System and method to determine the presence status of a registered user on a network

A presence status determination system to determine a presence status of a first user registered in a network and to communicate this presence status to a second user, who would like to make contact with the first user, comprising:

• a presence status determination device having a processor, the presence status determination device communicatively connectable to an input device for receipt of a determined first presence status component;
• a contact person registration device communicatively connected to the presence status determination device, the contact person registration device having a processor, the contract person registration device configured to register an identity of the second user via an identity capturing mechanism;
• a relationship determination device having a processor, the relationship determination device communicatively connectable to the contact person registration device to receive the identity of the second user from the contact person registration device, the relationship determination device configured to determine a second presence status component based on a determined social proximity between the first user and the second user, the relationship determination device communicatively connected to at least one data store stored in non-transitory memory, the social proximity being determined by the relationship determination device for determining the second presence status component such that a conditional probability p(s|X) for a given social proximity s is determined for determining the second presence status component by utilizing a formula:
• p(s|X)=p(s) p(x1|s) p(x2|s) . . . p(xn|s),
• where p(x|s) is determined by use of cases in training data in which social proximity s is given and by determining a proportion in which a value of x in relation to other values of the social proximity s is valid;
• the presence status determination device configured to determine a presence status of the first user based on the first presence status component the second presence status for sending the presence status to a device associated with the second user to communicate the presence status of the first user to the second user so the second user can be aware of the presence status of the first user before the second user attempts a communication with the first user such that the second user can avoid interrupting the first user when the presence status indicates the first user does not want to be interrupted by the second user.

A non-transitory computer readable medium having a program stored thereon, the program defining a method that is performed by a communication apparatus when the program is run by a processor of the communication apparatus, the method comprising:

• in response to receiving an identity of a second user from a contact person registration device, a second presence status component that considers social proximity between a first user and the second user, the social proximity being determined for a second presence status component such that a conditional probability p(s|X) for a given social proximity s is determined for determining the second presence status component by utilizing a formula:
• p(s|X)=p(s) p(x1|s) p(x2|s) . . . p(xn|s),
• where p(x|s) is determined by use of cases in training data in which social proximity s is given and by a proportion in which a value of x in relation to other values of the social proximity s is valid;
• sending the second presence status component to a presence status determination device so that a presence status of the first user is determinable based on a first presence status component and the second presence status component for sending the presence status to a device associated with the second user to communicate the presence status of the first user to the second user so the second user can be aware of the presence status of the first user before the second user attempts a communication with the first user such that the second user can avoid interrupting the first user when the presence status indicates the first user does not want to be interrupted by the second user.