CONDITIONAL DELIVERY OF ELECTRONIC MESSAGES
First Claim
1. A method of conditionally forwarding an electronic message, the method comprising:
- at an online service that provides internal addresses for users of the online service within a network domain of the online service;
receiving a first message addressed to a first internal address of a first user of the online service;
queueing the first message in a first queue, for conditional forwarding to a first external address by which the first user is known to the online service; and
after a first threshold period of time elapses since said queueing;
determining whether the first message was read by the first user within the online service; and
upon determining that the first message was not read by the first user within the online service, forwarding the first message to the first external address;
wherein the first external address is within a network domain other than the network domain of the online service.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system, apparatus, and methods are provided for conditionally forwarding electronic messages. Users of an online application or service are provided internal addresses (e.g., electronic mail addresses) within a domain (e.g., an Internet domain) of the application or service. When a message is received that is addressed to a user'"'"'s internal address, it is queued for conditional forwarding to an external address of the user (e.g., an electronic mail address in a domain other than the domain of the application or service). After a threshold period of time lapses, if the message was not read via the online system (e.g., via web or mobile client software) it is forwarded to the external address. If additional messages were received for the same conversation or thread, they may be forwarded at the same time. Messages may be forwarded in their original form; multiple messages may be forwarded in digest form.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of conditionally forwarding an electronic message, the method comprising:
at an online service that provides internal addresses for users of the online service within a network domain of the online service; receiving a first message addressed to a first internal address of a first user of the online service; queueing the first message in a first queue, for conditional forwarding to a first external address by which the first user is known to the online service; and after a first threshold period of time elapses since said queueing; determining whether the first message was read by the first user within the online service; and upon determining that the first message was not read by the first user within the online service, forwarding the first message to the first external address; wherein the first external address is within a network domain other than the network domain of the online service. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus, comprising:
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a processor; and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to; receive, at an online service that provides internal addresses for users of the online service within a network domain of the online service, a first message addressed to a first internal address of a first user of the online service; queue the first message in a first queue, for conditional forwarding to a first external address by which the first user is known to the online service; and after a first threshold period of time elapses since said queueing; determine whether the first message was read by the first user within the online service; and upon determining that the first message was not read by the first user within the online service, forward the first message to the first external address; wherein the first external address is within a network domain other than the network domain of the online service. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system, comprising:
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a message receipt module comprising a computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause the system to receive, at an online service that provides internal addresses for users of the online service within a network domain of the online service, a first message addressed to a first internal address of a first user of the online service; a message processing module comprising a computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause the system to; queue the first message in a first queue, for conditional forwarding to a first external address by which the first user is known to the online service; and after a first threshold period of time elapses since said queueing, determine whether the first message was read by the first user within the online service; wherein the first external address is within a network domain other than the network domain of the online service; and a message forwarding module comprising a computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause the system to, upon determining that the first message was not read by the first user within the online service, forward the first message to the first external address. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification