U.S. patent application number 12/044892 was filed with the patent office on 2009-09-10 for checking electronic messages for compliance with user intent.
This patent application is currently assigned to OQO, INC.. Invention is credited to Jonathan Betts-Lacroix, Richard Pocklington.
Application Number | 20090228583 12/044892 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41054746 |
Filed Date | 2009-09-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090228583 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pocklington; Richard ; et
al. |
September 10, 2009 |
CHECKING ELECTRONIC MESSAGES FOR COMPLIANCE WITH USER INTENT
Abstract
Intention data is used to determine an intent of a sender of a
message, or other participant, in an electronic communication
system such as an email system. For example, a message that is
designated for sending can be compared to the sender's intention
data and if a discrepancy or deficiency is detected between the
sender's determined intent and the actual message then an action is
taken such as providing an alert to the sender or to another
person, process or device; requiring an action by the sender such
as confirming the message, making an edit, checking information,
etc.
Inventors: |
Pocklington; Richard; (San
Francisco, CA) ; Betts-Lacroix; Jonathan; (San Mateo,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Trellis Intellectual Property Law Group, PC
1900 EMBARCADERO ROAD, SUITE 109
PALO ALTO
CA
94303
US
|
Assignee: |
OQO, INC.
San Francisco
CA
|
Family ID: |
41054746 |
Appl. No.: |
12/044892 |
Filed: |
March 7, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
709/224 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 51/00 20130101;
G06Q 10/107 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/224 |
International
Class: |
G06F 15/16 20060101
G06F015/16 |
Claims
1. A method for processing an electronic communication, the method
comprising: obtaining intention data, wherein the intention data
indicates an intent of a user with respect to the user's electronic
communications; accepting a signal from an input device to define
content for a present electronic communication; determining that
the present electronic communication is associated with the user;
detecting a deficiency by analyzing at least a portion of the
present electronic communication and the intention data; and
performing an act to correct the deficiency.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the intention data is derived
from prior electronic communications associated with the user.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: recording a pattern
of the user's prior electronic communications; determining that the
present electronic communication does not fit the recorded pattern;
and modifying the present electronic communication to fit the
pattern.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the modifying is done at least in
part automatically.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the modifying is done at least in
part manually.
6. The method of claim 3, wherein the recorded pattern includes an
analysis of responses to the user's prior electronic
communications.
7. The method of claim 3, wherein the recorded pattern includes
characteristics of typical responses.
8. The method of claim 3, wherein the recorded pattern includes
header properties.
9. The method of claim 3, wherein the recorded pattern includes
determining a similarity to prior electronic communications.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: alerting the user at
a time of creating present content that at least a portion of the
present content is identical to at least a portion of prior
content.
11. The method of claim 9, further comprising: using elapsed time
between transmission of prior electronic communications in
determining the similarity to prior electronic communications.
12. The method of claim 3, wherein the recorded pattern includes
data about prior recipients of the user's electronic
communications, the method further comprising: analyzing the
present electronic communication to determine an established human
psychological factor present in the present electronic
communication; comparing the determined established human
psychological factor with the present electronic communication; and
alerting the user if the present electronic communication deviates
by more than a threshold amount from the established human
psychological factor.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the established human
psychological factor includes a measure of the user.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein the established human
psychological factor includes a measure of an intended
recipient.
15. The method of claim 12, wherein the established human
psychological factor includes a measure of affection.
16. The method of claim 12, wherein the established human
psychological factor includes a measure of anger.
17. The method of claim 12, wherein the established human
psychological factor includes a measure of style of the present
electronic communication.
18. The method of claim 3, wherein the recorded pattern includes a
measure of a time of response to prior electronic
communications.
19. The method of claim 1, further comprising: holding the
electronic communication before transmission.
20. The method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying a prompt
to the user regarding at least a portion of the electronic
communication that fails to meet a criterion based at least in part
on the intention data.
21. The method of claim 20, further comprising: requiring the user
to perform a task before transmission of the present electronic
communication.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the task includes: entering a
password.
23. The method of claim 21, wherein the task includes: solving a
puzzle.
24. The method of claim 21, wherein the task includes: performing a
sobriety test.
25. The method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying a
suggested modification to the user regarding at least a portion of
the electronic communication that fails to meet a criterion based
at least in part on the intention data.
26. The method of claim 1,
27. The method of claim 1, further comprising: indicating to the
user a reason that the electronic communication fails to meet a
criterion based at least in part on the intention data.
28. The method of claim 1, wherein the intention data is obtained
at least in part from information in the user's email in-box.
29. The method of claim 1, wherein the intention data is obtained
at least in part from information in the user's email sent
items.
30. The method of claim 1, wherein the intention data is obtained
at least in part from information on a server computer that sends
electronic transmissions.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates in general to electronic
communications and more specifically to a system for checking
and/or revising electronic messages by using data about a user's
intent.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The prevalent use of electronic communications often
requires a high level of care to make sure that the communication
is properly crafted and sent to the proper recipients. Electronic
mail (email), text messages, chat messages, web logs (blogs),
newsgroup postings, etc. are each examples of types of electronic
communications, or messages. Although these messages are often
important, or even critical, to a sender's profession, education,
relationship, happiness or other aspect of life, there is a
tendency for senders to draft and send a message quickly. This
haste may result in errors, omissions, inclusion of inappropriate
or sub-optimal comments or statements, or other unwanted
effects.
[0003] Even where senders have the best intentions and are mindful
of their message composition and sending parameters, the number of
features and level of complexity in today's electronic
communications can cause mistakes. For example, email systems allow
different options such as whether to reply to an original message
using only the original message's sender, replying to everyone on
the carbon copy (CC) list, using local or global distribution
lists, placing some recipients in a blind carbon copy (BCC) list,
forwarding the message; adding, deleting or editing names, content
and attachments prior to sending, changing the order of name
listing, sending to multiple email addresses or aliases for a same
person, etc. There are many other options associated with sending
an email message and each option can lead to multiple possible
parameters or values.
[0004] Thus, a sender may fail to consider all the necessary
options or characteristics, or may make a mistake in handling a
message characteristic, thereby sending an electronic communication
that does not achieve an intended result.
SUMMARY
[0005] A preferred embodiment of the invention uses "intention
data" to determine an intent of a sender of a message or other user
in an electronic communication system. For example, a message to be
sent can be compared to the sender's intention data which indicates
the sender's probable intent. If a discrepancy is detected between
the sender's determined intent and a part of the actual message
then an action is taken. An action can include providing an alert
to the sender or to another person, process or device. An action
can also require that the sender confirm the message's content or
characteristics, edit the message or the message's transmission
parameters, further check the message against other external
information, log an event, etc.
[0006] Intention data can be acquired by a monitoring process
executing within or in association with a part of an electronic
communication system. A preferred embodiment uses "usage
information" to derive a user's intent. The usage information can
include past or current activity of the user, such as an identified
pattern of use of the communication system by a sender with respect
to one or more recipients. For example, usage patterns can include
frequency of correspondence, type of message content usually sent
to a recipient, detecting common groups of recipients, etc.
Intention data can also be obtained from non-pattern information
such as by an analysis of one or a few email messages. For example,
a degree of formality, friendliness or other relationship
attributes may be determined from one message which does not
necessarily depend on a pattern. A value for a relationship
attribute can be used to analyze and react to subsequent messages.
Intention data can also be obtained directly from a user or other
person as, for example, in response to a question or prompt, or by
monitoring a person's behavior. Intention data may also be obtained
or derived from other non-human sources such as databases, records,
files, other devices or processes (e.g., phone calls, global
positioning system (GPS) determination of location, web page
browsing, etc.), or other sources.
[0007] Once intention data is obtained it is used by an analysis
process to compare against a message to be sent. If a discrepancy
is detected it is determined that the message to be sent (or
received, transferred or otherwise processed) may not comport with
a user's intent. In response to detecting a discrepancy, a control
process is invoked that takes an action such as generating an
alert, suggesting a change, automatically making a change to the
message or the way the message is handled, logging the event,
etc.
[0008] In one embodiment the invention provides a method for
processing an electronic communication, the method comprising:
obtaining intention data, wherein the intention data indicates an
intent of a user with respect to the user's electronic
communications; accepting a signal from an input device to define
content for a present electronic communication; determining that
the present electronic communication is associated with the user;
detecting a deficiency by analyzing at least a portion of the
present electronic communication and the intention data; and
performing an act to correct the deficiency.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates basic components in an electronic
communications system suitable for use with the invention;
[0010] FIG. 2A shows a first example email message;
[0011] FIG. 2B shows a second email message in an example
thread;
[0012] FIG. 2C shows a third email message in an example
thread;
[0013] FIG. 2D shows a fourth email message in an example thread;
and
[0014] FIG. 3 illustrates basic components and steps of a messaging
system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates basic components in an electronic
communications system suitable for use with the invention. Note
that although features may be discussed with respect to specific
components or systems that the features can be adapted to any one
or more suitable systems, devices, processes, components, networks
or other combinations of hardware and/or software.
[0016] In FIG. 1, users such as 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 operate devices
for electronic communications. For example, User 1 operates
portable email device 10, User 2 operates desktop computer 20, User
3 operates cell phone 30, User 4 operates laptop 40 and User 5
operates desktop computer 51 connected to local server 53 and other
devices (not shown) via a local area network (LAN) 55. Note that
any number and type of devices with different suitable network
topologies and interconnections can be adapted for use with
embodiments of the invention. Further, although features of the
invention may be described with respect to a specific user
associated with a specific device, other types of associations of
human users with devices or processes can be used, as desired, in
order to achieve the functional effects described herein. Multiple
users can be associated with a device or devices and multiple
devices can be associated with a user or users. In some
applications, communications need not involve a human sender,
intermediary and/or receiver as these roles might be performed
automatically as where an email system sends automatically
generated messages to humans or devices.
[0017] In FIG. 1, the devices communicate with each other and with
server 60 via a digital network such as Internet 50. Such
communication can be by any physical link, protocol, data format or
other convention, as desired. For example, wired connections such
as shown for servers 60 and 53, and for desktop computer 20 may be
employed. Or wireless connections such as shown for portable email
device 10, cell phone 30 or laptop 40 may be used. As is known in
the art, Internet 50 allows for dynamic and varied communications
between devices and processes such as switches, routers, repeaters,
servers, etc. These are shown symbolically as components 52, 54 and
56. Similarly, LAN 55 can be used to connect different devices at a
locally controlled or maintained network such as a corporate or
campus LAN, home network, etc.
[0018] As is known in the art, there are many ways to organize and
interconnect devices and processes, and to arrange for
communication protocols, formats and standards. For example, an
email system may be organized as a point-of-presence (POP3) or
Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) system with a local or
remote email server. The email system can support message formats
and protocols such as Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME),
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), etc. A text messaging system
can use cell phone or wireless data connections to handheld devices
that comply with standards such as Global System for Mobile
Communications (GSM) and include Short Message Service (SMS),
Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), etc. Other custom or
proprietary systems can be used such as J-Phone's SkyMail.TM. and
NTT Docomo's Short Mail.TM., etc.
[0019] In general, any type of electronic communication system for
delivery of information intended for at least one human recipient
can be used with features of the present invention, including
future-developed systems, standards and protocols. Because of the
large flexibility in communication systems and processing systems,
it should be apparent that functions or features described herein
can be performed by any number, type and combination of hardware
and software components. Functions can be performed at the same or
different places in time or space by one or more components. In
some implementations, components may be omitted or called by a
different name from those shown in the examples. Further, various
aspects of the invention can apply regardless of the organization
of components or resources into different managed or controlled
groups, such as Internet access provided by a company, a server
operated by a third party, etc.
[0020] A typical method of sending an electronic communication such
as an email message could involve User 1 creating message content
and sending the content included in an initial email message. The
message could be transferred first to server 60 for further
processing such as to resolve recipient network addresses,
determine destination servers, etc. In other embodiments, message
delivery need not use a server as some types of communication may
be peer-to-peer or can use a device other than a server. The user
of terms designating items such as "client," "server," "sender,"
"recipient," "initial message," "reply message," etc. should not be
construed as limiting the invention. Rather they are used to
provide an example. It should be apparent that such terms may be
interchanged and the resulting system or method will remain within
the scope of the invention. Items may also be omitted. For example,
a sender may send an initial message to a hardware device or
software process such as to send a database query, purchase order,
blog posting, turn on a light, etc.
[0021] As correspondents and participants exchange messages,
characteristics of the messages and exchanges are compiled by a
monitor process. The monitor process provides the characteristic
data to an analysis process to derive intent data--i.e., data that
indicates intent of a sender, recipient or other participant
("users") of the messages. One way of using the compiled message
characteristic data to identify user intent is to analyze prior
patterns of use. Another way to establish user intent is by
querying users, analyzing the way user's or automated processes
react to a particular user, and by other methods, described in more
detail, below. Once user intent data is obtained then a particular
user's electronic messages can be compared to the intent data by a
control process. When a discrepancy is determined then the control
process can initiate an action such as alerting a user, delaying
transmission, automatically correcting or changing a characteristic
of the communication, etc.
[0022] FIG. 3 illustrates basic components and steps of a messaging
system in a preferred embodiment of the invention, as described,
above. In FIG. 3, participants 202 include multiple users of the
messaging system. Portions of the participants' messages and
activity are recorded by monitor process 220. Monitor process uses
observations about the messages and activity to generate intention
data 222. Such data can be any information that is useful to
determine a user's intent with respect to a communication.
[0023] For example, each user's email traffic can be recorded to
include header information (sender, receiver, other recipients,
date and time sent or received, subject, etc.) and content, if
desired. Statistics, summary data or other data of communications
with another user, device, process, group of users, organization,
or other entity can be maintained. Such data can include the
frequency of corresponding with another user, the time intervals
between responses, the amount of time spent composing or reading a
message, the other people that were included in messages, the tone
or meaning of a message, etc.
[0024] Many different characteristics of a message or communication
can be monitored including those listed in Table I, below.
TABLE-US-00001 ****************** BEGIN TABLE I
********************** Characteristics of Outgoing Messages: 1:
Lacks certain header properties i) given the messages other header
information ii) given the messages other body content iii) given
previous messages header information iv) given previous messages
body content v) 2: Lacks an characteristic or property it purports
to contain I an attachement II a recipient III the response to a
query IV information necessary for the effective delivery of the
message 3: Contains content that: i) is likely to have an effect on
the recipent other than that which is intended A) in a response B)
in a response in another medium ii) is likely to generate another
recognizable pattern of response iii) is likley to generate an
unrecognized pattern of response vi) has a low probability of
generating a response vii) may caused anger, frustration or other
negative effects on the recipient viii) is unlikey to cause the
intended reponse or intended action 4: is similar to other emails
you have sent: i) within or outside some range of time ii) to the
same recipient iii) to other recipients, either explictly or
implicitly defined iv) to recepients which have a relationship to
the chosen recipient(s) v) to recipients which have been flagged
for some other reason or purpose 5: differs in style, tone, format
or content from emails from your chosen recipient(s) which have a
relationship to the chosen recipient or recipients or are otherwise
categorized as relevant 6: differs in style, tone, format or
content from emails sent by other senders to the chosen
recipient(s) or recepients which have a relationship to the chosen
recipient or recipients or are otherwise characterized as relevant
7: falls within a certain range of times between receipt of other
messages, either from the last message, or on average, a) from this
recipient b) from other recipients 8: contains information which
can be identified as a) sensitive b) proprietary c) providing some
legal risk d) referencing a Patent ************* ******* END TABLE
I ******************
[0025] Intention data is used by analysis process 230 along with
other optional information such as user provided information 224,
or information from other sources such as external databases,
devices, processes, etc.
[0026] When a user such as User 204 creates a new message such as
present electronic communication 250, control process 240
determines whether there is a discrepancy between a user's intent
and the probably meaning or effect of the message content or a
message characteristic. If a discrepancy is detected then an action
is taken such as alerting the user, requiring a user action before
sending the message, requiring a change to the message,
automatically making a change to the message, etc.
[0027] Table II lists examples of types of actions that might be
taken. Any one or more of these actions can be controlled by a
system administrator or other entity, or provided in settings that
are selectable by the user, as desired. Other actions are
possible.
TABLE-US-00002 ****************** BEGIN TABLE II
********************* Examples of Actions: 1: a hold time on a
message before it leaves the sender's outbox 2: the addition of an
attatchment to a message 3: modifications to outgoing message
parameters, including i: changing a recipient ii: modifying the
title iii: modification to the urgency level, date stamp or other
parameters of the message header iv: alterations to the content of
the message, including A: distortions, particularly in the case
when the application which makes such distortions is executed
without the knowledge of the email sender and or recipient B:
modifications, including those meant to i: repair the message ii:
remove the material which generated the flag iii: further stress
the material which generated the flag iv: optimize, maximize,
minimize or otherwise modify the likelihood of such events as: 1)
recepit of an email in return 2) receipt of an email with
particular parameters which include: a: presence of a similar flag
b: presence of a specific flag c: of a certain length d: within a
certain time range e: a number of responses 3) the quantity of
total emails in a thread 4) the length of time the thread persisted
5) any other measureable parameter of: a: the email message content
b: its header information c: the headers of other emails in the
thread d: the content of other messages in the thread e: the header
or content of other messages linked to this thread A) by shared
author B) by shared content C) by another algorithm which
determines the two or more messages, authors or threads are related
C: deletions: particularly in the case of the deletion of an area
of the content of the message flagged as: 1) incorrect 2) dangerous
3) provocative 4) uninformatinve 5) political 6) unlikely to
generate a desired response 7) likely to generate an undersirable
response 4: the generation of a dialog box which requires further
input to continue the message, such as: i: a password ii: a
confirmation code iii: a unique identifier such as A: a citizenship
code B: a passport number C: a social security number iv: the
solution to a logic puzzle or other test of sobriety or patience
****************** END TABLE II *********************
[0028] FIGS. 2A-D show email communications and the development of
an email thread. An initial sender, Charlie@trellislaw.com, created
and sent initial email 102 of FIG. 2A on Mar. 25, 2007 at 10:11 am
to Richard@oqo.com. Another recipient, jory@oqo.com, was also
"carbon copied" in a "CC". The subject of the email message is
"Possible patents in next OQO.TM. product release". The preceding
information resides in header 104. Body 106 includes the content of
the email message which discusses ideas that might be patented in
OQO, Inc.'s next product release. The content includes typical
parts such as greeting 110, first paragraph 112, second paragraph
114, signature 116 and contact information.
[0029] FIG. 2B shows first reply 120 from Richard@oqo.com sent Mar.
28, 2007 at 3:40 pm to Charlie@trellislaw.com with a CC to
jory@oqo.com and a blind CC (BCC) to Jacques@oqo.com with a subject
"Possible patents in next OQO product release". Note that a BCC is
not shown to any of the recipients but is shown in FIG. 2B for
discussion purposes. Separator 122 is used to indicate the end of
the reply, and initial email 102 has been automatically copied and
included in the response by Richard's email system.
[0030] FIG. 2C shows a second reply from Jacques who was a blind
CC. Jacques has replied to the sender and every other recipient on
the prior email. Jacques email system automatically placed Richard
on the "to" line and Jory and Charlie on the "CC" line so that all
three would receive a response. Prior email in the thread, i.e.,
initial email 102 and first reply 120, are copied into Jacques
reply, as shown.
[0031] FIG. 2D shows third reply 140 from Charlie in response to
Jacques' email. This completes the example thread which shows the
entire communication as a series of the email messages in a reverse
order from which they were sent, namely 140, 130, 120 and 102.
[0032] Next FIGS. 2A-D are discussed again to describe various
features and functions of embodiments of the invention.
[0033] Assuming that Richard and Charlie have corresponded before,
intent data exists in the form of a profile associated with each of
these users. The profile can be derived from characteristics of
their prior communications. One basic function that can be provided
includes handling of predefined text either for auto-insertion or
for insertion on command, such as if a sender activates a control
prior to sending a message.
[0034] For example, many professional such as attorneys, agents,
corporate officers, or others who deal with confidential
information include a paragraph or more of notification text
appended to the bottom of every email message. An example of such
notification text is shown below in Table III.
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE III ************** BEGIN TABLE III
******************** This communication, including any attachments,
is confidential and may be protected by privilege. If you are not
the intended recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or
copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have
received this communication in error, please immediately notify the
sender by telephone or email, and permanently delete all copies,
electronic or other, you may have. To ensure compliance with
requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any tax advice
contained in this communication (including any attachments) was not
intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose
of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii)
promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any
transaction or matter addressed herein. The foregoing applies even
if this notice is embedded in a message that is forwarded or
attached. ************** END TABLE III ********************
[0035] The notification text is typically appended automatically by
an email sending process to every email sent by the sender.
Naturally, the amount of appended notification text tends to become
larger as time goes by, especially when it is drafted by lawyers.
An embodiment of the invention acts to suppress the notification
text when it has been established that the recipients on an email
have already received the notification text before. The parameters
of suppressing the text can vary. For example, the notification
text may be sent only once and then suppressed. Or a threshold
number of times (e.g., twice, 5 times, etc.), or frequency (once a
week, month, etc.) can be implemented so that a recipient only
receives the notification text every so often. If the content of
the notification text changes then values or counters associated
with the parameters can be reset so that recipients are treated as
not having seen the text before.
[0036] Other factors or conditions can be used to determine whether
insertion text or other text should be included in an email or not.
For example, a pattern of use may be established so that the
monitoring process can detect when an unusual or new combination of
recipients is being used. For example, if a sender has used a group
of recipients in the past and a present attempt at sending includes
that same group plus a new recipient not in that group then the
sender can be alerted about the new recipient prior to sending the
message. Another alternative is to include the insertion text only
for the new recipient. Detection of the new recipient can be by
usage patterns, which are discussed in more detail, below. Or by
analysis of the recipients' email domains, geographic location, use
of external data to show affiliation with an organization,
frequency of correspondence, etc. These factors are discussed in
more detail, below.
[0037] Other types of predefined text can be similarly handled. For
example, another popular type of predefined text is contact
information 118 in FIG. 2A. If the monitor process already
establishes that a user has already received the contact
information with sufficient occurrence and/or frequency then a
sender may have a parameter in their intent data or profile to
suppress the contact information even if other settings in the
email system call for insertion of the contact information.
Variations on regulating predefined text are possible.
[0038] In another embodiment, a classification of a relationship of
the sender to a recipient is maintained. The relationship
classification can be made based on user input, monitoring of
messages, or by other techniques. For example, a relationship
between the sender and receiver can be designated by relationship
attributes such as "professional," "friendly," "trusted,"
"romantic," etc. Each relationship attribute can have a value such
as -10 to 10 where 10 could be "most friendly" and -10 could be
"least friendly," for example. Many other attributes and ways to
associate a value with an attribute are possible. A user can set
the values of the relationship attributes in pairs based on the
relationship of a particular user with each other possible
participant in a communication. Or an automatic default can be used
such as zero.
[0039] As time goes by the particular user (or another user) may
modify the attributes' values. Or modification of the relationship
attributes can be modified based on an analysis process' analysis
of messages from data obtained by a monitor process. For example,
as explained in more detail below, if a sender continually uses
familiar, funny, excited or intimate or other "friendly" types of
language constructs with a particular recipient than the
sender/recipient "friendly" value can be increased over time by the
analysis process. The analysis process can use simplified or
complex techniques to make a determination for a relationship
attribute value adjustment. For example, predefined "friendly"
keywords can be defined so that a simple keyword match can be used
to analyze a message. If a user sends personal information such as
a home phone number, cell phone number, bank account, password,
social security number, etc., it can be registered that the
recipient is at an elevated level of friendship or trust.
[0040] The time of messages being sent can be considered in
establishing a relationship attribute's value. If a pair of users
are recorded as predominantly sending only during business hours
then the relationship's professional attribute can increase and the
friendship attribute can decrease. Similarly, if messages are sent
at all hours of the day and night then the professional attribute
can decrease while the friendship attribute can increase.
Naturally, any one or more attributes may be affected by such
monitoring of user characteristics. Other suitable approaches for
analyzing message characteristics and user behavior or intent can
include using natural language processing (NLP) techniques such as
latent semantic indexing (LSI), latent semantic analysis (LSA),
etc.
[0041] Once a relationship classification has been established then
it can be used to analyze messages to determine if a discrepancy
exists between a participant's intent and the likely meaning or
predicted effect of a message to be sent.
[0042] For example, in FIG. 2A, there is evidence of a friendly
relationship between Richard and Charlie since at line 110 the
greeting is the more informal "Hey, Richard," instead of simply
"Richard," or even "Hi, Richard,". A hierarchy of familiarity or
friendliness in salutations can be created as shown in the example
of Table IV.
TABLE-US-00004 TABLE IV ************* BEGIN TABLE IV
******************** Rich Whazzup! 10.rarw. More Familiar Hey,
Richard, 9 Hi, Richard, 8 Richard, 7 Dear Richard, 6 Richard Smith
5 Mr. Richard Smith 4 Sir 3 Sir/Madam 2 To Whom It May Concern
1.rarw. Less Familiar ************ END TABLE IV
***********************
[0043] Naturally, many different types of keywords,
classifications, and hierarchies can be used other than that shown
in Table II. Once established, the hierarchy can be compared to the
appropriate relationship attribute's value and a determination can
be made to take action if there is a discrepancy. So, for example,
if the "friendly" attribute between Richard and Charlie is 8 then
any of the salutations in Table IV with values 7-10 may be deemed
acceptable and use of other salutations may be flagged so that the
sender, Charlie, would be alerted before the email is sent that the
greeting may be more formal than is desired in order to maintain
the friendship at a desired or intended level. Such mistakes in
maintaining a social relationship may occur inadvertently as where
more time than usual has gone by between communications, when a
relationship is first being formed and is progressing, when an
event occurs to change the relationship, etc.
[0044] Similarly, the Richard/Charlie friendship attribute can be
defined by a parameter associated with Richard's profile or intent
data. This number need not be the same as the Charlie/Richard
friendship attribute. One feature allows checking the recipients'
corresponding parameter and using the recipient parameter to alert
the sender or to modify the salutation. For example, if Charlie is
sending Richard an email but it is detected that Richard's profile
has a Richard/Charlie friendship value of 3 then a more formal
salutation may be suggested than what Charlie had initially used.
The exposure of different users' profile parameters to other users
can be by consent of each user, as desired. Some parameters will
not be so sensitive and can be made global by assumed consent of
all users, or an administrator or other manager, business owner, or
entity (e.g., government, parent, etc.) may have overriding
authority to view, use, manipulate, manage or otherwise control
parameters of others.
[0045] Other recipients' relationship attributes can be taken into
consideration. For example, the Jory/Charlie relationship
attributes can have an effect on how the salutation and content of
the email is monitored and analyzed and on possible actions if a
discrepancy is determined. For example, if Charlie attempts to use
the salutation "Rich Wazzup!" in an email to Richard that also
copies Jory where the Charlie/Richard friendship value is 10 and
but the Jory/Charlie friendship attribute value is 5 and the
Jory/Charlie professional attribute value is 10 then the salutation
can be flagged to require affirmative approval from Charlie before
the message is sent. Approval might be a dialogue box or other
alert displayed that requires a "yes" or "no" selection after
Charlie indicates the message is to be sent. Naturally, many
variations on use of relationship attributes to determine intent
are possible.
[0046] A similar analysis to that described above with respect to
including text can be used to check for text that should be removed
or modified. For example, line 114 of FIG. 2A states "BTW, did I
tell you that a patent I wrote got licensed for $100M?" The
monitoring process can record such statements and if a similar or
identical statement had previously been sent to the same user then
the statement can be flagged for possible deletion or modification
by the sender. This approach can be used to send different
variations to different users. In the example of FIG. 2A, if
Richard had been provided with text similar to line 114 in the past
but Jory was not, then two versions of the email can be
automatically sent (or sent upon approval after informing the
author, Charlie) so that Jory receives line 114 but Richard does
not. A variation of this approach is to show Richard that line 114
is a repeated statement but was sent anyway for Jory's benefit.
This might be shown by having line 114 grayed, or dimmed, in
Richard's copy of the message. Or an annotation can be made on,
adjacent to, or otherwise associated with line 114's text such as
"for Jory's benefit" or "--previously sent text omitted - - - ,"
"Jory" etc. This approach can be especially useful where the amount
of text is lengthy or may be sensitive to an individual. In
general, any manner of suitable indication can be used to show that
text has been included and/or removed specifically for one or more
recipients but not for all recipients. In some applications, no
indication to the recipients may be needed, or desired.
[0047] One feature of the invention provides for "second order
effects" whereby a first user's intent is checked not only when the
first user sends an email to a second user (a "first order effect")
but also when the second user (or a different user) sends the first
user's text to a third user (a "second order effect"). For example,
if Charlie had included text to Richard and Richard then forwards
that email to Jory, a second order effect might remove or modify a
portion the text if the text was redundant, offending, restricted,
etc. Another example is where text is intended for only a few
people or for internal organization use. If text from the first
user is attempted to be sent to a person not in a predetermined
list, outside of an organization, etc. then the first user's
approval may be required before the email can be sent by a
subsequent user. In general, any of the operations described herein
for a first order effect can be applied to a second order effect,
or to any subsequent forwarding or re-sending of the first user's
communication, as desired.
[0048] FIG. 2B shows Richard's response to Charlie's initial email.
An additional recipient, Jacques, has been BCCed so that Jacques
email address or the fact that Jacques had been copied is not
apparent to the recipients Jory and Charlie. One feature checks for
types of content that a person, company or other entity may want to
restrict and ensures that non-approved people are not sent the
restricted information. For example, a check could be made to look
for keywords for legal or patent-specific terms. If an attempt is
made to send the content to a person who is not on a pre-approved
list then an alert in the form of a dialogue box can be displayed
to the sender stating the determination that has been made and
asking for affirmative approval to send the email. One check would
include whether an attorney or other specialized consultant who is
likely to generate or be copied on sensitive material is involved
in a message distribution or thread. If so, and if it is also
determined that others are copied who have not previously
participated in these types of correspondence, then an alert
mechanism can be invoked.
[0049] FIG. 2C illustrates Jacques' response to Richard's email. In
this case Jacques has inadvertently copied everyone in the thread
including Charlie who was not an intended recipient. One feature of
the invention checks for whether a first-time recipient is the
result of replying to an email sent by another person. Often when a
first person is sending an email to another for the first time
there should be a polite salutation or introduction. In a case
where someone is being sent an email for the first time in the CC
or BCC lines such an alert can be used to verify (e.g., by
requiring affirmative assent from the sender) that the email should
go to the first-time recipient. This can be especially useful in
situations where message tone (e.g., angry, informal, etc.) is
determined as not suitable for someone that is being sent a message
for the first time. Tone can be determined by, for example, using
natural language processing techniques, by looking for keywords
(e.g., slang, cursing), by detecting punctuation (e.g., exclamation
marks, capitalization of words, phrases or sentences, etc.).
[0050] Similarly, Charlie's response to Jacques' email can be
analyzed with regard to this being a first-time reply to a person
who has an email domain of a client. The tone in Charlie's reply
could be detected by various processing methods, described above.
Additionally, the early morning time of sending the message can be
used in evaluating the appropriateness of the message. In such
cases a "hold" on sending the message can be imposed so that
approval after a few hours is required to send the message. Other
variations on detecting inappropriate messages can include
requiring the sender to perform an action that requires patience,
self-awareness or introspection, such as solving a puzzle,
answering a question, performing a sobriety test, etc. The results
from such actions or tests can be provided to the control process
or another process in the system to decide whether the message
should be sent, held, modified, or to have other action taken.
[0051] Although particular embodiments of the invention have been
described, variations of such embodiments are possible and are
within the scope of the invention. For example, although intent or
intention data has been discussed as the basis for determining how
communications are handled, other types of data can be used
including behavior, intentions of others with respect to a sender's
message, etc. Some features of the invention may be applied to
non-text and non-visual information such as to voice
transmissions.
[0052] Any suitable programming language can be used to implement
the functionality of the present invention including C, C++, Java,
assembly language, etc. Different programming techniques can be
employed such as procedural or object oriented. The routines can
execute on a single processing device or multiple processors.
Although the steps, operations or computations may be presented in
a specific order, this order may be changed in different
embodiments unless otherwise specified. In some embodiments,
multiple steps shown as sequential in this specification can be
performed at the same time. The sequence of operations described
herein can be interrupted, suspended, or otherwise controlled by
another process, such as an operating system, kernel, etc. The
routines can operate in an operating system environment or as
stand-alone routines occupying all, or a substantial part, of the
system processing. The functions may be performed in hardware,
software or a combination of both.
[0053] In the description herein, numerous specific details are
provided, such as examples of components and/or methods, to provide
a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that an
embodiment of the invention can be practiced without one or more of
the specific details, or with other apparatus, systems, assemblies,
methods, components, materials, parts, and/or the like. In other
instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not
specifically shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring
aspects of embodiments of the present invention.
[0054] A "computer-readable medium" for purposes of embodiments of
the present invention may be any medium that can contain, store,
communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in
connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, system
or device. The computer readable medium can be, by way of example
only but not by limitation, an electronic, magnetic, optical,
electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus,
system, device, propagation medium, or computer memory.
[0055] A "processor" or "process" includes any human, hardware
and/or software system, mechanism or component that processes data,
signals or other information. A processor can include a system with
a general-purpose central processing unit, multiple processing
units, dedicated circuitry for achieving functionality, or other
systems. Processing need not be limited to a geographic location,
or have temporal limitations. Functions and parts of functions
described herein can be achieved by devices in different places and
operating at different times. For example, a processor can perform
its functions in "real time," "offline," in a "batch mode," etc.
Parallel, distributed or other processing approaches can be
used.
[0056] Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment",
"an embodiment", "a particular embodiment," or "a specific
embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or
characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is
included in at least one embodiment of the present invention and
not necessarily in all embodiments. Thus, respective appearances of
the phrases "in one embodiment", "in an embodiment", or "in a
specific embodiment" in various places throughout this
specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment.
Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or
characteristics of any specific embodiment of the present invention
may be combined in any suitable manner with one or more other
embodiments. It is to be understood that other variations and
modifications of the embodiments of the present invention described
and illustrated herein are possible in light of the teachings
herein and are to be considered as part of the spirit and scope of
the present invention.
[0057] Embodiments of the invention may be implemented by using a
programmed general purpose digital computer, by using application
specific integrated circuits, programmable logic devices, field
programmable gate arrays, optical, chemical, biological, quantum or
nanoengineered systems, components and mechanisms may be used. In
general, the functions of the present invention can be achieved by
any means as is known in the art. For example, distributed,
networked systems, components and/or circuits can be used.
Communication, or transfer, of data may be wired, wireless, or by
any other means.
[0058] It will also be appreciated that one or more of the elements
depicted in the drawings/figures can also be implemented in a more
separated or integrated manner, or even removed or rendered as
inoperable in certain cases, as is useful in accordance with a
particular application. It is also within the spirit and scope of
the present invention to implement a program or code that can be
stored in a machine-readable medium to permit a computer to perform
any of the methods described above.
[0059] Additionally, any signal arrows in the drawings/Figures
should be considered only as exemplary, and not limiting, unless
otherwise specifically noted. Furthermore, the term "or" as used
herein is generally intended to mean "and/or" unless otherwise
indicated. Combinations of components or steps will also be
considered as being noted, where terminology is foreseen as
rendering the ability to separate or combine is unclear.
[0060] As used in the description herein and throughout the claims
that follow, "a", "an", and "the" includes plural references unless
the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the
description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the
meaning of "in" includes "in" and "on" unless the context clearly
dictates otherwise.
[0061] The foregoing description of illustrated embodiments of the
present invention, including what is described in the Abstract, is
not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the
precise forms disclosed herein. While specific embodiments of, and
examples for, the invention are described herein for illustrative
purposes only, various equivalent modifications are possible within
the spirit and scope of the present invention, as those skilled in
the relevant art will recognize and appreciate. As indicated, these
modifications may be made to the present invention in light of the
foregoing description of illustrated embodiments of the present
invention and are to be included within the spirit and scope of the
present invention.
[0062] Thus, while the present invention has been described herein
with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of
modification, various changes and substitutions are intended in the
foregoing disclosures, and it will be appreciated that in some
instances some features of embodiments of the invention will be
employed without a corresponding use of other features without
departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth.
Therefore, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular
situation or material to the essential scope and spirit of the
present invention. It is intended that the invention not be limited
to the particular terms used in following claims and/or to the
particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for
carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include
any and all embodiments and equivalents falling within the scope of
the appended claims.
[0063] Thus, the scope of the invention is to be determined solely
by the appended claims.
* * * * *