Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Method and Apparatus for Attribute-Based Addressing of Messages
in a Networked System
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the addressing of electronic messages or
packages. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and
apparatus
for attribute-based addressing of messages or packages.
BACKGROUND
Currently, in order to address and transmit a message or package to an
individual or group, the address of each individual or a group address must
typically be
known to the originator of the message. In mass communication programs, such
as
direct electronic mail (e-mail) marketing campaigns, the task of compiling an
accurate
e-mail address list for intended or desired recipients can be quite costly and
time
consuming. However, in such marketing campaigns, there is no guarantee that
the
intended or desired recipients on the e-mail address list have any interest in
the subject
matter of the message. Moreover, there is a finite cost associated with each
message
sent to a recipient or group, thereby making the marketing campaign costly and
inefficient as there is no guarantee that the message or package is reaching
recipients
which have an interest in the subject matter of the message. Consequently, the
typical
marketing campaign is costly and inefficient.
Moreover, mass communication programs often inundate individual recipients
or groups with unwanted messages which are not relevant to the interests of
the
recipients or groups. The recipients or groups are therefore forced to clear
out their
electronic mailboxes of these unwanted messages or packages on a regular
basis.
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Consequently, the recipients of these unwanted messages become accustomed to
clearing out unsolicited messages without examining the content of these
messages as
the number of messages increase, thereby making marketing campaigns less
effective
over time.
In typical marketing campaigns, the marketing source generally attempts to
compile a list of addresses which correspond to a desired target audience.
Several
different methods and techniques have been utilized in refining the generation
of target
audience address lists. For instance, marketing sources have utilized
statistical
information (median income, number of children, type and number of computers,
etc.)
regarding the residents of a geographical area in order to generate a target
audience
address list. Another example of a technique used in generating target
audience address
lists is in the situation where a purchaser of a product fills out a
registration card which
contains information regarding their purchasing habits. The information
contained on
the registration card is then utilized by a marketing source in generating a
target
audience address list. Yet another example of a method used in generating
target
audience address lists is buying information from an information broker. An
information broker sells marketing information to different marketing sources
from
information contained within the information broker's own marketing
clearinghouse
database.
Even with all of the aforementioned techniques, the target audience address
lists
often contain outdated or inaccurate information regarding the members
contained
within the lists. The inaccuracies can result from outdated information,
change in
status, inaccurate transcriptions, and a myriad of other associated
inaccuracies which
may occur during generation of these target audience address lists. Therefore,
the
marketing campaign results in messages being sent to recipients who have no
interest in
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the subject matter of the message, along with a loss associated with the cost
of sending
each message.
Ideally, a marketing source would find it useful to have the ability to send
messages to those who fit a certain profile of an ideal target recipient who
would be
interested in the contents of the message. Likewise, a recipient of
information would
like to prevent messages and packages which would not be of interest to them
finm
being delivered, while allowing those messages that would be of interest to
the recipient
to be delivered. For instance, a software or hardware computer manufacturer
may wish
to contact a product user who has a specific version or model of their
product. The
manufacturer may wish to send a message to the user of the specific version or
product
regarding a problem or update product associated with that specific version,
while
omitting contact with those product users which do not use that specific
version of the
product. This would allow the manufacturer the ability to contact those users
which
would most likely be interested in the message contents, while omitting other
users
which would not be interested in the message contents. Likewise, the users of
computer products not encompassed within a specific manufacturer's product
line
would not be inundated with unwanted messages from the manufacturer.
Such an addressing system would allow for messages to be sent only to those
prospective recipients which satisfy a certain profile criteria, while
omitting other
prospective recipients which do not satisfy the profile criteria. Moreover,
the
addressing system would reduce the number of messages, and thereby the cost
associated with the sending of unwanted messages which are not relevant to the
interests of a particular recipient or group.
It is therefore desirable to provide an addressing system which provides a
general set of profile parameters which could be used to address messages to
recipients,
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wherein messages would be sent to only those prospective recipients which
satisfy a
certain profile criteria. Additionally, the addressing system would allow the
prospective recipients the ability to change the individual profile parameters
associated
with the recipient in order to reflect the individual's interests. The ability
to change the
individual profile associated with the recipient would, in effect, allow the
recipient the
ability to filter out messages which do not contain subject matter of interest
to the
recipient.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention provide an addressing system that
includes a general set of profile parameters that are used to address messages
to
prospective recipients. The messages are delivered to only those prospective
recipients
having certain individual profile parameters. Additionally, the addressing
system
allows the prospective recipients to change the individual profile parameters
in order to
reflect the individual's interests or preferences. Accordingly, the ability to
change the
individual profile parameters associated with the recipient, in effect, allows
the
prospective recipient to filter out messages that do not contain subject
matter of interest
to the prospective recipient.
An embodiment of the invention associates an attribute-based address with a
message. The attribute-based address is based on a set of defined group
attributes. A
discovery rule associated with the attribute-based address is executed such
that the
message is delivered to a recipient having individual attributes which satisfy
the
delivery rule.
In particular embodiments of the invention, the delivery rule is executed by
an
originator of the message.
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In other embodiments, the delivery rule is executed by the recipient of the
message.
Another embodiment of the invention provides a delivery rule that includes a
relevance-based ranking function.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention is illustrated by way of example in the following
drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. The following
drawings
disclose various embodiments of the present invention far purposes of
illustration only
and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
Figure 1 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of a procedure for
attribute-based addressing of messages in a networked system.
Figure 2 illustrates an embodiment of a procedure for attribute-based
addressing
of messages in a networked system, wherein a delivery rule is executed by a
first
recipient.
Figure 3 illustrates an embodiment of a procedure for attribute-based
addressing
of messages in a networked system, wherein a delivery rule is executed by a
first
recipient, and then possibly re-executed by a second prospective recipient.
Figure 4 illustrates an embodiment of a computer system that can be used with
the present invention.
Figure 5 illustrates an embodiment of a computer-readable medium containing
various sots of instructions, code sequences, configuration information, and
other data
used by a computer or other processing device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
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The following detailed description sets forth numerous specific details to
provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, those of ordinary
skill in
the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced without these
specific details.
In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, protocols, components,
algorithms, and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to
obscure the
invention.
The present invention is directed to an addressing system that provides a
general
set of profile parameters that are used to address messages to prospective
recipients,
wherein the messages are delivered to only those prospective recipients having
certain
individual profile parameters. Additionally, the addressing system allows the
prospective recipients the ability to change the individual profile parameters
associated
with the prospective recipient in order to reflect the individual's interests.
Accordingly,
the ability to change the individual profile parameters associated with the
recipient, in
effect, allows the prospective recipient the ability to filter out messages
which do not
contain subject matter of interest to the prospective recipient.
Throughout this detailed description of the invention, various embodiments are
discussed that include the term network and various prospective recipients
within the
network. The teachings of the present invention are applicable to any type of
network,
such as, but not limited to, intranet networks and Internet networks:
Moreover, the
various prospective recipients in the network can be any type of server or
client
computing device, including, but not limited to, desktop or laptop computers,
personal
digital assistants (PDAs), or devices containing embedded controllers or
embedded
processors. Further, any type of communication link and communication medium
can
be used to communicate information between two or more devices. Message can
also
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be delivered using a computer-readable medium such as a CD-ROM, a tape, or a
diskette.
Figure 1 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of a procedure for
attribute-based addressing of messages in a networked system. Initially, as
shown in
Step 100, an attribute-based address (ABA) 106 is associated with a message or
package 108. The ABA 146 is an address which is generated from a set of
defined
group attributes 110. An attribute is any identification data which can be
associated
with a user or prospective recipient. The set of defined group attributes 110
comprises
a collection of attributes which are utilized within the attribute-based
addressing system
for addressing messages to prospective recipients. The set of defined group
attributes
110 may contain such attribute items as gender, income amount, computer
processor
type, age, hobbies, ar any other desired attribute. Moreover, new attributes
or subsets
of existing attributes can be added to, or removed from, the set of defined
group
attributes 106 in order to allow programming flexibility with respect to the
individual
attributes which make up the set of defined group attributes 110. The ABA 106
is
typically generated by an originator of the message and is utilized in
targeting a specif c
user as the prospective recipient of the message 108. The message or package
108 may
be any collection of data, including, but not limited to, executable programs,
text,
and/or graphics.
The ABA 106 typically comprises a combination of chosen attributes which are
selected from the set of defined group attributes 110. However, the ABA 106
may be
made up of a single attribute selected from the set of defined group
attributes 110.
At step 102, the ABA 106 is formatted into a desired delivery rule structure
which, when executed, assists in determining if the message 108 is appropriate
to send
to a particular prospective recipient. The ABA 106 may be formatted in any
type of
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delivery rule structure which assists in determining an appropriate
prospective recipient
for message delivery. A particular originator of a message 108 may desire that
a
specific message be sent only to certain individuals within a certain class.
For instance,
the originator of the message may want the message 108 to be sent to
prospective
recipients with the following attributes: gender: male, age: 30 or less,
hobby: golf, and
income: over $50,000 or a stock portfolio: over $250,000. Accordingly, the ABA
106
is formatted into a delivery rule structure which is utilized in determining
if the
message 108 is appropriate to send to a particular prospective recipient. An
attribute
can also represent a real-time event or activity (e.g., applications currently
running or
the opening of a graphical window).
The ABA 106 for the aforementioned attributes could be expressed within a
Boolean delivery rule structure 112 as follows:
((profile.personal.demographics.gender= male) AND
(profile.personal.demographics.age<= 30) AND
(profile.personal.interests.hobbies=golf] AND (profile.personai.income>=50000)
OR
(profile.personal.stock>=250000)].
Additionally, the same ABA 106 could be expressed within a ranking-based
delivery rule structure 114, wherein the originator may assign a weighting
factor or
other ranking factor to those individual attributes which are considered to be
of high
importance to the originator. For instance, with regard to the attributes
listed above, the
originator may consider the income of the prospective recipient to be of
primary
importance, with secondary importance assigned to the hobby of golf.
Therefore, a
high weighting factor of 0.3 is ascribed to the income and stock attributes, a
median
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weighting factor of 0.2 is ascribed to the interestslhobbies attribute, with
the remaining
attributes assigned a low weighting factor of 0.1. Accordingly, the ABA for
the
aforementioned attributes could be expressed within a ranking based delivery
rule
structure as follows:
[(profile.persanal.demographics.gender= male----0.1) +
(profile.personal.demographics.age<= 30----0.1) +
(profile.personal.interests.hobbies=golf ---0.2) +
(profile.personal.income>=50000----
0.3) ~
(profile.personal.stock>=250000----0.3)].
In this example, the weighting factor is counted if the condition is true.
Thus, if
a particular recipient is male, age 28, enjoys golf, and has an income of
$60,000, then a
weighted total of 0.6 is generated. The weightings applied above are all
positive.
However, negative weightings may also be applied (e.g., for undesirable
attributes or
attributes indicating a lack of interest in the message).
At step 104, the delivery rule associated with the ABA 106 is executed,
wherein
an ABA data set 116 is generated and is comprised of those attributes listed
in the ABA
106. The delivery rule compares the attributes contained in the ABA data set i
16 with
a set of published user attributes 118 associated with the prospective
intended recipient
120. The published user attributes 118 associated with the prospective
intended
recipient 120 can be published to a medium which allows access to anyone
interested in
the prospective recipient's attribute profile. Additionally, the prospective
recipient 120
may modify or change the published user attributes 118 to reflect the
prospective
recipient's interests. Therefore, an originator would be able to configure an
ABA 106 to
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target the particular prospective recipient 120 based upon the published user
attributes
118. The comparison may be performed by either a first device 122 associated
with the
originator of the message or by a second device 124 associated with
prospective
intended recipient 120, or any other device capable of executing the delivery
rule. If
there is a sufficient data correlation between the ABA data set 116 and the
published
user attributes 118 associated with the prospective recipient 120, then the
delivery rule
is satisfied and the message 108 is sent to the prospective recipient I20. If
the delivery
rule is not satisfied, the message 108 can be either stored in a recipient
accessible data
file (RAF) 126, with an option of forwarding to a deletion queue 128 after a
specified
period, or the message can simply be placed directly into a deletion queue
I30, wherein
after a second specified period of time the data in the respective deletion
queues are
cleared (deleted).
Figure 2 illustrates an embodiment of a procedure for attribute-based
addressing of messages in a networked system, wherein a delivery rule is
executed by a
first recipient. At Step 200, similar to that of Step 100, an attribute-based
address
(ABA) 206 is associated with a message 208, wherein the ABA 206 is an address
which
is generated from a set of defined group attributes 210. As previously
mentioned
above, the set of defined group attributes 2I0 comprises a collection of
attributes which
are utilized within the attribute-based addressing system.
At step 202, the ABA 206 is formatted into any desired delivery rule structure
which, when executed, assists in determining if the message 208 is appropriate
to be
sent to a particular prospective recipient. The ABA 206 can be expressed in
either a
Boolean delivery rule structure 2I2, or in a ranking based delivery rule
structure 214, or
in any other type of delivery rule structure which would assist in determining
if the
message 208 is appropriate to be sent to a prospective recipient.
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At Step 204, the message is supplied (S) to a first recipient 216, such as a
server
or network computer, which executes the delivery rule associated with the ABA
206,
thereby generating an ABA data set 218. The delivery rule compares the
attributes
contained in the ABA data set 218 with a set of semi-private (or private) user
attributes
220 associated with a second prospective recipient 222. The set of semi-
private (or
private) user attributes 220 associated with a second prospective recipient
222 is known
only to the second prospective recipient 222 and the first recipient 2I6, but
is not
known to the originator of the message. Additionally, the second prospective
recipient
222 may modify or change the set of semi-private (or private) user attributes
220
associated with a second prospective recipient 222 to reflect the prospective
second
recipient's interests. As such, the originator does not have the ability to
see
information which the second prospective recipient 222 may consider private.
If there
is sufficient data correlation between the ABA data set 218 and the semi-
private (or
private) user attributes 220 associated with the second prospective recipient
222, then
the delivery rule is satisfied and the message 208 is delivered (D) to the
second
prospective recipient 222. If the delivery rule is not satisfied, the message
can be either
stored in a recipient accessible data file (RAF) 224, with an option of
forwarding to a
deletion queue 226 after a specified time period, or the message can simply be
placed
directly into a deletion queue 228, wherein after a second specified time
period the data
in the respective deletion queues are cleared (deleted).
Figure 3 illustrates an embodiment of a procedure for attribute-based
addressing of messages in a networked system, wherein a delivery rule is
executed by a
first recipient, and then possibly re-executed by a second prospective
recipient. At Step
300, similar to that of Step 200, an attribute-based address (ABA) 308 is
associated
with a message 310. The ABA 308 is an address which is generated from a set of
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defined group attributes 312. As previously mentioned above, the set of
defined group
attributes 312 comprises a collection of attributes which are utilized within
the
attribute-based addressing system.
At step 302, the ABA 308 is formatted into any desired delivery rule structure
which, when executed, assists in determining if the message 310 is appropriate
to be
sent to a particular prospective recipient. The ABA 308 can be expressed in
either a
Boolean delivery rule structure 314, or in a ranking-based delivery rule
structure 316, or
in any other type of delivery rule structure which would assist in determining
if the
message 310 is appropriate to be sent to a prospective recipient.
At Step 304, the message 310 is supplied (S) to a first recipient 318, such as
a
server, which executes the delivery rule associated with the ABA 308 and
generates an
ABA data set 320. The delivery rule compares the attributes contained in the
ABA data
set 320 with a primary set of user attributes 322 associated with a second
prospective
recipient 324. The primary set of user attributes 322 associated with a second
prospective recipient 324 is known only to the second prospective recipient
324 and the
first recipient 318, but is not known to the originator of the message.
Additionally, the
second prospective recipient 324 may modify or change the set of primary user
attributes 322 associated with a second prospective recipient 324 in order to
reflect the
prospective second recipient's interests. If there is sufficient data
correlation between
the ABA data set 320 and the primary set of user attributes 322 associated
with the
second prospective recipient 324 , then the delivery rule is satisfied and the
message
310 is supplied (S) to the second prospective recipient 324. If the delivery
rule is not
satisfied, the message can be either stored in a recipient accessible data
file (RAF) 326,
with an option of forwarding to a deletion queue 328 after a specified time
period, or
the message can simply be placed directly into a deletion queue 330, wherein
after a
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second specified time period the data in the respective deletion queues are
cleared
(deleted).
At step 306, if the delivery rule has been satisfied at the first recipient
318, and
the message 310 has been supplied (S) to the second prospective recipient 324,
the
delivery rule is re-executed. When the delivery rule is re-executed, the
delivery rule
compares the attributes contained in the ABA data set 320 with a secondary set
of user
attributes 332 associated with the second prospective recipient 324. The
secondary set
of user attributes 332 associated with a second prospective recipient 324 is
known only
to the second prospective recipient 324 and is not known to either the first
recipient 318
or the originator of the message. Additionally, the second prospective
recipient 324
may modify or change both the sets of user attributes, primary 322 and
secondary 332,
associated with the second prospective recipient 324 to reflect the
prospective second
recipient's interests. If there is sufficient data correlation between the ABA
data set 320
and the secondary set of user attributes 332 associated with the second
prospective
recipient 324, the delivery rule is satisfied and the message 310 is delivered
(D) to the
second prospective recipient 324. If the delivery rule is not satisfied, the
message 310
can be either stored in a recipient accessible data file (RAF} 334, with an
option of
forwarding to a deletion queue 336 after a specified time period, or the
message 310
can simply be placed directly into a deletion queue 338, wherein after a
second
specified time period the data in the respective deletion queues are cleared
(deleted).
In all of the aforementioned procedures, the delivery rule determines if there
is
sufficient correlation between an ABA data set and the respective individual
attributes
associated with a prospective recipient. The delivery rule determines this
correlation by
taking the attributes associated with the respective ABA data set and
comparing these
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attributes with the respective attributes associated with the prospective
recipient. For
instance, in an ABA expressed within a Boolean type delivery rule structure
of:
[(profile.personal.demographics.gender= male) AND
{profile.personal.demographics.age<= 30) AND
(profile.personal.interests.hobbies=golf) AND
((profile.personal.income>=50000) OR
(profile.personal.stock>=250000))];
the respective individual attributes associated with the prospective recipient
would have
to contain the following attributes in order to satisfy the delivery rule:
gender: male,
age: 30 or less, and hobby: golf. Additionally, the respective individual
attributes
associated with the prospective recipient would have to contain either one of
the
following attributes in order to satisfy the delivery rule: income: over
$50,000 or a
stock portfolio: over $250,000. If the respective individual attributes
associated with
the respective intended recipient contain the aforementioned attributes, then
the
delivery rule would be satisfied and the message is provided to the recipient.
Similarly, in an ABA expressed within a ranking type delivery rule structure
of
[(profile.personal.demographics.gendei= male----0.1) +
(profile.personal.demographics.age<= 30----0.1) +
(profile.personal.interests.hobbies=golf--0.2) +
(profile.personal.income>=50000----
0.3) I
(profile.personal.stock>=250000----0.3 )];
the respective individual attributes associated with the prospective recipient
would have
to contain the following attributes in order to satisfy the delivery rule:
income: over
$50,000 or a stock portfolio: over $250,000, and hobby: golf. Additionally,
the
attributes of the prospective recipient would ideally contain: gender: male
and age: 30
or less. However, if the attributes of the respective intended recipient do
not contain:
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gender: male and age: 30 or less, the delivery rule may be satisfied if the
low weighting
factor (0.1 ) assigned to these attributes are considered by the delivery rule
to be
inconsequential. Therefore, the delivery rule may be programmed to allow the
delivery
rule to be satisfied in the absence of certain attributes corresponding to
minimal
weighting factors. Accordingly, if the delivery rule is programmed to allow
satisfaction
of the delivery rule with the absence of minimally weighted attributes
{gender: male and
age: 30 or less), then the remaining respective attributes associated with the
prospective
recipient would contain sufficient attributes to satisfy the delivery rule
(income: over
$50,000 or a stock portfolio: over $250,000, and hobby: golf.}. If multiple
messages
are received by a message recipient, the messages may be displayed based on
their
ranking such that messages with the highest ranking is displayed on the top of
a
message list.
When an ABA data set is compared with a set of user attributes associated with
a prospective recipient, a problem could arise in which there may be
insufficient
information contained within the set of user attributes associated with a
prospective
recipient. In such a situation, the delivery rule can be programmed to execute
a default
protocol to handle such an insufficient information situation. For instance.
when a
delivery rule for an ABA is being executed on a first level recipient, such as
on a server,
insufficient or unknown attribute information associated with the set of user
attributes
is considered to be true or satisfied, thereby allowing the delivery rule to
be satisfied. If
the delivery rule for an ABA is being executed on a second level recipient,
such as a
client or user machine, and the message or package is marked as critical, then
insufficient or unknown attribute information associated with the set of user
attributes
is considered to be true or satisfied, thereby allowing the delivery rule to
be satisfied.
Otherwise, if the package is marked as non-critical, then insufficient or
unknown
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attribute information associated with the set of user attributes is considered
false,
wherein the delivery rule is not satisfied.
Figure 4 illustrates an embodiment of a computer system that can be used with
the present invention (e.g., as a client or a server}. The various components
shown in
Figure 4 are provided by way of example. Certain components of the computer in
Figure 4 can be deleted from the addressing system for a particular
implementation of
the invention. The computer shown in Figure 4 may be any type of computer
including
a general purpose computer.
Figure 4 illustrates a system bus 400 to which various components are coupled.
A processor 402 performs the processing tasks required by the computer.
Processor
402 may be any type of processing device capable of implementing the steps
necessary
to perform the addressing and delivery operations discussed above. An
input/output
(UO) device 404 is coupled to bus 400 and provides a mechanism for
communicating
with other devices coupled to the computer. A read-only memory (ROM) 406 and a
random access memory (RAM) 408 are coupled to bus 400 and provide a storage
mechanism for various data and information used by the computer. Although ROM
406 and RAM 408 are shown coupled to bus 400, in alternate embodiments, ROM
406
and RAM 408 are coupled directly to processor 402 or coupled to a dedicated
memory
bus (not shown).
A video display 410 is coupled to bus 400 and displays various information and
data to the user of the computer. A disk drive 412 is coupled to bus 400 and
provides
for the long-term mass storage of information. Disk drive 412 may be used to
store
various profile data sets and other data generated by and used by the
addressing and
delivery system. A keyboard 414 and pointing device 416 are also coupled to
bus 400
and provide mechanisms for entering information and commands to the computer.
A
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printer 418 is coupled to bus 400 and is capable of creating a hard-copy of
information
generated by or used by the computer.
Figure 5 illustrates an embodiment of a computer-readable medium 500
containing various sets of instructions, code sequences, configuration
information, and
other data used by a computer or other processing device. The embodiment
illustrated
in Figure 5 is suitable for use with the addressing and delivery system
described above.
The various information stored on medium 500 is used to perform various data
processing operations. Computer-readable medium 500 is also referred to as a
processor-readable medium. Computer-readable medium 500 can be any type of
magnetic, optical, or electrical storage medium including a diskette, magnetic
tape, CD-
ROM, memory device, or other storage medium.
Computer-readable medium 500 includes interface code 502 that controls the
flow of information between various devices or components in the addressing
and
delivery system. Interface code 502 may control the transfer of information
within a
device (e.g., between the processor and a memory device), or between an
inputJoutput
port and a storage device. Additionally, interface code 502 may control the
transfer of
information from one device to another (e.g., the transfer of user attribute
data between
a client and a server).
Computer-readable medium 500 also includes a set of defined group attribute
data 504 from which an ABA can be generated and used in addressing messages or
packages. Additionally, delivery rule code 506 is included within the medium
to allow
the ABA to be expressed in a variety of different delivery rule structures.
The
computer-readable medium 500 may further include Boolean logic function code
508
and relevance-based ranking code 510 which can be used by the delivery rule
code 506
in formatting the ABA.
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A published data set of individual attributes 512 associated with a
prospective
recipient is also included within computer-readable medium 500. The published
data
set 512 rnay reside on either a client or at a location accessible to the
originator of a
message or package, is also illustrated. The originator of a particular
message or
package, or anyone interested in the profile of a particular user or
prospective recipient
may access the published data set in order to determine if a particular user
would be
interested in a particular message. The published data set of individual
attributes 512
associated with the prospective recipient can be modified by the prospective
recipient if
so desired. If it is determined that the delivery rule of the ABA associated
with the
message is satisfied, then the message is delivered to the prospective
recipient.
Additionally, a semi-private data set of attributes 514 is provided within the
computer-readable medium 500. The semi-private data set of attributes 514 is
associated with the second prospective recipient and is known only to a first
prospective
recipient and the second prospective recipient, but is not known to the
originator of a
message or packet. A first prospective recipient, such as a server, can
utilize this semi-
private data set of attributes 514 in determining if a message or packet would
be
appropriate for a second prospective recipient. If it is determined that the
delivery rule
of the ABA associated with the message is satisfied, then the message is
delivered to
the second.prospective recipient. In alternate embodiments, computer-readable
medium
500 may include other data set attributes, such as private data set
attributes, for
determining whether a message or packet should be provided to a prospective
recipient.
Moreover, a primary data set of attributes 516, as well as a secondary data
set of
attributes 518 are illustrated. The primary data set of attributes 516, which
is associated
with the second prospective recipient, is known only to a first prospective
recipient and
the second prospective recipient, but is not known to the originator of a
message or
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packet. A first prospective recipient, such as a server, can utilize this
primary data set
of attributes 516 in determining if a message or packet would be appropriate
for the
second prospective recipient. If it is determined that the delivery rule of
the ABA
associated with the message is satisfied, then the message is supplied to the
second
prospective recipient.
The secondary data set of attributes 518, which is associated with the second
prospective recipient, is known only to the prospective second recipient and
is not
known to either the first prospective recipient or to the originator of a
message or
packet. As mentioned above, a first prospective recipient, such as a server,
can utilize
the primary data set of attributes 516 in determining if a message or packet
would be
appropriate for a second prospective recipient. If the first prospective
recipient
determines that the delivery rule of the ABA associated with the message is
satisfied,
then the message is supplied to the second prospective recipient. After the
message is
supplied to the second prospective recipient, the delivery rule of the ABA
associated
with the message is re-executed. The second prospective recipient, such as a
client, can
utilize the secondary data set of attributes 518 in determining if a message
or packet
would be appropriate for the second prospective recipient. If it is determined
that the
delivery rule of the ABA associated with the message is satisfied, then the
message is
delivered to the second prospective recipient.
Additionally, a recipient accessible data file {RAF) 520 and a deletion
queue.52
are provided within the computer-readable medium 500 to allow for the storage
of
messages which do not satisfy the delivery rule. Therefore, if the delivery
rule is not
satisfied, the message can be either stored in the recipient accessible data
file (RAF)
520, with an option of forwarding to a deletion queue 525 after a specified
time period,
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or the message can simply be placed directly into a deletion queue 525,
wherein after a
second specified time period the data in the deletion queue is cleared
(deleted).
From the above description and drawings, it will be understood by those of
ordinary skill in the art that the particular embodiments shown and described
are for
purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the
invention.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the invention may be
embodied in
other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential
characteristics.
References to details of particular embodiments are not intended to limit the
scope of
the claims.
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