An invention is provided for affording thread priority control in a distributed computer system. At least one task is executed on a server, where each task includes a task identifier and a priority value. In addition, a change priority message, which includes priority value and a task identifier, is received over a network. In response, the priority value of a specific task having the same task identifier as the task identifier of the change priority message is set equal to the priority value of the change priority message. As a result, the specific task is executed at a priority level relative to the priority value of the specific task.