Presence and geographic location notification based on a delegation model

摘要

A user of an instant messaging system may store names of other users of the instant messaging system on a participant list (which may be referred to as a “buddy list”), and the names may be categorized into one or more groups. Similarly, a user of a mobile device, such as a mobile telephone, may store contact information about people on the mobile device. Information describing the on-line presence of the user within the instant messaging system or geographic location of a mobile device, such as a mobile telephone associated with the user system, may be disseminated to users on the participant list or people on the contact list based on notification information that is associated with groups of users or contacts. A delegation model is used to control whether a user is permitted to make modifications to the notification information.