the participants. Messages in the chat session that are sent and received subsequent to the command to deactivate archiving are not archived. Archiving may be reactivated and messages subsequent to the command to reactivate archiving are archived.

Abstract: Chat messages in a chat session may be displayed in a timeline view. Messages are displayed in a first display region. Timestamps of the chat messages are displayed in a second region. The messages are aligned with their respective timestamps, akin to a timeline. Timestamps for all messages need not be displayed; a timestamp may be omitted if the corresponding message occurs in the “same” time as another message. Breaks of no messaging activity that are longer than a predefined amount of time are shown with graphical objects such as a line. The objects also indicate the length of the break.

Abstract: Email and chat messages may be displayed as part of the same conversation, in an integrated conversation view. The conversation view would include items corresponding to email messages that are part of the conversation and chat messages that are part of the conversation. A user may reply to an email message in the conversation by chat.

Abstract: In a method of graphically representing users of an integrated email and instant messaging (IM) system, the system allows a second user to associate a graphical user identifier with a first user and suggests the graphical user identifier to the first user. The first user may accept or reject the graphical user identifier. If the first user accepts the graphical user identifier, the system displays the graphical user identifier to a third user when the third user accesses any email or IM message associated with the first user. The third user can override the graphical user identifier of the first user with a different graphical user identifier including a new one uploaded into the system by the third user.

Abstract: A computer implemented method for authoring a message includes enabling a user to compose an electronic message that includes a sequence of musical note emoticons, embedding the musical note emoticons in the electronic message, and sending the electronic message. The sequence of musical note emoticons represent an audible musical sequence. A computer implemented method for receiving a message includes receiving an electronic message, including at least one musical note emoticon embedded in the electronic message, displaying the electronic message, including the musical note emoticon; and audibly playing the embedded musical note emoticon.