Electronic mail distribution via a network of computer controlled display terminals with interactive display interfaces enabling senders/receivers to view sequences of only text from sequences of E-Mail having same headers

• US 7,266,584 B2
• Filed: 06/19/2003
• Issued: 09/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Shieh, Johnny Meng-Han, Mullen, Shawn Patrick, Tesauro, James Stanley
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky; Moustafa M.
• Application Number:
  US10/464,896
• Publication Number:
  US 20040260772A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,538 Days
• Field of Search: 709200-207, 709217-227
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages

Abstract

A display interface at a sending/receiving display terminal including the conventional implementations for reading and sending E-Mail with an implementation for organizing the text content of a chronological sequence of E-Mail documents having the same subject identifier or header. There is designated a subject identifier of one received electronic mail as a message text sequencer and there is an implementation at a receiving display station for enabling the display of a chronological sequence of the text of said received message and the text of all subsequent messages having said designated subject identifier. The designation of the identifier may automatically designate a subject identifier as a message text sequencer based upon user predetermined attributes. Such an implementation for automatically designating may include the combination of means for counting the number of messages having the same subject identifier within a predetermined period in combination with means for automatically designating the same subject identifier when said counted number reaches a predetermined value. In its simplest application, the predetermined value may be two, e.g. even two consecutive messages.

Claims

1. In a communication or network with user access via a plurality of data processor controlled interactive display stations and with a system for displaying documents transmitted to receiving display stations from locations remote from said stations, an electronic mail distribution system comprising:

means for transmitting electronic mail messages to said receiving display stations;

means for including a subject identifier in each transmitted message;

means at said receiving display stations for displaying a list of the subject identifiers or received electronic mail messages;

means for designating a subject identifier of one received electronic mail as a message text sequencer including;

means for counting the number of messages having the same subject identifier within a predetermined period, wherein said means for designating automatically designates said same subject identifier when said counted number reaches a predetermined value; and

means at said receiving display station for enabling the display of a chronological sequence or the text of said received message and the text of all subsequent messages having said designated subject identifier.

2. The electronic mail distribution system of claim 1 wherein said means for designating enable a user to interactively designate an identifier as a message text sequencer.

3. The electronic mail distribution system of claim 1 wherein said predetermined value is two.

4. The electronic mail distribution system of claim 3 wherein said predetermined value within said predetermined period is two consecutive messages.

5. The electronic mail distribution system of claim further including means for listing said message text sequencer in said list of subject identifiers as the subject identifier for said chronological sequence of text.

6. In a communication network with user access via a plurality of data processor controlled interactive display stations and with a method for displaying documents transmitted to receiving display stations from locations remote from said stations, an electronic mail distribution method comprising:

transmitting electronic mail messages to said receiving display stations;

including a subject identifier in each transmitted message;

displaying a list of the subject identifiers of received electronic mail messages at said receiving display stations;

designating a subject identifier of one received electronic mail as a message text sequencer including the step of;

counting the number of messages having the same subject identifier within a predetermined period; and

automatically designating said same subject identifier when said counted number reaches a predetermined value; and

enabling the display of a chronological sequence of the text or said received message and the text of all subsequent messages having said designated subject identifier at said receiving display station.

7. The electronic mail distribution method of claim 6 wherein in said designating step, a user is enabled to interactively designate an identifier as a message text sequencer.

8. The electronic mail distribution method of claim 6 wherein said predetermined value is two.

9. The electronic mail distribution method of claim 8 wherein said predetermined value within said predetermined period is two consecutive messages.

10. The electronic mail distribution method of claim 6 further including the step of listing said message text sequencer in said list of subject identifiers as the subject identifier for said chronological sequence of text.

11. A computer program having code recorded on a computer readable medium for electronic mail distribution in a communication network with user access via a plurality of data processor controlled interactive display stations and with a system for displaying documents transmitted to receiving display stations from locations remote from said stations, said program comprising:

means for transmitting electronic mail messages to said receiving display stations;

means for including a subject identifier in each transmitted message;

means at said receiving display stations for displaying a list of the subject identifiers of received electronic mail messages;

means for designating a subject identifier of one received electronic mail as a message text sequencer including;

means for counting the number or messages having the same subject identifier within a predetermined period, wherein said means for designating automatically designates said same subject identifier when said counted number reaches a predetermined value; and

means at said receiving display station for enabling the display of a chronological sequence of the text of said received message and the text of all subsequent messages having said designated subject identifier.

12. The computer program of claim 11 wherein said means for designating enable a user to interactively designate an identifier as a message text sequencer.

13. The computer program of claim 11 wherein said predetermined value is two.

14. The computer program of claim 13 wherein said predetermined value within said predetermined period is two consecutive messages.

15. The computer program of claim 11 further including means for listing said message text sequencer in said list of subject identifiers as the subject identifier for said chronological sequence of text.

16. In a communication network with user access via a plurality of data processor controlled interactive display stations and with a system for displaying documents transmitted to receiving display stations from locations remote from said stations, an electronic mail distribution system comprising:

apparatus for transmitting electronic mail messages to said receiving display stations;

an implementation for including a subject identifier in each transmitted message;

a receiving display station for displaying a list of the subject identifiers of received electronic mail messages;

an implementation for designating a subject identifier of one received electronic mail as a message text sequencer including;

apparatus for counting the number of messages having the same subject identifier within a predetermined period, wherein said implementation for designating automatically designates said same subject identifier when said counted number reaches a predetermined value; and

apparatus at said receiving display station for enabling the display of a chronological sequence of the text of said received message and the text or all subsequent messages having said designated subject identifier.

17. The electronic mail distribution system of claim 16 wherein said implementation for designating enables a user to interactively designate an identifier as a message text sequencer.

18. The electronic mail distribution system of claim 16 wherein said predetermined value is two.

19. The electronic mail distribution system of claim 18 wherein said predetermined value within said predetermined period is two consecutive messages.

20. The electronic mail distribution system of claim 16 further including an implementation for listing said message text sequencer in said list of subject identifiers as the subject identifier for said chronological sequence of text.