Communal memory

According to an embodiment of the invention, a communal memory is disclosed. A communal memory is a shared memory between several participants over a network. The memory tracks the connectivity status of the participants. The state of each of the participants is shared with all of the other participants. Every participant tracks local connections, and compiles the connection data into an update. At a predetermined local interval, the update is transmitted to the other participants. This information can then be used to determine whether to accept network connections or for other purposes.