BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The subject matter that is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGS. 1A-1D are a series of diagrams illustrating the progression of an electronic message with multiple recipients according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates a system for practicing one or more embodiments of the present invention.
The detailed description explains the preferred embodiments of the invention, together with advantages and features, by way of example with reference to the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS
Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and system for enabling recipients to unsubscribe from an email thread, in which case, the email will not be delivered into the recipient's box, and therefore will not be utilizing any of the recipient's inbox space. The email server will hold the email, where the recipient can access it if they choose. Also, other recipients who choose to reply-to-all will be notified of recipients who have unsubscribed, and will be able to then send the email to the unsubscribed recipient if they are a required viewer.
With the present invention when a recipient unsubscribes from an on-going email thread that is not of interest, the recipient's email server continues to monitor for any incoming mail on the thread (attributes are the email subject and the email parties) and holds the email. The recipient is presented with optional graphical, textual, and/or audio indicators informing them that there is email on this thread being held and is available for delivery for their review. In addition, when a recipient unsubscribes from an email thread, an indication is sent to the servers of the other parties of the email thread. The indication is not presented to the other parties unless they attempt to reply to this thread and include an unsubscribed recipient. When a replier is informed of the unsubscribed recipient, they can choose to override the un-subscription if they feel that the unsubscribed panty is flow a required reviewer of this pair of the email thread. If the current replier/sender chooses to override the un-subscription, the override is only good for this one email in the thread, and the un-subscription will still be in place for the remainder of the thread.
FIGS. 1A-1D illustrates the progression of an electronic message with multiple recipients according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1A a sender 100 sends a message 102 with a subject of “Machine Problems” to five recipients (A, B, C, D, E) 104, 106, 108, 110, 112. Subsequently, in FIG. 1B recipient E 112 unsubscribes from the thread 116 with the “Machine Problem” subject matter. In response to recipient E 112, the server handling recipient E's messages 118 will filter for messages with the “Machine Problem” subject matter, as well as sender 100 and recipients 104, 106, 108, 110, and 112. In addition, recipient E's server 118 sends notification to the message servers of the other parties on the message thread of the unsubscribed status of recipient E 112. Recipient C 108 will receive the unsubscribed status of recipient E 112 since recipient C 108 sent a reply to all message 114 to all the original parties of the “Machine Problem” thread 102.
In FIG. 1C recipient A 104 sends a reply to all 120, and in response recipient A 104 is notified by recipient A's server 122 that recipient E 112 has unsubscribed from the message thread. Recipient A 104 is given the option to override recipient E's un-subscription, but in this case chooses not to override. Recipient A's response 124 is sent to the original sender 100, as well as recipients B, C, and D (106, 108, 110). However, with regards to recipient E 112 the message sent by recipient A 104 is held in recipient E's message server 118 that places a notification in E's message box that there are downloads available.
In FIG. 1D recipient B 106 sends a reply to all 128 with a specific question for recipient E 112, and in response recipient B 106 is notified by recipient B's server 130 that recipient E 112 has unsubscribed from the message thread. Recipient B 106 is given the option to override recipient E's un-subscription, and in this case chooses to override it. Recipient B's response 132 is sent to the original sender 100, as well as recipients A, C, and D (104, 108, 110). However, with regards to recipient E 112 the message sent by recipient B 106 is handled in one of three ways. In case 1, the message from recipient B 106 is sent by recipient E's message server 118 directly to recipient E's inbox as if they never unsubscribed from the message thread. In case 2, the message sent by recipient B 106 is held in recipient E's message server 118, which places a notification in E's message box that recipient B 106 has requested that their particular message be read by recipient E 112. In case 3, recipient E's message server 118 informs recipient E 112 that recipient B 106 has requested to override the un-subscription, and provides recipient E 112 with the option to accept or reject the override. If recipient E 112 rejects recipient B's override, the response message 128 is held in recipient E's message server 118, and recipient B 106 will be informed that recipient E 112 rejected their request to override. If recipient E 112 accepts recipient B's override, the message sent by recipient B 106 is delivered to the recipient E's inbox.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for implementing the message management of the present invention and graphically illustrates how those blocks interact in operation. The system includes one or more computing/communication devices 2 coupled to one or more servers 4 via a network 6. Each computing/communication device 2 may be implemented using a general-purpose computer executing a computer program for carrying out the processes described herein. The computing/communication devices 2 may also be, but are not limited to, portable computing devices, wireless devices, personal digital assistants (PDA), cellular devices, etc. The computer program may be resident on a storage medium local to the computing/communication devices 2, or maybe stored on the server system 4. The server system 4 may belong to a public service provider, or to an individual business entity or private party. The network 6 may be any type of known network including a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), global network (e.g., Internet), intranet, wireless or cellular network, etc. The computing/communication devices 2 may be coupled to the server system 4 through multiple networks (e.g., intranet and Internet) so that not all computing/communication devices 2 are coupled to the server system 4 via the same network. In a preferred embodiment, the network 6 is a LAN and each computing/communication device 2 executes a user interface application (e.g., web browser) to contact the server system 4 through the network 6. Alternatively, a computing/communication device 2 may be implemented using a device programmed primarily for accessing network 6 such as a remote client. A display means 3 is provided for the user to interact with the message management program.
The flow diagrams depicted herein are just examples. There may be many variations to these diagrams or the steps (or operations) described therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. For instance, the steps may be performed in a differing order, or steps may be added, deleted or modified. All of these variations are considered a part of the claimed invention.
While the preferred embodiments to the invention has been described, it will be understood that those skilled in the art, both now and in the future, may make various improvements and enhancements which fall within the scope of the claims which follow. These claims should be construed to maintain the proper protection for the invention first described.
Patent Application
20080098071
