Patent Application
20090089381
Electronic mail (e-mail) has become one of the most used modern communication tools. An e-mail user has typically at least one e-mail account with an e-mail service provider (e.g., from a web-based source or from the user's employment) for sending and receiving electronic messages. The user also typically uses either a web browser to review e-mail messages from a web-based e-mail service provider or an e-mail client application installed on the user's computer for viewing e-mail messages.
With the popularity and convenience of e-mail, unwanted messages, such as SPAM, junk mail, or electronic advertisements, slowly but surely fill the user's e-mail inbox. As such, e-mail inboxes now include a mixture of e-mail messages. Some messages are from individuals listed in a user's contacts or address book. Others may be SPAM or unwanted messages. Furthermore, there are other e-mail messages from known sources that may or may not be welcome.
Current inbox implementations typically provide generic listings of e-mail messages that are received. For example, a user's inbox typically shows a list of messages sorted chronologically according to the time of arrival of the messages. The user may sort them by conversation (i.e., e-mail threads), sender, size, alphabetically by subject, etc. There may be other filters or mechanisms that may first filter out some e-mail messages before delivering the remaining messages to the user's inbox. Once in the inbox, however, the user usually spends time to identify unwanted messages and delete them before reading the desirable or legitimate messages intended for the user. They typically scan the sender names and subjects, looking for unwanted or unrecognized items. They are many times confused by the legitimicay of some of the e-mails, especially the ones with “re” in the title that look like they come from someone they know. This usually requires them to open the mail before learning it is offensive or unwanted. The user may also occasionally need to review messages in other folders that include filtered message, such as the folder that is designed for temporarily saved SPAM messages. This precautionary, but nevertheless necessary, action is needed to ensure that legitimate messages that may be erroneously identified as SPAM are read before they are automatically deleted by the SPAM folder. The user continues to spend more time on removing or identifying unwanted messages in the inbox.
Embodiments of the invention improve user experiences in using e-mail inboxes by providing a convenient way for the user to differentiate between safe e-mails (such as e-mail messages from contacts or known sources) and unknown mail by placing them in two separate or distinguished places in the inbox. Aspects of the invention place messages from unknown or suspicious senders in a pending section or area of the inbox while messages from safe senders are delivered in a separate or exclusive section or area of the inbox. Hence, embodiments of the invention do not further re-direct messages away from user's inbox; aspects of the invention maintain the messages in the inbox but in different sections or areas for easy recognition. Alternative embodiments of the invention enable the users to receive notifications if there are new e-mail messages in the pending section and enable the users to specify if the messages in the pending section are safe, unsafe, subject for deletion, subject for moving/archiving to another folder, or no actions needed. The messages from safe senders may then be moved to the separate or exclusive section of the inbox while messages from unsafe senders in the pending section may be treated as junk e-mail messages. Alternative aspects of the invention may keep the messages in the pending section if the users wish to ignore the pending section and dedicate their time to read only e-mail from safe list or from their contacts in the exclusive section. In this way, users would feel more in control over their inbox and reduce the feeling that bad mail or lower priority mail (like newsletters) are blocking them from getting to their good e-mail messages.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Other features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
Embodiments of the invention simplify the user's experience in one's messages' inbox by differentiating messages in one's box and allowing the user to have an opportunity to read messages from safe and known senders before having to scan through messages from unknown and potentially dangerous senders. Referring now to
In one embodiment, the memory area 104 may be volatile or nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media, may be any available medium that may be accessed by a computer or a collection of computers (not shown). By way of example and not limitation, computer readable media include computer storage media. The computer storage media in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. For example, computer storage media include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used to store the desired information and that may be accessed by the computer.
In one embodiment, the system 100 provides an interface 110 for interacting with the user 102. For example, the interface 110 may include a web site or a web portal where the user 102 may visit via a web browser software (not shown). In one aspect of the invention, the system 100 may be a web e-mail system which may include one or more other computers and database servers for receiving, storing, and sending e-mail messages on behalf of one or more users. For example and as appreciated by those known in the art, a web-based e-mail system 100 may include the user 102 having an account with the system 100 and the system 100, based on a set of user usage rules, assigns an amount of storage area for the user 102 in the memory area 106 for storing e-mail messages, data associated with the user's contact list, or the like. The processor 104 may execute computer-executable instructions or software or applications to perform operations received according to interactions from the user 102 via the interface 110. For example, the user 102 may compose an e-mail message from the interface 110 by entering the text or content of the message. It is to be understood that other operations may be provided by the processor 104 to the user 102 without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the invention.
Referring now to
The set of e-mail operations 208 includes one or more actions that a user can act on an e-mail message. For example, the set includes controls or actions, such as NEW E-MAIL, DELETE, REPLY, REPLY ALL, JUNK, PRINT, FORWARD, CHECK MAIL, EXCLUSIVE, MARK AS SAFE, STANDARD, MARK AS UNSAFE, or the like. Other actions or operations may be included without departing from the scope of the invention. The display screen 200 further includes a content area 212 where one or more e-mail messages are listed.
According to one aspect of the invention, the content area 212 of the display 200 includes an exclusive control or button 214 for enabling a pending section 216 and an exclusive section 218 of the content area 212 of the inbox. Upon activating or enabling of the exclusive feature of the e-mail inbox, the display 200 renders the pending section 216 and the exclusive section 218. The pending section 216 displays one or more messages that have inbox status data 220 associated with each one of the messages accordingly. In one example, the inbox status data 220 may indicate one or more following information about each of the messages in the pending section 216: safe preference, unsafe preference, or a deletion preference. Embodiments of the invention also enable the user to mark the message as safe/unsafe, to delete it, or to move it to the safe area of the inbox. If they choose to move it to the safe area of the inbox, aspects of the invention offer the option of moving just this one mail or all mails from this sender that are in the pending area (or maybe just future ones from this sender, but not all past ones). In other words, decisions about both the sender and mails from the sender are made through the marking of the messages according to the safe/unsafe, delete or move operations.
For example, the safe preference indicates that the user 102 wishes to define a particular e-mail message as an acceptable or legitimate e-mail message that the user 102 wishes to receive and does not wish to make additional determination as the valid. In a further example, e-mail messages that are safe may be messages from friends, relatives, or acquaintances of the user 102. Also, as another illustration, the user 102 may define an “unsafe” inbox status as being unwanted, such as junk e-mail or SPAM. The deletion preference may indicate that the user 102 wishes to delete the message without reading it. Similarly, the user 102 may elect to enable a “MARK AS SAFE” control or button 226 to mark a message “SAFE” in the pending section 216 after the user 102 highlights or selects the message. Likewise, the user 102 may elect to enable a “MARK AS UNSAFE” control or button 228 to mark a message “UNSAFE” in the pending section 216 after the user 102 highlights or selects the message. In an alternative embodiment, the user 102 may modify the inbox status data 220 by interacting (e.g., via an input device of the system accessible by the user 102) with the portion of the message under the column section of “SAFE,” “UNSAFE,” or “DEL.”
The exclusive section 218 of the content area 212 includes a header that shows information in different columns, such as FROM, SUBJECT, and DATE. Other column headings may be included without departing from the scope of the invention. In one embodiment, all messages in the exclusive section 218 indicate the inbox status data 220 as “SAFE” or “CONTACT.”
Initially, the user 102 receives all messages, and all messages are displayed in the content area 212 of the inbox. Upon activation of the EXCLUSIVE control 214, the processor 104 specifies the pending section 216 and the exclusive section 218 and separates or distinguishes the messages into two groups. The first set in the pending section 216 includes messages that have unknown inbox status data. In one example, the unknown inbox status data may be defined as an e-mail message source not included in a contact list of the user or an e-mail message source not included in a safe list defined by the user. Other definition or criterion may be established for the unknown inbox status data without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the invention. For example, UNKNOWN status may also indicate reputations of senders of the message.
On the other hand, the exclusive section 218 of the inbox of the display 200 includes messages with known inbox status data. For example, the known inbox status data may be defined to include at least one of the following statuses: a safe status and a contact status. Alternative, just because the user may not have specifically marked a particular message as “SAFE” or “CONTACT,” embodiments may nevertheless mark messages as SAFE or CONTACT if messages from a particulars have been received continuously without any adverse reaction from the user. As such, the user 102 is able to have all e-mail messages delivered to inbox while some of them being separated, distinguished, or divided into a different section of the inbox such that the user 102 has an opportunity to decide further how to define or classify the messages. In a further aspect of the invention, the user 102 may modify the inbox status data 220 of the messages in the pending section 216 and the processor 104 may move the messages with the modified inbox status data to the exclusive section 218 or other folders. For example, as illustrated in
As such, embodiments of the invention enable the user 102 to have enhanced user experience in controlling how the e-mail messages are received and organized in the inbox and enabling the user to set viewing preferences based on the inbox status data. The user 102 can then quickly focus on the legitimate or “good” messages by quickly viewing the messages in the exclusive section 218 of the inbox. In an alternative embodiment, the user 102 may completely ignore the messages in the pending section 216 and the messages in the pending section 216 may be automatically removed or deleted after a predetermined time period by the processor 104.
In one embodiment, the exclusive button 214 is further divided to three separation buttons with three states.
When the user chooses “standard” state 214-2, the users are indicating the users want the filter set to a standard level where mails from suspicious senders and senders with mixed reputations will end up in a pending area or a first section of the inbox and mails from senders who are on the contact list, on the safe list, messages from people the user has sent multiple messages to but haven't added to the safe list, or messages from senders considered as having a good reputation from company where one works end up in the safe or exclusive area or a second section of the inbox. When the user chooses Exclusive state 214-3, then the users are indicating that the users wish to have the highest level of filtering. Only messages from safe senders and contacts end up in the safe area or the second section of the inbox as well as people the user has sent messages to multiple times but has not added to the contact list. Good reputation senders, however, are sent to the pending area or the first section. If the user has set the filter setting at the exclusive state 214-3, for example, embodiments of the invention enable all messages will be delivered according to the exclusive state 214-3 until further changes are made by the user.
On the other hand, if during one of the user's online sessions, the user changes the filter to standard state 214-2 or low state 214-1, the messages from the different types of senders would move into the appropriate area (such as messages from good reputation would move from the pending area or the first section to the safe area or the second section of the Inbox according to a change from the exclusive state 214-3 to the standard state 214-2). Furthermore, embodiments of the invention set the filter with the standard state 214-2 setting until further changes.
Referring now to
At 310, an exclusive section of the inbox is specified. The exclusive section includes the remaining set of the one or more messages, and the remaining set of the messages indicates a known status. In a further alternative embodiment, a second determination is made to identify whether an instruction is received from the user to modify the inbox status data of the messages in the pending section 216 at 312. If the determination is negative, the process ends at 314. On the other hand, if the determination is positive, a third determination is made to identify whether the modification to the inbox status data is equal to “SAFE” status at 316. If the determination is positive, the processor 104 or the system 100 modifies the inbox status data of the identified message and moves the message from the pending section 216 to the exclusive section 218 at 318. If the third determination is negative, the messages may be moved to a junk mail folder or be deleted based on an “UNSAFE” status or a “DELETED” status.
In operation, the processor 104 executes computer-executable instructions such as those illustrated in the figures to implement aspects of the invention.
The order of execution or performance of the operations in embodiments of the invention illustrated and described herein is not essential, unless otherwise specified. That is, the operations may be performed in any order, unless otherwise specified, and embodiments of the invention may include additional or fewer operations than those disclosed herein. For example, it is contemplated that executing or performing a particular operation before, contemporaneously with, or after another operation is within the scope of aspects of the invention.
Embodiments of the invention may be implemented with computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions may be organized into one or more computer-executable components or modules. Aspects of the invention may be implemented with any number and organization of such components or modules. For example, aspects of the invention are not limited to the specific computer-executable instructions or the specific components or modules illustrated in the figures and described herein. Other embodiments of the invention may include different computer-executable instructions or components having more or less functionality than illustrated and described herein.
When introducing elements of aspects of the invention or the embodiments thereof, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
Having described aspects of the invention in detail, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of aspects of the invention as defined in the appended claims. As various changes could be made in the above constructions, products, and methods without departing from the scope of aspects of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
