WO2002025469A2

WO2002025469A2 - Method and system for user-directed computer network directory

Info

Publication number: WO2002025469A2
Application number: PCT/US2001/029360
Authority: WO
Inventors: Roman Botcharnikov; Joshua C. Nelson
Original assignee: 022.Com, Inc.
Priority date: 2000-09-19
Filing date: 2001-09-19
Publication date: 2002-03-28
Also published as: WO2002025469A3; AU2001292834A1

Abstract

A method and computer system for identifying and displaying popular content without editorial intervention in a user-created directory site (10) on a computer network (13) allows a user on a computer (14, 15, 16) to enter an electronic address such as a link (URL) and create a category for the link, if existing categories of the directory do not match user preferences. The user can also vote on links submitted by the current user or other users. The links, categories and affiliate sites are stored in real time in a database (17) and organized by the site software (11, 12, 18) in real time and without editorial intervention for display on the users computers (14, 15 and 16) according to user votes or other variables, such as user visits to a link, category or affiliate site and other direct and indirect methods of representing user opinion. Users themselves are ranked by the site software (11, 12, 18) in real time and without editorial intervention based on the popularity of links, categories and affiliate sites they submit and the contribution value of their votes based on the consensus with other users. The operation of the main site is replicated in user created sites known as affiliate sites stores in the same database, with links to affiliate sites displayed on the home page based on ranking of such affiliate sites.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR USER-DIRECTED COMPUTER NETWORK DIRECTORY

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a method and system for allowing computer network users to control the organization of a network directory site displayed as a series of electronic addresses.

BACKGROUND ART

Computer network directory sites are a type of network site that is known in the art. One well-known site is yahoo.com, an Internet portal. Such sites typically contain a home page with categories, such as business & economy, computers & Internet , news & media, recreation & sports. Within these categories may be subcategories. Within the yahoo.com "recreation & sports" category, for example, are subcategories for: sports, travel, autos and outdoors. Within these subcategories are further subcategories. Within the sports" subcate- gory are further subcategories for coaching, schedules and shopping and services related to sports. Within the "schedules" subcategory are links with URLs to network locations (web sites or web pages) with content. Other types of computer network sites include corporate intranet directory sites, which contain directories of corporate network links addressable by URL, as well as wireless computer network sites.

One well-known directory site, which allows users to submit links or URL's, as they are known in the technical field, is go.com, http://www.go.com/WebDir/. In the go.com system, editors assigned to specific categories s ubmit content and make the judgments about the value of the submitted URL and based on that the system assigns stars to each URL as a visual representation of the quality of the URL. Among the sites that allow submission of URL's, there is typically editorial control of the categories and listing of URL's in the categories. The editorial control makes it impossible to generate a directory in real time due to the editorial approval latency. In the open directory project (dmoz.org), volunteer editors are solicited to edit specific categories.

User contributions to websites are a subject of Reynolds et al . , U.S. Patent No. 6,052,717, which discloses an Internet site book system, which is a self- extending, self-sustaining compilation of text and multimedia material. Users may enroll as viewers of the content. Contributors are given monetary rewards based on how much their content is being viewed. This reward is in the nature of a copyright royalty, since the contributions are original material or derivative material incorporating some element of authorship on the part of the contributor.

Hartnett, U.S. Pat. No. 6,064,971, discloses a collaborative text system in which the contributions of users are re-ordered and ranked based on popularity. Links or URL's are not mentioned as possible contributions .

U.S. Patents 6,026,430 and 5,884,035, both to Butman et al., disclose a dynamic user registry apparatus and method for collaboration and selective sharing of information, sometimes referred to as an "extranet." This system disseminates information among users in a user selective manner. Users may comment on and interact with information received.

Jacobi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,064,980; Chislenko et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,311; Robinson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,426 and Miller et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,475, disclose collaborative filtering systems for rating or ranking items for a particular user based on recommendations, ratings or rankings from a plurality of other users.

King et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,471 and Peercy et al. 5,960,429 each disclose a system that displays frequently used URLs (based on "hits") .

Mauldin, U.S. Pat. No. 5,748,954, discloses a method of collecting files and addresses, ranking the addresses according to a popularity algorithm, and constructing a catalog of addresses.

Levy, U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,790, discloses a method for automatically switching to a selected language of a multilingual web site based on a user address.

None of the known prior art has provided a user- configurable directory site with as much user control, such as real time update of the directory by any registered user without restrictions, as the present invention.

A general object of the present invention is to provide a user directory site that assimilates user contributions, ranks user contributions by voting on directory links submitted by users as well as other methods of registering user expressions that could determine a link' s popularity, such as the number of users visiting the links, etc., and rewards users based on the popularity of their contributions and whether their rating of other links, expressed through voting, matches the popularity of those links with other users. Another general object of the invention is to allow users to set up affiliate sites (affiliate directories) , which are their own private portal sites, either accessible or inaccessible to the public. Link content of these affiliate sites may also be the subject of voting and ranking as on the main directory site.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is practiced in a method and system which combines: submission of network links (URLs) or other electronic addresses, creation of categories, subcategories, and affiliate sites by users, and user voting on submitted network links or electronic addresses, as well as site configuration determined by user voting and other methods of registering user expression. The computer network links are network objects addressable by URL or similar address system. Examples of network links are URL addresses of web sites, graphic files and web pages and other web objects addressable on the Internet. The invention further provides for determination of category and subcategory organization of network links or other electronic addresses in response to user ratings and evaluation of user evaluations based on the consensus of the evaluations. Still further, the users receiving the highest rankings for contributions and evaluations may receive payments. The invention further provides for the creation of affiliate sites (affiliate directories) , which mirror operation of the main site, or provide a subset of the basic site, according to user interests. Link content of these sites, called "affiliate sites or affiliate directories" can also be evaluated and ranked as it is on the main site. The system of the present invention generates automatic, real time, user-relevant content, and provides sorting and dynamic user-generated structure, which are unique advantages compared to any other computer network directory. The system design is flexible and reacts to user behavior within the directory. The system does not use preset methods of content organization, and operates without editorial intervention; rather it automatically creates its own dynamic structure. Directory content such as links, categories and affiliate sites are displayed in the order of the highest expressed interest by the majority of users. Users can reassign links to different categories and categories can be deleted, renamed or relocated by users.

In one method of the invention, a user accesses the web site of the invention and enters at least one category and enters at least one website link under that category. The site software assigns a preliminary rank to the submitted link and the submitted link appears on a page of the site. The category is also assigned a rank based on the rank of the link. The site software presents the user with an opportunity to vote on each link, as often as one vote per day. The site software continually updates the ranking of the web links and the categories and subcategories in which they are listed based on user votes or other measures of user opinion. The site software also ranks the users based on the user perceived popularity of their contributions including links, categories and affiliate sites, as well as the consensus value of their votes.

As a result each link, category, subcategory and affiliate site is ranked and is later immediately updated based on quality and quantity of votes or other measures of user opinion. Links, categories, subcategories and affiliate sites change locations within the directory according to their rank.

The method and system of the present invention provides the following advantages and benefits:

1. Web site content is continuously updated in real time as users make any contribution, for example URL submissions or voting on sites or categories, or visiting or even just logging into the sites. In addition, certain site housekeeping updates occur in the background at a reasonable refresh rate that will not impair the performance of the database-hosting computer, for example once every 60 minutes.

2. Web content is ranked and sorted by category. A higher rank means more users perceive this site to be a quality, useful site and to be relevant to the category topic.

3. As the number of users accessing each category increases, the relevance and usefulness of the information displayed at the top of the list increases. This produces high quality, high refresh rate content that reduces wasted time trying to locate quality, relevant information.

4. The user's activities are also evaluated and ranked. A user who consistently submits URLs, categories and affiliate sites that attain a high ranking is also ranked high. In addition, a user whose votes match the votes of a majority or a plurality of other users will receive a higher ranking.

5. The user earns income when he is ranked among the top users of the system (by submitting popular links, categories and affiliate sites and by voting for popular links and against unpopular links) .

6. Site content and user ranking creates user interest in a contest as users compete for rank and money.

7. There is no practical limit on the number of categories and links that can be submitted and ranked with this system.

8. The site may be multilingual and multinational.

Other objects and advantages of the invention, besides those discussed above, will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the description of the preferred embodiments which follow. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which illustrate examples of the invention. Such examples, however, are not exhaustive of the various embodiments of the invention, and therefore, reference is made to the claims, which follow the description, for determining the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a computer network organization, and in particular shows a server providing a site on the World Wide Web (Internet) according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Figs. 2 - 14 are screen displays seen on a user's computer in Fig. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to Fig. 1, the system of the present invention includes a server computer 10 which is capable of hosting a web site on the World Wide Web of networks (also known as the Internet) and running Sun Solaris,

Windows NT, Linux or another compatible operating system 11. In addition to a stand-alone web site 10, the invention can be hosted in a larger operation with other web sites, as is well known in the art. Firewalls and other security measures of a type known in the art may be incorporated in the web site 10, but are not shown.

Also shown in Fig. 1 are three user computers 14, 15 and 16, which connect to the server 10 through the Internet 13 represented as a group of connected nodes. The user computers 14, 15, 16, connect to the Internet through modems 20, 21 or 22, or other suitable Internet connections of a type known in the art. The user computers 14, 15 or 16 use well known browser software such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Explorer. The server 14 runs a web Server application for communicating with the user computers 14, 15 and 16.

The web server application program 12 manages application requests, and transmits requested information to the user computers 14, 15 and 16. The web server application program 12 enables the server 10 to keep track of which user is associated with each specific information request, and ensures that the information is properly transmitted.

The server 10 also manages a database 17, stored in a memory storage device of suitable capacity. The database is managed by a database management program, such as MY SQL or Oracle. In a MY SQL application, the application is configured and characterized by scripts written in PERL to define the database organization and execute database management functions . The MY SQL application also includes certain utility routines. The basic architecture provides a collection of web pages, which are called up and transmitted to users accessing the site. According to the present invention, the database stores Internet addresses of web sites or web site pages or other items of web site content such as photos, single files or articles — anything than can be separately addressed. Many systems are limited to addressing "root URL's," which often correspond to the home page on a specific web site. These addresses are referred to as web links or URL's. A web link appears in a web page and when it is selected the URL is effectively loaded and executed to access the URL address.

The invention is first embodied in a web site known by its URL, which is "022.com." As will become apparent, the organization of the 022.com site can be replicated within the site in the form of affiliate sites (affiliate directories), and can also be set up in mirror sites or sites that are accessed with URL's other than "022.com."

Fig. 2 illustrates the home page of the 022.com site at a specific point in time. As will be explained below, the general layout of this page including sections 27, 28, 29 and 30, respectively, devoted to categories, top links, news and top affiliates will remain the same, but the individual categories 31, top links 32, news 33 and top affiliates 34 will change nearly continuously based on user activity to be described. Clicking on the "022.com" logo 25 will bring the user back to the home page. Below the logo 25 on the home page are a string of links 26 to other pages, which appear on many of the pages in addition to the home page and which are defined as follows:

New User - a page with data entry boxes for a new user to register and request a password to be returned by e-mail.

Log In/Log Out - a page with data entry boxes for entering user name and password (for logging in) or for logging out.

My 022 - a page with information concerning the user's submitted links, votes and other account information.

Add Link - a page for submitting a web link (URL) , which will become a part of the 022.com site directory.

Add Category - a page for adding categories 31 and subcategories for groups of web links in a web link hierarchical classification system

New Affiliate - a page for adding web links 32 and other information for creating affiliate sites 34.

Top Users - a page at which at least certain highly- ranked users can view information regarding their usage of the 022.com site and how their usage compares with other users.

Help - a page at which explanations are provided to the user regarding various operations and features of the web site.

An additional page which may be accessible upon selection of an additional Cash Out link (not shown) positioned among links 26 is a page for checking the amount of payment to be made to users who contribute the most popular links, categories and/or affiliates and whose votes or evaluations of links and categories are most consistent with other users' votes or evaluations.

At startup, the web site 10 displays a start up set of categories. As soon as user activity commences, a preselected number of links 32, subcategories 36, categories 31 and affiliate sites are ranked according to their rank in descending order. The result of this process is a user-driven directory with categories, subcategories, links and affiliate sites. The system uses statistical formulas or their approximations to calculate ranks in real time.

Links are displayed in the category or the subcategory in which they were submitted. The top twenty rated links on the site 31 are displayed on the home page according to the rank in descending order.

A list of up to the top 12 categories 27 is displayed on the home page of the 022.com site (Fig. 2) or a home page of an affiliate site. The top twelve rated categories 31 are displayed on the home page (Fig. 2) according to the rank in descending order.

Subcategories 36 are displayed on the home page of the 022™ site (Fig. 2) or a front page of an affiliate site under a corresponding category 31. There are a limited number of characters per subcategory that are displayed under a category on the front page (30 - 40 characters per 3 subcategories) . Typically, up to 3 top subcategories are listed under each category. Other categories and subcategories are accessible through links to other pages. Any user can register with the system by going to the link "New User." This will call up in a web page (Fig. 3) data boxes 37, 38 for the user to enter a user name and an e-mail address. This is transmitted when a send or register button is selected and executed with a mouse click or equivalent keystroke. A user password will be transmitted to the e-mail address. This is a widely used type of registration method.

Any registered user can then select the "log in" link to go to the log in page (Fig. 4) . By entering a user name and password in two data boxes 39, 40 and clicking on the "log in" button 41, the user will be logged in and allowed full access to the system to enter links and vote on links. Voting is accomplished by selecting an up arrow 42 ("yes") or a down arrow

43 ("no") , pairs of arrows being shown next to the top links in Fig. 2, or from a voting window 56 as shown in Fig. 6. The voting window opens when a logged in user selects (clicks with the mouse) a title of any link.

The user can select the "add category" link to receive and display an "add category" page seen in Fig. 5. Links can be added to existing categories or to new categories submitted by the user. Fig. 5 shows a data box 44 and a button 45 for entering a title to the highest-level category shown on the home page. The user can also select an existing category by selecting a category through a drop down list box 46.

Fig. 6 shows an exemplary screen provided to a user who has selected the shopping category, and then a sub- ategory of auctions, and submitted the category "coins," and then submitted a link "eBayListings : Coins : US. " This link has achieved over time a rating of 94.26%. As shown in Fig. 7, the category of coins has achieved a rank of 25.96%.

Fig. 8 shows the screen display or web page that is displayed when the "add link" link (from links 26) is selected and executed. This page includes data boxes 47, 48, 49 for selecting an existing category in which a new link is to be included, displaying the selected category, and specifying a URL for the new link, respectively. If no appropriate category exists, a new category may be created by the user. The data is then transmitted by selecting and executing the "Submit Link" button 50. In certain embodiments, upon submission of the information in data boxes 47-49, an additional web page appears with additional fields for specifying additional information regarding the new link, such as descriptive information. Once all necessary information has been provided, the new link is displayed. An exemplary result is shown in Fig. 9, where an "eBay Listings :Coins :US" link 51 is now included in the category "coins." It has achieved a rank of 94.26%.

Returning to Fig. 2, under top affiliate sites 30 is a site 34 entitled "Vault World Wide." If this link 34 is clicked on, a page as seen in Fig. 10 is transmitted and displayed on one of the user computers 14, 15 and 16. This page has categories, links, and the right hand side of the page has user-contributed news content and links.

An affiliate site is created by executing the link "new affiliate" on the home page (Fig. 2) , which causes display of a page as seen in Fig. 11. This page is primarily a data input form (called a template) with data entry boxes 52 for setting up an affiliate site. The additional HTML box 53 allows entry of HTML codes that produce the photos, text blocks and links on the right hand half of the affiliate home page seen in Fig. 10 above.

Each user has an account, which is accessed by executing the link "My 022." An example of an account page is seen in Fig. 12, showing the submitted category "Pole Vaulting," the submitted link "VaultWorld, " and the submitted affiliate site "Vault World Wide." If respective edit link 54 is clicked (executed) , the link, category or affiliate site can be edited. If a respective delete link 55 is clicked (executed) the link, category or affiliate site can be deleted.

A user can also execute the link "Top Users" in the string of links 26 to call up display of a "Top User

Statistic" page (Fig. 13) , which is a listing of the top ranked users who periodically receive cash awards based on their accumulated points.

The present invention can be employed using a variety of different computer networks, not merely those involving of Internet and Intranet. Further, the transmissions of information between the server computer and user computers in the computer network can vary in their formats, such that "addressable pages" can refer to information in the variety of format other then web pages. The present invention also can be employed in one or more web sites and web pages, including those of affiliate sites, in a variety of languages besides English. Fig. 14 shows an exemplary web page in the Russian language.

Registered users can submit any link (except identical URLs in the same (sub) category) to the system, whereas in the prior art, often only root links with root URLs could be submitted without allowing duplicate entries. During the submission of the link, the user determines the category or subcategory to which the link will be submitted. The user has the option to create a new category or subcategory, or submit a link to an existing category or subcategory.

Upon submission, the link is assigned a rank based on statistical formulas with the top ranked category of links ("Nutrition" in Fig. 2) being given a relative ranking of 100% (meaning that the category has the highest ranked content on the main site, where a 50% rank means that the category' s content has half the rank value of the top category on the site) . Other categories then receive a fraction of 100%, which is a measure of statistical comparison to the top ranked category. Early on, when a link has received only a few votes its accurate rank cannot be determined and it will have a low percentage rank, because a statistical average of a few votes will have a large standard deviation. As the number of votes given for a link increases, the reflection of users opinion can be determined more accurately. The system accounts for up to 30 latest votes given for a link to keep the rank current.

Upon the creation of a new category, which could be a subcategory of a higher-level category, the category is assigned a rank based on ranks of subcategories and links in that category.

Users can vote directly on the user' s perceived value of the links in the system. Their vote immediately affects the ranks of the links, which in turn immediately affects the ranks of the categories and subcategories containing the links. The links, categories and subcategories are displayed immediately on the site according to their newly calculated ranks. That is, the ranking calculations and the resulting adjustments in the display of information are performed in real time.

Although one embodiment of the present invention ranks links, categories, subcategories and affiliates based upon user votes, other measures of user opinion can also be employed in addition to, or instead of, user votes. For example, ranking can be based also upon the number of user visits to, or user time spent at, different links, categories, subcategories, and affiliates. Because voting and other measures of user opinion are used to determine rank, the rankings are determined without editorial intervention.

Overall User Ranking — A user ranking is based on an evaluation of four parameters: link submission ability, category creation ability, affiliate site (directory) creation ability, and voting ability. By default, users are sorted and displayed by the ranking utility/program according to their weekly Total Rank (TR) in descending order, as shown in Fig. 13. Users also can be sorted by a link rank component, a category rank component, an affiliate rank component, a voting rank component, Pt . Forecast, and Pts. YTD (points accumulated year to date) (Fig.13). A given user's voting influence on the system is weighted based on the voting rank component defined below. A user with a higher voting rank component will impact the ranks of links, categories and affiliate sites with his votes more than a user with a lower voting rank component. The following describes certain formulas that can be employed to determined Total Rank and other criteria, however in alternate embodiments other formulas and relationships can be applied.

A. Total Rank (TR)

The system monitors user activities and calculates each user's Total Rank in real time. Each calculation of the Total Rank corresponds to the user's ranking within a particular web site, the main directory or an affiliate directory. That is, a user will typically have a different ranking with respect to the 022.com web site than with respect to affiliate sites of the 022.com web site.

Specifically, the formula for the Total Rank calculation is:

TR =AVRJLR*Kl+AVR_CR*K2+AVR_AR*K3+SUM_dVT*K4 ( 1)

In equation (1) , AVR_LR is the modified average rank of user links, AVR_CR is the modified average rank of user categories on the site, and AVR_AR is the modified average rank of user affiliate sites on the site. The AVR_LR and AVR_CR values are specific for a particular user on a particular web site. The AVR_AR value only exists with respect to the user on the 022.com web site, since affiliate sites do not in turn have their own affiliate sites (creation of an affiliate site of an affiliate site is restricted feature in this embodiment) . SUM_dVT is the sum of the last 50 user "delta votes"

(dVTs) on the web site. Votes made in the context of the 022.com site are tallied separately from votes made in the context of separate affiliate sites. Kl, K2, K3, K4 are coefficients; in one embodiment, Kl, K2, K3, and K4 are set to 15000, 10000, 10000 and 350, respectively. AVR__LR*K1 is a link rank component of the Total Rank of a user, which is indicative of the popularity of the links submitted by the user. Likewise AVR_CR*K2 and AVR_AR*K3, respectively, are category rank and affiliate rank components which are indicative of the popularity of the categories and affiliates submitted by the user. SUM_dVT*K4 is a voting rank component of the Total Rank, which is indicative of how closely the user votes match of those of majority of other users.

More specifically, AVR_LR equals the sum of the particular user's Link Ranks (defined below) corresponding to each of the links that the user has contributed, divided by the sum of the number of links the user has contributed plus 5, as follows:

∑ER,- AVR_LR = ^ (2) m + 5

The value of AVR_LR is between 0 and 1, where 0 represents 0% and 1 represents 100%. Equation (2) is a modified average formula, so those users who have not submitted many links cannot have a very high rank, based on those few links alone. For example, a user who only submitted five links can only at best obtain AVR__LR value of 50%, even if each of the user links has a rank of the 100%.

AVR_CR equals the sum of the particular user's Category Ranks (defined below) , divided by the sum of the number of categories the user has contributed plus 3, as follows :

∑ Rs

AVR CR = ^ (3) m + 3 The value of AVR_CR also is between 0 and 1, where 0 represents 0% and 1 represents 100%. In this case, the sum of the category ranks is divided by the number of categories plus 3, rather then 5, because it is assumed that users will typically submit fewer categories then links .

AVR_AR equals the sum of the particular user' s Affiliate Site Ranks (defined below) corresponding to each of the affiliate sites that the user has contribu- ted, divided by the sum of the number of affiliate sites the user has contributed plus 1, as follows:

The value of AVR_LR is between 0 and 1, where 0 represents 0% and 1 represents 100%.

The dVT values are calculated differently for positive votes (votes in favor of a link) and for negative votes (votes against a link) . For positive votes, dVT equals the current Link Rank (LR) minus the Link Rank at the time of the vote. For negative votes, dVT equals the Link Rank at the time of the vote minus the current Link Rank. That is:

Where,

dVT - delta vote rank

LR - rank of a link at the moment of a calculation

LRo - rank of a link at the moment of a vote The value of a dVT value is between 0 and 1, where 0 represents 0% and 1 represents 100%. Each dVT calculation provides an indication of how accurately the user was able to predict a trend in terms of the popularity of a link. For example if the user voted "yes" for a link which subsequently became more popular (achieved a higher rank), then the calculated dVT would be positive. This would cause an increase in the users total rank.

Additionally, the SUM_dVT value is equal to the sum of the last 50 dVTs of the User, such that the value of SUM dVT is between 0 and 50:

SUM _dVT = ∑dVTι (6)

where m=50. In alternate embodiments, the number of dVTs that are summed to generate SUM_dVT can be different than 50.

B. Link Rank (LR)

The Link Rank is calculated based on the ratio of the last 30 positive and negative votes given for a link by any of the users who are using the system, where the votes are weighted according to the respective users' Voting Rank components. (SUM_dVT*K4)

Specifically, Link Rank equals the sum of the Weighted "Yes" votes, divided by the sum of Weighted "Yes" and Weighted "No" votes plus one.

∑URw_yesι (∑ (URw_yesi) + T (URw_noj) + 1) ' where the total number of "Yes" and "No" votes (m+n) is 30. The value of the Link Rank is between 0 and 1, where 0 represent 0% and 1 represents 100%.

Further with respect to equation (7), each of the respective URw_yes values is a weighted vote value corresponding to a respective yes vote by a particular user, while each of the respective URw_no values is a weighted vote value corresponding to a respective no vote by a particular user. Each weighted vote value URw, both in the case of a weighted vote value for a yes vote

(URw_yes) and in the case of a weighted vote value for a no vote (URw_no) , is equal to a Voting Rank component for the particular user (SUM_dVT*K4) , divided by the Voting Rank component of the user having the highest Voting Rank component (SUM_dVT*K4_top) . That is:

_rrD SUM dVT*K4

URw = = , 8

SUM_dVT*K4_tςp

Each URw value is between 0 and 1, where 0 represent 0% and 1 represents 100%.

C. Category (or Subcategory) Rank (CR)

The category rank is calculated as a sum of modified average top 20 link ranks in the category, modified average of top 12 subcategory ranks and modified average of top 4 affiliate site ranks in the category (value is more than or equals 0) .

∑SCRi ∑ARi ∑LRi =p

CR = ^≡ ^■ + - - + ι

(9) m + 3 n+l p +4

Where,

CR - category rank LR - link ranks of top 20 links in the category

SCR - subcategory ranks of top 12 subcategories in the category

AR - affiliate sites rank of top 4 affiliate sites in the category

m - number of top subcategories in the category m<=12

n - number of top affiliate site in the category n<=4

p - number of top links in the category p<=20

D. Affiliate Site (directory) Rank (AR)

The affiliate site rank is calculated as a sum of modified average top 20 link ranks in the affiliate sites and modified average of top 12 category ranks in the affiliate site (value is more than or equals 0) .

∑CRi ∑LRi _{R =} 1≡_ + __ ₍₁₀) m +3 p +4

Where,

AR - affiliate site rank

LR - link ranks of top 20 links in the affiliate site

CR - category ranks of top 12 categories in the affiliate site

m - number of top categories in the affiliate site m<=12

p - number of top links in the affiliate site p<=20

E. Display of "Total Rank" (Fig.13.) The system (the application scripts 18) Fig.l. calculates the highest weekly Total Rank for each user by capturing the highest value of the Total Rank for each user during a week, and displays these values as shown in (Fig. 13) in "Total Rank" column. During a given week the system displays the highest Total Rank which each user attained during that week, and maintains that value even when user Total Rank decreases from it's high point. Users are ranked (1, 2, 3, 4... , n) according to the value in the "Total Rank" column. At the end of the week on

Sunday evening at midnight users given points according to their ranking position on the site at that time ("Pt. Forecast" Fig.13). Value in the "Pt. Forecast" at that time is added to the value in "Pt. YTD" (year to date) and the displayed weekly Total Rank is reset to the current Total Rank of the user. For example, a user may have rank of 1000 points on Monday and Tuesday, then 2000 points on Wednesday and finally 500 points on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In this case the value in the "Total Rank" column on Monday and Tuesday would show 1000 points. On Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday it will show 2000 points, and on Monday morning at midnight it will be reset to 500 points. However, the final value used in the calculation of the weekly rank position will be 2000 points.

F. Pt. Forecast and Pt . YTD (Year to Date

The system (the application scripts 18) calculates Pt . Forecast for users according to the bonus schedule proposed by system administrators. Typically, a bonus is directly related to the user position in the Top User

List according to the "Total Rank." (Fig.13) The system can use bonus points to grant monetary awards, prizes, etc. Pt. YTD is a sum of weekly Total Ranks for each user. The Pt. YTD is calculated by adding weekly Total Rank at the end of each week to existing Pt. YTD.

Affiliate sites (affiliate directories) are displayed in the category or the subcategory in which they were registered. The top four affiliate sites are displayed in the category or subcategory front page according to rank in descending order. Other affiliate sites in the category or subcategory are accessible by using site utilities.

Affiliate sites have the same features as a main 022.com site; however in this example the ability to create affiliate sites of affiliate sites is restricted for commercial purposes. Users can customize their affiliate sites during the affiliate site registration process illustrated in Fig. 10. Affiliate sites are created based on templates provided by system administrators. Users can submit URLs and vote on the links in affiliate sites with or without restrictions established during registration of the affiliate sites by an affiliate site owner-administrator. This enables fraternal organizations, churches, companies, families, or other entities to create and control access and content on their affiliate site. The ranking on all affiliate sites is independent from the main site and other affiliate sites.

This has been a description of the preferred embodiments of the method and apparatus of the present invention. Those of ordinary skill in this art will recognize that modifications might be made while still coming within the spirit and scope of the invention and, therefore, to define the scope of the various embodiments of the invention, the following claims are made:

Claims

CLAIMSWe claim:

1. A method of providing a directory that includes at least one of an electronic address, a category and an affiliate directory at a computer network site accessible through a computer network, the method characterized by:

providing an input screen for receiving an input submitted by a user, the input including at least one of an electronic address, a category, and an affiliate directory;

adding the input to at least one of a directory, a category and an affiliate directory;

arranging the input from the user according to a representation of user opinion, characterized in that the input is at least one of an electronic address, a category and an affiliate directory; and

displaying the input on at least one additional screen in a hierarchy based on the representation of user opinion when the input is at least one of an electronic address, a category and an affiliate directory.

2. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the computer network is the Internet, the electronic address is a web link, the computer network site is a web site, and the input screen and the at least one additional screen are web pages.

3. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the computer network is at least one of an intranet and a wireless computer network.

4. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the representation of user opinion includes at least one of votes provided by users, user visits to electronic addresses, categories and affiliate directories, and times spent by users in visiting electronic addresses, categories and affiliate directories.

5. The method of claim 1, further characterized by ranking the user based on the input submitted by the user.

6. The method of claim 5, further characterized by enabling a vote from the user on a selected electronic address in the directory.

7. The method of claim 6, further characterized by ranking the user based on the vote of the user in addition to the input submitted by the user.

8. The method of claim 7, characterized in that the arranging of the input, the displaying of the input, and the ranking occur in real time and without editorial intervention.

9. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the input includes both an electronic address and a category for the electronic address.

10. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the input can only be added to the directory into an existing category if that input has not already been previously added to the existing category.

11. The method of claim 1, further characterized by ranking categories based on the votes of users for electronic addresses in the categories.

12. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the at least one additional screen displaying the input is updated in real time as changes in the representation of user opinion occur and, in addition, at a refresh rate of at least once per hour.

13. The methods of claims 1, 5, 6 or 7 characterized in that a user rank is determined on at least one of a daily basis and a weekly basis by capturing a highest real time Total Rank value of the user during the respective time period, and characterized in that users are awarded payment based upon the user.

14. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the category is a subcategory of another category.

15. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the input is an affiliate directory, the affiliate directory includes an electronic address that can be added to a category, and the affiliate directory lists at least one of an additional category, an additional electronic address and an additional affiliate.

16. A computer system for operation on a computer network server computer having an operating system, the computer system characterized by:

a first computer program module operable with the operating system for communicating addressable pages over the computer network to users and for receiving data uploaded from users; and

a second computer program module operable with the operating system for storing network links submitted by users in a database;

characterized in that said second computer program module sorts the network links in a directory for display to users on at least one addressable page, characterized in that the directory has electronic addresses, categories, subcategories and affiliate directories selected and organized according to a representation of user opinion.

17. The computer system of claim 16, characterized in that the representation of user opinion includes at least one of votes provided by users, user visits to the network links, user visits to the categories and subcategories, user visits to affiliate directories, and times spent by users in visiting any of the network links, categories, subcategories, and affiliate sites; and characterized in that at least one addressable page is a home page that includes network links, categories, subcategories and affiliate directories arranged in a hierarchical order determined based on the representation of user opinion.

18. The computer system of claim 16, characterized in that said second computer program module calculates in real time a ranking of a user based on at least one of votes submitted by the user, visits to a network link submitted by the user, visits to a category submitted by the user, and visits to an affiliate site created by the user; and characterized in that said second computer program module, in cooperation with the first computer program module, transmits a web page to the user to display said user ranking.

19. The computer system of claim 16, characterized in that said second computer program module in cooperation with the first computer program module transmits a web page to the user and enables a vote from the user on a selected network link in the directory.

20. The computer system of claim 16, characterized in that said second computer program module in cooperation with the first computer program module transmits a web page to a user for submission of a category for a network link submitted by the user; and thereafter receives the submitted category for the link before the link is submitted by the user.

21. The computer system of claim 16, characterized in that said second computer program module calculates a rank of the categories based on the votes of users for network links in the categories and in cooperation with the first computer program module transmits a web page to the user and displays the categories in an order determined according to said rank.

22. The computer system of claim 16, characterized in that said second computer program module in cooperation with the first computer program module sorts the directory in real time in response to user input and voting, and in addition at a refresh rate of at least once per hour, and transmits the results in at least one web page to be viewed by the user.

23. The computer systems of claims 18 and 22, characterized in that the user ranking is determined on at least one of a daily basis and a weekly basis, and characterized in that said web page with user ranking further shows an indication of users for receiving monetary awards .

24. A method for providing a directory of web links at a web site accessible through the Internet, the method characterized by:

providing a web page for receiving web links submitted by users;

adding the web links to the directory in a category or subcategory selected by the user;

selecting and arranging categories and subcategories according to votes from users; and

displaying the categories and subcategories on at least one page in a hierarchy based on votes from users.