Method and system for segmentation of a message inbox
View Patent ↗A method, apparatus, and system are directed towards managing unsolicited email messages, and the like, in part, by providing segmentation of an email inbox. In one embodiment, the email inbox is segmented into segments associated with a message from a trusted, trusted email address, an untrusted email address, and a segment for a bulk email message, such as spam, and the like. A determination that the message is from a trusted email address may be made based, in part, on whether the email address is associated with one's address book, a degree of separation that may be determined based on an association with another's address book, whether the email address was a sent email address, and the like. By segmenting the email inbox, the invention minimizes a risk associated with incorrectly discarding a message from a desired, but untrusted source.
1. A method of managing a message over a network, comprising:
receiving the message including a source email address associated with the message;
determining that the message is from a trusted source email address, if the source email address is in an address book of an intended recipient or an address book of another within a predetermined degrees of separation from the intended recipient;
determining that the message is from a trusted source email address, if the source email address is associated with an email address to which the intended recipient sent a message, and is not in the intended recipient's address book or an address book of another within the predetermined degrees of separation from the intended recipient;
if the message is from an untrusted source email address, determining the trust level as untrusted;
if the message is from a trusted source email address determining the trust level as trusted; and
delivering the received message to an inbox segment based, in part, on the determined trust level.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the trust level is further based on the source email address being associated with a predetermined site.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inbox segment further comprises segmentation of an email inbox based on at least one of a color parameter, an icon, a folder, and a label.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
if the source email address is associated with a message board frequented by the intended recipient, determining that the message is from a trusted source email address, wherein the address of the message board is not in the intended recipient's address book or an address book of another within the predetermined degrees of separation from the intended recipient.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
if the received message is from an untrusted source email address, determining if the message is a spam message.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inbox segment further comprises at least one of a trusted email address segment, an untrusted email address segment, and a bulk email address segment.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method is operable on a mobile computing device.
8. A client adapted to managing a message over a network, the client being configured to perform actions, comprising:
receiving a message that is delivered to an inbox segment based on whether the message is from a trusted or untrusted source email address, wherein:
the message is from a trusted source email address, if the source email address is in an address book of an intended recipient or an address book of another within a predetermined degrees of separation from the intended recipient;
the message is further determined to be from a trusted source email address, if the source email address is associated with an email address to which the intended recipient sent a message, and is not in the intended recipient's address book or an address book of another within the predetermined degrees of separation from the intended recipient; and sorting the message and another message based on the inbox segment.
9. The client of claim 8 , wherein the inbox segment further comprises a segmentation of an email inbox based on at least one of a color parameter, an icon, a folder, a sort parameter, and a label.
10. The client of claim 8 , wherein the inbox segment further comprises at least one of a trusted email address segment, an untrusted email address segment, and a bulk email address segment.
11. A server for managing a message over a network, comprising:
a transceiver for receiving and sending messages to a computing device; and
a transcoder that is configured to perform actions, including:
receiving the message including a source email address;
if the source email address is in an address book of an intended recipient or an address book of another within a predetermined degrees of separation from the intended recipient, then determining a trust level for the message as trusted;
if the source email address is associated with an email address to which the intended recipient sent a message, and is not in the intended recipient's address book or an address book of another within the predetermined degrees of separation from the intended recipient, then determining that the trust level for the message as trusted; and
if the source email address is associated with an untrusted email address, then determining that the trust level for the message is untrusted;
associating at least one special designator with the received message based, in part, on the determined trust level; and
delivering the message to an inbox segment based, in part, on the at least one associated special designator.
12. The server of claim 11 , wherein the trust level is further determined based on if the source email address is associated with a predetermined site.
13. The server of claim 11 , wherein the inbox segment further comprises segmentation of an email inbox based on the at least one associated special designator.
14. The server of claim 11 , wherein the at least one special designator further comprises at least one of a color, an icon, a folder, a label, and a priority parameter.
15. The server of claim 11 , wherein determining the trust level further comprises if the received message is from an untrusted email address, determining if the message is identifiable as a spam message.
16. The server of claim 11 , wherein the inbox segment further comprises at least one of a trusted email address segment, an untrusted email address segment, and a bulk email address segment.
17. The server of claim 11 , wherein delivering the message further comprises delivering the received message to a mobile computing device.
18. A computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions stored thereon for managing a message over a network, the computer instructions when executed on a computer cause the computer to perform the actions of:
receiving the message, wherein the message comprises a source email address;
enabling a determination of a trust level associated with the source email address, wherein the trust level, is based, in part, on:
if the source email address is in an address book of an intended recipient or an address book of another within a predetermined degrees of separation from the intended recipient, then setting the trust level as trusted;
if the source email address is associated with an email address to which the intended recipient sent a message, and is not in the intended recipient's address book or an address book of another within the predetermined degrees of separation from the intended recipient, then setting the trust level as trusted;
if the source email address is untrusted, then setting the trust level as untrusted; and
delivering the received message to an inbox segment based, in part, on the determined trust level.
19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the trust level is further based on whether the message is from a trusted or an untrusted predetermined site.
20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the inbox segment further comprises a segmentation of an email inbox based on at least one of a color parameter, an icon, a folder, and a label.
21. A system for managing a message over a network comprising:
a server that is configured to perform actions, comprising:
receiving the message, wherein a source email address is associated with the received message;
if the source email address is in an address book of an intended recipient or an address book of another within a predetermined degrees of separation from the intended recipient, then determining a trust level of the message as trusted;
if the source email address is associated with an email address to which the intended recipient sent a message, and is not in the intended recipient's address book or an address book of another within the predetermined degrees of separation from the intended recipient, then determining the trust level of the message as trusted;
if the source email address is determined to be untrusted, then determining that the trust level of the message as untrusted; and
forwarding the received message; and
a client computing device that is configured to perform actions, comprising:
receiving the forwarded message in an inbox segment based, in part, on the determined trust level.