A system and method for adaptive forums provides multiple communication
forums in a single instance of a web browser application that actively
adapts to conversations therein. In a preferred embodiment, a server
system acts as a master controller of a plurality of communication
forums. An agent running in the background on the server system monitors
the conversations of each forum. When the conversations of different
forums sufficiently converge, a temporary communication link is formed. A
communication link may be a two-way real-time interaction between users
of different forums or simply automated responses using messages stored
in a database and associated with the linked forum. Furthermore,
establishing the link may entail opening another communication forum on
the client computer or directing the messages to a currently open forum.
Once a user has connected to one forum controlled by the server system,
access to all the other forums controlled by the server system is
provided. Embodiments of the present invention provide increased
usability over conventional single forum communication, thereby providing
users with quick and efficient access to vast amounts of information.