Messaging is a convenient and popular means for people to engage in local or remote communication. Through the use of devices, such as computers, personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), and cellular phones enabled by associated software and hardware providing user-friendly interfaces, people routinely engage in messaging through what are typically known as instant messaging (“IM”) or text-messaging services.
IM is a type of messaging service that enables a person to create a kind of private chat room with another individual in order to communicate in real time over the Internet, and is analogous to a telephone conversation except that communication is text-based, not voice-based. Typically, an instant messaging system alerts a person whenever somebody on the person's private list, e.g., a “buddy list,” is online. The person can then initiate a chat session with that particular individual. Many commercial providers exist for individuals to engage in IM, and popular IM service messaging systems include, for example, Lotus® Sametime®, American Online® (“AOL®'s”) AIMSM, MSN®, and Yahoo!®. Normally, these IM service messaging systems are installed to the devices used by individuals that engage in instant messaging.
Text messaging, like instant messaging, involves sending text messages to a device such as a cellular phone, PDA or pager. However, text messaging is used for messages that are no longer than a few hundred characters. The term is usually applied to messaging that occurs between two or more mobile devices. Like IM service messaging systems, the devices permitting text messaging have software installed to the devices used by the individuals engaging in text messaging.
Whether using an IM or text-messaging service, oftentimes, the hardware and software used to enable these systems include a myriad of useful preferences that govern an individual's messaging session with another. Examples of such preferences include automatically or not logging the textual communication occurring during the messaging session, setting styles and colors of font, enabling emoticon capabilities, enabling sound capabilities for certain messages, enabling or not enabling picture capabilities, setting filtering capabilities, such as those desired by parents, enabling or prohibiting webcam viewing capabilities, and so forth. Typically, a user of a messaging service system sets messaging preferences based solely on the user's preferences. That is, the preferences are strictly a matter of personal taste.
Despite advances in messaging, problems remain. For one, although a user of a messaging service system often pre-configures preferences for use while engaging in messaging, a remote user of the system is unaware of the user's preferences in effect while a messaging session occurs between them. Unawareness of another user's preferences may lead to disconcerting results. For instance, suppose a user desires that none of the user's messaging sessions are ever logged. Suppose further that the user begins a messaging session with another user of an IM service system, and the user textually communicates the preference that the user's messaging session not be logged. Even if the other user communicates that no logging will occur, the other user may surreptitiously decide to log the messaging session anyhow in accordance with that user's preferences. By this example, further problems are borne out. That is, there is no effective means to ensure enforcement of each user's preferences, and there is no effective means to discuss modifications to each other's preferences before each user decides to commence with the messaging session.
A need, therefore, exists, for methods, systems, and media for users of messaging systems to engage in messaging sessions with awareness of another user's preferences, to enable means for modifying one or more of at least one user's preferences, and to enforce a user's preferences, whether modified or not, prior to commencing a messaging session.