| abstract |
Internally within an organization, e-mails are often sent to multiple recipients to request information or ask that a task be performed by one or more, but less than all, of those recipients. The systems and method help minimize overall time burden to those recipients in responding to or trying to track such e-mails, and help the sender and recipients alike more easily view, manage and control such e-mails and their ultimate disposition, including the sender's e-mail and the plurality of responses sent by recipients. Separate viewable areas for each string or chain of related autonomic e-mails within each user's e-mail in-box and other e-mail storage areas are provided. The e-mail's sender and at least certain recipients can help decide whether to terminate a particular thread of autonomic e-mail communications by designating it as completed or canceled. Those e-mails which have not yet been read by recipients can be moved to a “completed” folder or deleted altogether. This in turn saves the review time of those recipients who have been away or too busy to check the e-mails within their respective in-boxes. |