| 摘要 |
This invention relates to a data message management system 10 and to methods of operating such a system. Data messages, such as e-mail and short message system (SMS) messages have become ubiquitous, but are difficult to manage and the currently un-administered nature of such messages has the effect of swamping instead of facilitating communication. The system 10 of this invention manages data messages 12 exchanged between normally un-connected message clients 14, 16 and includes a plurality of message originating clients 14 and at least one message handling server 26 that have been programmed for participation in the system. The addressee clients 16 need not necessarily be participants in the system. Each message originating client 14 is programmed with an outgoing message management program including a message routing program and user-selectable message handling rules to be attached to the outgoing data message 12. The message handling server 26 is programmed with a message management program including the message routing program and a rules management program, which interprets the message handling rule associated with data messages routed to the server in use and routes the data messages, using the message routing program, in accordance with the message handling rules associated with each data message. The message routing program is adapted to remain associated with the outgoing data message 12 and all data messages linked thereto (whether as a reply, a copy or a forwarded copy of such an outgoing data message) and to direct all such linked data messages to a participating message handling server 26 so that outgoing data messages 14 and all linked messages are routed through a participating message handling server where the rules management program is programmed to control the transmission of reply data messages to the originating message client in accordance with the message handling rules associated with the outgoing data message 14. |
