Automatic Non-Junk Message List Inclusion

• US 20100064011A1
• Filed: 09/05/2008
• Published: 03/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Shahine, Omar
• Granted Patent: US 8,380,793 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

Method to effectively include a transaction electronic mail (e-mail) message to a non-junk mail list of an email account of a user. The method includes interacting with the user to start to complete a business transaction at a transaction web site of a party. A confirmation step is defined to be a second to last step in a plurality of transaction steps to complete the business transaction. A request associated with the defined confirmation step is provided to the user and the request includes adding a transaction e-mail address to the non-junk mail list. The e-mail account is further received from the user, and properties of the received e-mail account are identified. The method further interacts with the user to log-in to the received e-mail account and interacts with the user to include the transaction e-mail address to the non-junk mail list of the e-mail account of the user.

Claims

1. A method to effectively include a transaction electronic mail (e-mail) message to a non-junk mail list of an email account of a user, said method comprising:

interacting with the user to start to complete a business transaction at a transaction web site of a party, said business transaction including a plurality of transaction steps;

defining a confirmation step being a step in the plurality of transaction steps to complete the business transaction;

providing a request associated with the defined confirmation step to the user, said request including adding a transaction e-mail address to the non-junk mail list, said transaction e-mail address being associated with the transaction e-mail message and including transaction information relating to the confirmation step, wherein said adding comprises;

receiving the e-mail account from the user;

identifying properties of the received e-mail account, said identified properties including log-in information of the received e-mail account;

interacting with the user to log-in to the received e-mail account; and

interacting with the user to include the transaction e-mail address to the non-junk mail list of the e-mail account of the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein adding further comprising generating a link directing the user to log-in to the e-mail account of the user, said generated link including at least the following information:

a domain of the e-mail address, an end point that processes the provided request and the e-mail account of the user.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a list of potential e-mail account providers to the user, and further comprising receiving a selection from the provided list from the user.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein interacting with the user to log-in comprises interacting with the user to log-in to the e-mail account in response to the received selection from the provided list, said interacting including automatically directing the user to a web site of the provider of the e-mail account from the transaction web site.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising suggesting additional e-mail addresses from the party in response to said adding.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a web feed to the user in response to said adding, said web feed including a list of address and descriptions thereof for the user to consider to be included in the non-junk mail list.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising directing the user back to the transaction web site as a last step to complete the business transaction, said last step indicating the confirmation step has completed and that the transaction e-mail address has been successfully included in the non-junk mail list of the user e-mail account.

8. A system to effectively include a transaction electronic mail (e-mail) message to a non-junk mail list of an email account of a user, said system comprising:

at least one e-mail provider server from an e-mail provider for providing the e-mail account of the user;

at least one transaction party server for interacting with the user to start to finish a business transaction at a transaction web site of a party, said business transaction including a transaction workflow having one or more steps therein;

wherein the at least one transaction party server defines a confirmation step being a second to last step in the workflow to finish the business transaction;

wherein the at least one transaction party server provides a request associated with the defined confirmation step, said request including adding a transaction e-mail address to the non-junk mail list, said transaction e-mail address being associated with the transaction e-mail message and including transaction information relating to the confirmation step, wherein said adding comprises;

receiving e-mail account information from the user, said received e-mail account information identifying the at least one e-mail provider server;

interacting with the user to log-in to the received e-mail account with the at least one e-mail provider server; and

interacting with the user to include the transaction e-mail address to the non-junk mail list of the e-mail account of the user.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one transaction party server further generates a link directing the user to log-in to the e-mail account of the user at the at least one e-mail provider server, said generated link including at least the following information:

a domain of the e-mail address, an end point associated with the at least one e-mail provider server that processes the provided request and the e-mail account of the user.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one transaction party server further provides a list of additional e-mail account providers to the user, and further comprising receiving a selection from the provided list from the user.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one transaction party server interacts with the user to log-in to the e-mail account in response to the received selection from the provided list, said interacting including automatically directing the user to a web site of the provider of the e-mail account from the transaction web site.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one transaction party server further suggests additional e-mail addresses from the party in response to said adding.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one transaction party server further provides a web feed to the user in response to said adding, said web feed including a list of address and descriptions thereof for the user to consider to be included in the non-junk mail list.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one e-mail provider server directs the user back to the transaction web site as a last step of the workflow to complete the business transaction, said last step indicating the confirmation step has completed and that the transaction e-mail address has been successfully included in the non-junk mail list of the user e-mail account, wherein the at least one e-mail provider server and the at least one transaction party server maintains a transaction status as a function of the transaction workflow.

15. A method to effectively include a transaction electronic mail (e-mail) message to a non-junk mail list of an email account of a user, said method comprising:

receiving a request from a party for adding a transaction e-mail address to the non-junk mail list of the e-mail account of the user, said party providing a transaction web site for interacting with the user to start to complete a business transaction at the transaction web site of the party, said business transaction including a transaction workflow having one or more steps therein, wherein the party defines a confirmation step being a second to last step in the workflow to complete the business transaction, wherein the received request is associated with the defined confirmation step, said transaction e-mail address being associated with the transaction e-mail message and including transaction information relating to the confirmation step, said request further includes an address of the transaction web site and the e-mail account of the user;

in response to the received request, providing the following information to the party;

a domain of the e-mail address, an end point associated processes the received request, and a log-in web site for the user to log-in to the e-mail account;

interacting with the user to log-in to the log-in web site; and

interacting with the user to include the transaction e-mail address to the non-junk mail list of the e-mail account of the user.

16. The method of claim 15, further receiving additional e-mail addresses from the party in response to the transaction e-mail address being included in the non-junk mail list of the e-mail account of the user.

17. The method of claim 15, further receiving a web feed from the party to the user in response to the transaction e-mail address being included in the non-junk mail list, said web feed including a list of address and descriptions thereof for the user to consider to be included in the non-junk mail list.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising maintaining a state of the transaction workflow as a function of the confirmation step.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising directing the user back to the transaction web site as a last step of the workflow to complete the business transaction as a function of the maintained state, said last step indicating the confirmation step has completed and that the transaction e-mail address has been successfully included in the non-junk mail list of the user e-mail account.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein providing the following information comprises providing the following information to the party in a uniform resource identifier pattern or a uniform resource locator pattern:

a domain of the e-mail address, an end point associated processes the received request, and a log-in web site for the user to log-in to the e-mail account.