pat no 5 657 446 entitled u201c local area communications server u201d the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference a phone hub 4 is connected to the lan 2 with one or more telephones 5 connected to the hub typically a large plurality of telephones desktop pcs etc are connected to the lan 2 via multiple hubs e g phone hub 4 and other data hubs etc although the simplified representation of fig1 shows only a single phone hub and telephone connected thereto 0011 fig2 shows a representative telephone set 5 having multiple line appearances indicated by illuminating line appearance buttons 6 a handset 7 key pad 8 function keys 9 message waiting lamps 10 and individual line appearance displays 11 the layout of the telephone may be different from that shown in fig2 likewise enhanced features such as function keys 9 displays 11 etc are optional a single message lamp 10 may be used with different flash cadences or colors to identify different users indeed it is contemplated that the phone 5 may be implemented via an ip phone application on a personal computer with appropriate graphical user interfaces for implementing the various features 0012 fig3 shows various software agents which reside in one or both of the telephony server 1 and or phone hub 4 agents 12 13 and 14 represent individual users and contain user profiles and other executable code for defining individual allowed classes of service message access functionality speed call preferences and other personalized telephony services the agents are able to access personalized messages via a centralized messaging system as well as perform other proxy functions on behalf of.