Mail list exceptions

• US 20060143276A1
• Filed: 12/29/2004
• Published: 06/29/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Piersol, Kurt, Phillips, Daja
• Granted Patent: US 8,271,589 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

A method and apparatus for sending messages to a list of members of a group with exceptions to one or more members of the group. In one embodiment, the method comprising creating an electronic mail (email) message having an email address corresponding to a group of email addresses and including a specification of one or more email addresses of the group that is not to be sent the email message, without knowledge of addresses of all members of the group, and sending the email message for delivery to a mail host for the group address.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

creating an electronic mail (email) message having an email address corresponding to a group of email addresses and including a specification of one or more email addresses of the group that is not to be sent the email message, without knowledge of addresses of all members of the group;

sending the email message for delivery to a mail host for the group address.

2. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising receiving an error message if at least one of the one or more addresses is not in the group of email addresses.

3. The method defined in claim 1 wherein creating the email message comprises adding a sequence of characters and the one or more addresses that are not to receive the email message after the domain name of the email address.

4. The method defined in claim 3 further comprising:

determining whether the sequence of characters appears in the email address;

obtaining a mail server address using the domain name; and

delivering the email address with the one or more addresses to the mail server.

5. An article of manufacture having one or more recordable media storing instructions thereon which, when executed by a system, cause the system to perform a method comprising:

creating an electronic mail (email) message having an email address corresponding to a group of email addresses and including a specification of one or more email addresses of the group that is not to be sent the email message, without knowledge of addresses of all members of the group;

sending the email message for delivery to a mail host for the group address.

6. The article of manufacture defined in claim 5 wherein the method further comprises receiving an error message if at least one of the one or more addresses is not in the group of email addresses.

7. The article of manufacture defined in claim 5 wherein creating the email message comprises adding a sequence of characters and the one or more addresses that are not to receive the email message after the domain name of the email address.

8. The article of manufacture defined in claim 7 wherein the method further comprises:

determining whether the sequence of characters appears in the email address;

obtaining a mail server address using the domain name; and

delivering the email address with the one or more addresses to the mail server.

9. A method comprising:

receiving an electronic mail (email) message having an email address corresponding to a group of email addresses and including a specification of one or more email addresses of the group that is not to be sent the email message, without knowledge of addresses of all members of the group; and

forwarding the email message to all email addresses in the group except the one or more email addresses if the one or more addresses are in the group of email addresses.

10. The method defined in claim 9 further comprising sending an error message if at least one of the one or more addresses is not in the group of email addresses.

11. The method defined in claim 9 wherein the email message includes a sequence of characters and the one or more addresses that are not to receive the email message, the sequence of characters and the one or more addresses that are not to receive the email message appearing after the domain name in the email address.

12. The method defined in claim 11 further comprising:

determining whether the sequence of characters appears in the email address;

if the sequence of characters appears in the email address, then

obtaining the one or more addresses from the email address;

determining whether the one or more addresses are in the group of email addresses; and

creating a temporary list of one or more email addresses that are to receive the email message and sending the email message to email addresses in the temporary list if the one or more addresses are in the group of email addresses.

13. The method defined in claim 12 further comprising sending an error message if at least one of the one or more addresses is not in the group of email addresses.

14. An article of manufacture having one or more recordable media storing instructions thereon which, when executed by a system, cause the system to perform a method comprising:

receiving an electronic mail (email) message having an email address corresponding to a group of email addresses and including a specification of one or more email addresses of the group that is not to be sent the email message, without knowledge of addresses of all members of the group;

forwarding the email message to all email addresses in the group except the one or more email addresses if the one or more addresses are in the group of email addresses.

15. The article of manufacture defined in claim 14 wherein the method further comprises sending an error message if at least one of the one or more addresses is not in the group of email addresses.

16. The article of manufacture defined in claim 14 wherein the email message includes a sequence of characters and the one or more addresses that are not to receive the email message, the sequence of characters and the one or more addresses that are not to receive the email message appearing after the domain name in the email address.

17. The article of manufacture defined in claim 16 wherein the method further comprises:

determining whether the sequence of characters appears in the email address;

if the sequence of characters appears in the email address, then

obtaining the one or more addresses from the email address;

determining whether the one or more addresses are in the group of email addresses; and

creating a temporary list of one or more email addresses that are to receive the email message and sending the email message to email addresses in the temporary list if the one or more addresses are in the group of email addresses.

18. The article of manufacture defined in claim 17 wherein the method further comprises sending an error message if at least one of the one or more addresses is not in the group of email addresses.