Patent ID: 11968160
Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
Field: Computer technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  G | IPC G  H

Claim 0:
1. A method of providing a sidebar thread for a communication, the method comprising:
using one or more processors of a communication server:
receiving a command, over a communication network, from a sender, to create a sidebar thread forked from a first communication thread, the first communication thread between a first plurality of participants including the sender, the sidebar thread being a thread between a second plurality of participants including the sender and a sidebar recipient, the command to create the sidebar thread including a first message, an address of a final recipient, and an address of the sidebar recipient;
responsive to receiving the command:
selecting a second communication thread based upon the sender being a common participant of the sidebar thread and the second communication thread, the second communication thread preexisting prior to the receipt of the command and including a third plurality of participants;
posting a message to the second communication thread including the first message of the sidebar thread and including the second plurality of participants as members of the second communication thread;
receiving an approval or a modification of the first message in the second communication thread over the communication network, from the third plurality of participants;
responsive to receiving the approval or the modification of the first message, automatically:
creating a communication message from an address of the sender to the final recipient, that includes the first message or the modification of the first message; and
posting the communication message to the final recipient from the address of the sender in the first communication thread.