Method and apparatus for creating and accessing associative data structures under a shared model of categories, rules, triggers and data relationship permissions

Abstract

Taught is a way of adding predictability, organization, and reducing the confusion inherent in user interfaces to shared collections of data items accessible or modified by numbers of different users independently. A group of users can predefine categories of data items, relationships between data items, and rules governing the creation and modification of those relationships based on those categories. The predefined model includes interactive triggers presented to users in the context of certain data items or data item relationships. Those triggers cause new data items or data relationships to be entered or existing ones modified according to the group's pre-defined practices. User-based permissions can be attached not only to data items, but to relationships between data items. Accordingly, two or more users may view a first data item, yet each views a different set of other data items directly related to that first data item based on those relationship permissions.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.