Method and system for managing electronic mail

• US 8,918,472 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2012
• Issued: 12/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: DellaFera, Ciaran A., Rojahn, Tom O.
• Primary Examiner(s): TAYLOR, NICHOLAS R
• Application Number:
  US13/562,392
• Publication Number:
  US 20120297000A1
• Time in Patent Office: 875 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/202, 709/203
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

A method and system for managing email between a sender and a recipient wherein the method and system provide the recipient with control over routing an email message, wherein the control includes predefining directions to be performed upon the receipt of an email message, and wherein the directions are dependent upon the properties of the email message. The recipient may enable or disable the control at any time.

Claims

1. A method for managing email by an email system, the method comprising the following steps:

receiving, from a recipient user having an email account on the email system, a set of predefined instructions regarding second chance processing of a received email, wherein the received set of predefined instructions comprise at least a first condition and a first response associated with the first condition, wherein the first condition is at least one of the following conditions;

(i) the recipient user'"'"'s email address is in a predetermined one of at least two possible addressee fields of the email communication;

(ii) the recipient user is a sole receiver of the email communication; and

(iii) the received email contains a predetermined keyword, and further wherein the first response is second chance processing of the received email;

receiving, at an email server of the email system, a received email; and

processing the received email using the second chance processing only if the first received email meets the first condition;

wherein the processing step includes the following sub-steps;

querying a sender of the first received email regarding retraction of the first received email;

receiving a query response from the sender in response to the query, wherein the response comprises information from the sender regarding whether to retract the received email; and

retraction-related processing comprising one of the following two types of processing;

(i) retracting the first received email if the information from the sender indicates that the sender has chosen retraction;

or (ii) not retracting the first received email if the information from the sender indicates that the sender has not chosen retraction.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein retracting the first received email means putting the first received email in a deleted emails box of an emailbox associated with the recipient user'"'"'s email account on the email system.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein retracting the first received email means removing the first received email entirely from an emailbox associated with the recipient user'"'"'s email account on the email system.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

subsequent to the second chance processing step, deactivating, by the recipient user, the second chance processing at the option of the recipient user so that the second chance processing step is not performed for received emails that are received subsequent to performance of the deactivating step.

5. An email system for use by a recipient user, the system comprising an email server computer that comprises:

an activation module structured to receive, from a recipient user having an email account, a set of predefined instructions regarding second chance processing of a received email, wherein the received set of predefined instructions comprise at least a first condition and a first response associated with the first condition, wherein the first condition is at least one of the following conditions;

(i) the recipient user'"'"'s email address is in a predetermined one of at least two possible addressee fields of the email communication;

(ii) the recipient user is a sole receiver of the email communication; and

(iii) the received email contains a predetermined keyword, and further wherein the first response is second chance processing of the received email;

a receiving module structured to receive an email; and

a received-email processing module structured to process the first received email using the second chance processing only if the first received email meets the first condition;

wherein the received-email processing module is further structured to;

query, over the communication network, a sender of the first received email regarding retraction of the first received email;

receive, over the communication network, a query response from the sender in response to the query, wherein the response comprises information from the sender regarding whether to retract the received email; and

perform retraction-related processing;

(i) retracting the first received email if the information from the sender indicates that the sender has chosen retraction;

or (ii) not retracting the first received email if the information from the sender indicates that the sender has not chosen retraction.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the received-email processing module retracts the first received email by putting the first received email in a deleted emails box of an emailbox associated with the recipient user'"'"'s email account on the email system.

7. The system of claim 5 wherein the received-email processing module retracts the first received email by removing the first received email entirely from an emailbox associated with the recipient user'"'"'s email account on the email system.

8. The system of claim 5 wherein the activation module is further structured to allow the first recipient user to deactivate the second chance processing at the option of the recipient user so that the received-email processing module does not perform the second chance processing for received emails that are received subsequent to deactivation of the second chance function by the recipient user.

9. Email software, stored on non-transient storage means and for performance by an email server computer, the email software being for use by a recipient user, the email software comprising:

a setting instruction set programmed to receive, from a recipient user having an email account on the email system, a set of predefined instructions regarding second chance processing of a received email, wherein the received set of predefined instructions comprise at least a first condition and a first response associated with the first condition, wherein the first condition is at least one of the following conditions;

(i) the recipient user'"'"'s email address is in a predetermined one of at least two possible addressee fields of the email communication;

(ii) the recipient user is a sole receiver of the email communication; and

(iii) the received email contains a predetermined keyword, and further wherein the first response is second chance processing of the received email;

a receiving instruction set programmed to receive a received email; and

a received-email processing instruction set programmed to process the received email using the second chance processing only if the first received email meets the first condition;

wherein the received-email processing instruction set is further programmed to;

query, over the communication network, a sender of the first received email regarding retraction of the first received email;

receive, over the communication network, a query response from the sender in response to the query, wherein the response comprises information from the sender regarding whether to retract the received email; and

perform retraction-related processing comprising one of the following two types of processing;

(i) retracting the first received email if the information from the sender indicates that the sender has chosen retraction;

or (ii) not retracting the first received email if the information from the sender indicates that the sender has not chosen retraction.

10. The software of claim 9 wherein the received-email processing instruction set retracts the first received email by putting the first received email in a deleted emails box of an emailbox associated with the recipient user'"'"'s email account on the email system.

11. The software of claim 9 wherein the received-email processing instruction set retracts the first received email by removing the first received email entirely from an emailbox associated with the recipient user'"'"'s email account on the email system.

12. The software of claim 9 wherein the activation instruction set is further programmed to allow the first recipient user to deactivate the second chance processing at the option of the recipient user so that the received-email processing instruction set does not perform the second chance processing for received emails that are received subsequent to deactivation of the second chance function by the recipient user.