Abstract: A referral-tracking system accepts listings from originators and generates referral identifiers that represent referrals of those listings. A referral identifier represents a referral by the originator or by someone who, after receiving a listing identifier from an s originator or someone else, applies to the system to be recognized as a referrer and has accordingly been issued a referral identifier that associates that requester with a listing to be referred. By noting the requests that it receives for referral identifiers, the system can track a chain of referrals from a requester to the person who ultimately fulfills the listing. Some identifiers may be multi-referral identifiers, which represent referrals of multiple listings and can be used by the requester to refer multiple listings simultaneously to the same referral-identifier recipient.

Abstract: A computer system is configured as a referral-tracking system that responds to receipt of a listing from a recruiter by generating an identifier, associating it with that listing, and giving it to the recruiter. If, before the listing is withdrawn, the system thereafter receives from a requester a message offering to forward the listing and incorporating that identifier or another identifier that the system has associated with that listing, it generates a further identifier as a child of the received identifier, associates that further identifier with the listing and the requester, and sends it to the requester. Consequently, if the listing is fulfilled by someone identified to the system as having received a message that incorporated one of those identifiers, the system determines that identifier's ancestors and thereby compute the chain of referring requesters that led to the listing's being fulfilled. It can also compute an appropriate incentive-award distribution to the referring requesters.

Abstract: A computer system is configured as a referral-tracking system that responds to receipt of a listing from a recruiter by generating an identifier, associating it with that listing, and giving it to the recruiter. If, before the listing is withdrawn, the system thereafter receives from a requester a message offering to forward the listing and incorporating that identifier or another identifier that the system has associated with that listing, it generates a further identifier as a child of the received identifier, associates that further identifier with the listing and the requester, and sends it to the requester. Consequently, if the listing is fulfilled by someone identified to the system as having received a message that incorporated one of those identifiers, the system determines that identifier's ancestors and thereby compute the chain of referring requesters that led to the listing's being fulfilled. It can also compute an appropriate incentive-award distribution to the referring requesters.