Server system supporting collaborative messaging based on electronic mail
First Claim
1. One or more computer-readable media having stored thereon a plurality of instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a computer, causes the one or more processors to perform acts including:
- receiving collaborative electronic mail messages targeting one or more recipients, each collaborative electronic mail message including a feedback portion in which the one or more recipients can each add comments;
indicating, to a computing device corresponding to one or more of the recipients, both the existence of the collaborative electronic mail messages and when the collaborative electronic mail messages are modified; and
identifying, to the computing device, that the source of each collaborative electronic mail message, as well as any modifications to the collaborative electronic mail message, is the author of the collaborative electronic mail message.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A collaborative electronic mail system is integrated into traditional electronic mail on the server end. The collaborative electronic mail allows users to have online discussions without the clutter of numerous related individual electronic mails in the inbox. The collaborative electronic mail system discussed herein describes the extensions used in the server infrastructure to distribute the collaborative electronic mail. Different embodiments support different server configurations, including configurations where copies of a collaborative electronic mail message are maintained at each server associated with a recipient or author of the collaborative electronic mail message, as well as configurations where a single copy of a collaborative electronic mail message is maintained at a centralized location.
-
Citations
48 Claims
-
1. One or more computer-readable media having stored thereon a plurality of instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a computer, causes the one or more processors to perform acts including:
-
receiving collaborative electronic mail messages targeting one or more recipients, each collaborative electronic mail message including a feedback portion in which the one or more recipients can each add comments;
indicating, to a computing device corresponding to one or more of the recipients, both the existence of the collaborative electronic mail messages and when the collaborative electronic mail messages are modified; and
identifying, to the computing device, that the source of each collaborative electronic mail message, as well as any modifications to the collaborative electronic mail message, is the author of the collaborative electronic mail message. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
-
-
6. A method comprising:
-
receiving a request for a new collaborative mail message including an identifier of a creator of the new collaborative mail message;
storing the content of the new collaborative mail message at an application server; and
sending a message to each of one or more recipients of the new collaborative mail message, wherein the message includes an identifier of the new collaborative mail message at the application server and wherein the message identifies the creator as the sender of the message. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
-
-
13. A system comprising:
-
an electronic mail server to receive a new collaborative mail message;
another electronic mail server communicatively coupled to the electronic mail server;
an application server, communicatively coupled to the electronic mail server, to store the content of the new collaborative mail message; and
wherein the electronic mail server is further to forward a message including an identifier of the content of the new collaborative mail message, as stored on the application server, to the other electronic mail server, and wherein the message identifies the creator of the new collaborative mail message as the sender of the message.
-
-
16. A method comprising:
-
receiving a collaborative electronic mail message request targeting one or more recipients;
storing the content of the collaborative electronic mail message locally; and
forwarding the content of the collaborative electronic mail message to one or more mail servers that each correspond to one or more of the one or more recipients.
-
-
22. An electronic mail server comprising:
-
a collaborative mail storage device to maintain the content of a plurality of collaborative mail messages;
a new request handler, coupled to the collaborative mail storage device, to s receive requests for new collaborative mail messages and store the content of the new collaborative mail messages in the collaborative mail storage device;
a reply request handler, coupled to the collaborative mail storage device, to receive replies to collaborative mail messages maintained in the collaborative mail storage device, and to modify the stored collaborative mail messages in accordance with the replies. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31)
-
-
27. A method comprising:
-
receiving a response to a collaborative electronic mail message targeting one or more recipients;
generating a new collaborative electronic mail message by modifying a stored copy of the collaborative electronic mail message; and
communicating the response to one or more mail servers that each correspond to one or more of the one or more recipients.
-
-
32. An electronic mail server comprising:
-
a collaborative electronic mail storage location to maintain the content of a plurality of collaborative electronic mail messages;
a reply request handler, coupled to the collaborative electronic mail storage location, to, receive a reply to a collaborative electronic mail message maintained in the collaborative electronic mail storage location, modify the stored collaborative electronic mail message in accordance with the reply, and communicate an indication of the modifications to the stored collaborative electronic mail message to one or more electronic mail servers that each correspond to a recipient of the collaborative electronic mail message. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48)
-
-
35. A method comprising:
-
receiving, at a mail server, a response to a collaborative electronic mail message;
entering the response as a tentative change to a copy of the collaborative electronic mail message stored at the mail server;
communicating the response to another mail server;
receiving a message from the other mail server of a modification to the collaborative electronic mail message, the modification being based on the response; and
making, in response to the message, the tentative change permanent.
-
-
39. A method comprising:
-
receiving a new collaborative electronic mail message request targeting one or more recipients;
indicating, to a computing device corresponding to one of the recipients, the existence of the new collaborative electronic mail message; and
identifying, to the computing device, that the source of the new collaborative electronic mail message is the author of the new collaborative electronic mail message.
-
-
45. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a data structure comprising:
-
a distribution list field that identifies the recipients of the collaborative electronic mail message;
a content field that includes all of the content of a collaborative electronic mail message, wherein replies to the collaborative electronic mail message alter the content in the content field;
an author field that identifies an author of the content in the content field.
-
Specification