Method and apparatus for automatic conversion of electronic mail to an internet web site
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for automatic conversion of electronic mail to a site on a global telecommunications network, comprising the steps of:
- providing a portal where a global telecommunications network user can post and modify material on said portal using their existing email client;
said user sending electronic mail to said portal;
reading said electronic mail with a handler;
said handler determining if said electronic mail is a valid request to post;
if so, processing said electronic mail in request process logic;
creating one or more uniform resource locators for said electronic mail, said uniform resource locators defining a site address on said global telecommunications network;
said user optionally attaching one or more files to said electronic mail, which files are linked to said posted material;
optionally verifying said user to ensure that said post is a valid post;
storing information about said user and said post in a database;
processing said information;
formatting said electronic mail for hyper text markup language viewing on a site that is accessed at said site address;
said portal hosting said site; and
optionally sending an email to said user indicating that said electronic mail is now a page at said site, and that said page is ready for viewing.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
a hosted Web portal where all Internet users, regardless of skill, can easily post and modify material on the Web using their existing email clients. Various tools are available for very simple authentication and site management that will ensure some degree of security and administration. For example, changing content and replacing content are provided. Hyperlinks, HTML, and embedded JPEG images in the body of the email or as attachments are supported.
105 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A method for automatic conversion of electronic mail to a site on a global telecommunications network, comprising the steps of:
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providing a portal where a global telecommunications network user can post and modify material on said portal using their existing email client;
said user sending electronic mail to said portal;
reading said electronic mail with a handler;
said handler determining if said electronic mail is a valid request to post;
if so, processing said electronic mail in request process logic;
creating one or more uniform resource locators for said electronic mail, said uniform resource locators defining a site address on said global telecommunications network;
said user optionally attaching one or more files to said electronic mail, which files are linked to said posted material;
optionally verifying said user to ensure that said post is a valid post;
storing information about said user and said post in a database;
processing said information;
formatting said electronic mail for hyper text markup language viewing on a site that is accessed at said site address;
said portal hosting said site; and
optionally sending an email to said user indicating that said electronic mail is now a page at said site, and that said page is ready for viewing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for automatic conversion of electronic mail to a site on a global telecommunications network, comprising the steps of:
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visiting a site directly to register via a registration process;
alternatively creating said site directly;
transferring said site into an electronic mail client which is either of a client that is hosted on a user'"'"'s computer and a network based electronic mail client;
said user optionally attaching one or more files to said electronic mail;
said user sending said electronic mail to said portal;
said portal routing said electronic mail to a handler and processing a request;
if a command is not recognized, then said request is routed to a rejection process handler;
if said command is recognized, then said request is routed to a verify user process. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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15. An apparatus for automatic conversion of electronic mail to a site on a global telecommunications network, comprising:
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an electronic mail handling process for handling electronic mail-based requests from global telecommunications network users, for sending electronic mail to users to ask for verification of their electronic mail address, and for providing information about a status of a user request;
wherein both outbound and inbound electronic mail handling is provided;
a request process for providing post, replace, delete, and verify functions;
said request process performing uniform resource locator creation, applying updating or inserting rules for same subject and user post, performing verification of user and process state of post, and applying rules for formatting a site page from electronic mail;
a data storage process by which posted information posted is stored in a database, wherein said database schema includes user information, user posts, and logs; and
a site hosting process for dynamic page creation, database interaction, user session data manipulation, page caching, and email delivery.
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24. A method for automatic conversion of electronic mail to a site on a global telecommunications network, comprising the steps of:
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providing a portal where a global telecommunications network user can post and modify material on said portal using their existing email client;
creating one or more uniform resource locators for said electronic mail, said uniform resource locators defining a site address on said global telecommunications network; and
formatting said electronic mail for hyper text markup language viewing on a site that is accessed at said site address.
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31. An apparatus for automatic conversion of electronic mail to a site on a global telecommunications network, comprising:
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an electronic mail handling process for handling electronic mail-based requests from global telecommunications network users;
a request process for performing uniform resource locator creation, and applying rules for formatting a site page from electronic mail; and
a site hosting process for dynamic page creation, and user session data manipulation. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification