1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: querying historical interaction records describing respective realtime network interactions between a user and other communicants in one or more virtual areas, wherein each of the one or more virtual areas is associated with one or more communication-defining attributes that define one or more modes of communication between communicants in the virtual area, and one or more respective social-context-defining attributes that define a social context for communicants in the virtual area, wherein the one or more respective social-context-defining attributes comprise a descriptive label that is presented to communicants and indicates an intended use of a particular one of the virtual areas by communicants in the particular virtual area; determining one or more relationship attribute values each characterizing a respective social network tie between the user and a particular one of the other communicants based on the one or more social-context-defining attributes respectively associated with each of the one or more virtual areas described in ones of the historical interaction records of the user's interactions in the one or more virtual areas, wherein the determining comprises deriving the one or more relationship attribute values based on the descriptive label; storing the one or more relationship attribute values in at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium; and managing one or more aspects of the user's interactions in the network communications environment based on the one or more relationship attribute values.