Patent Publication Number: US-2002013692-A1

Title: Method of and system for screening electronic mail items

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
     [0001] The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/218,580, filed Jul. 17, 2000, and titled “Method of and System for Screening of Electronic Mail Items.” 
    
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of electronic mail (e-mail) software and systems, and more particularly to a method of and system for screening or classifying e-mail items and other electronic files based upon content.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003] Electronic mail (e-mail) has become a ubiquitous form of communication in recent years. In general, e-mail works as follows. E-mail software is installed on a client device, e.g. a personal computer (PC), equipped or configured for communication with a plurality of other client devices via a communications network. Software embodied in the e-mail client enables a user of the client device to compose e-mail messages, send e-mail messages to other client devices via the communications network, and read e-mail messages received from other client devices via the communications network. The typical e-mail client supports one or more e-mail protocols such as Post Office Protocol Version 3 (POP3), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Internet Mail Access Protocol Version 4 (IMAP4), or Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME).  
       [0004] E-mail has become a predominant form of communication, both within organizations and among individuals. In many business organizations, each member of the organization has a computer with a network connection on his or her desk. Additionally, many individuals have access to e-mail through private Internet service provider accounts. Accordingly, many people have access to e-mail, by which they may write, send, receive, reply to, and forward e-mail messages quickly and easily.  
       [0005] One of the consequences of the proliferation of e-mail is the phenomenon of flaming. Flaming may be defined as computer-mediated communication designed to intimidate by withholding the expected courtesies of polite communication. Sometimes the withholding of respect takes the form of direct aggressiveness against the receiver. Often, flaming takes the form of gross insensitivity and bad taste, not only against the receiver but also against the culture at large. The expression of hate, for its own sake, seems to have a frightening and intimidating effect on human beings. Flamers seem capable of intimidating solely by expressing their hatreds, even if the receiver, who does not share the hate, is not the personal target.  
       [0006] Because of its intimidating nature, most people do not like to receive flaming e-email, and they are usually shocked when they read a piece of flaming e-mail. Additionally, while people frequently need to express themselves forcefully, all but the most mean-spirited would prefer not to send e-mail that may be perceived as excessively flaming.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007] The present invention provides an electronic mail system user interface that identifies flaming e-mail. The system of the present invention includes a scoring engine that compares electronic text to flaming language models. In the preferred embodiment, the flaming language models are contained in dictionaries of words and phrases.  
       [0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, the scoring engine is used to process incoming e-mail items. When the system of the present invention receives a message, the scoring engine processes the received message and returns a score. The score signifies the level of flaming content in the message. The system of the present invention assigns a graphical representation to the message based upon the score returned from the scoring engine. The system of the present invention lists the message in the user&#39;s mailbox with the graphical representation. The user can see in the mailbox that the message has a particular flaming content, thereby enabling the user to decide whether or not to open the message or perform other actions with respect to the message. The system of the present invention may include a filtering mechanism by which the message may be processed automatically without user interaction.  
       [0009] In another of its aspects, the present invention provides a tool for use during composition of messages. During composition processing, the system of the present invention waits for text input. Periodically, the system performs scoring engine processing on input text. The system assigns a graphical representation to the message based upon the score returned from the scoring engine and displays a control, preferably in association with a send button in the e-mail application window toolbar, with the graphical representation indicating the offensive content of the text. The graphical representation enables the user to determine the flaming content of the composition. The system of the present invention may highlight the offensive words or phrases in the text.  
       [0010] The system of the present invention may prompt the user to reconsider sending offensive messages. Also, the system of the present invention may queue offensive messages rather than send such messages immediately, thereby giving the user a chance to reconsider and edit the message before it is actually sent. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0011]FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram of an e-mail system according to the present invention.  
     [0012]FIG. 2 is a high-level flow chart of composition processing according to the present invention.  
     [0013]FIG. 3 is a high-level flow chart of mailbox processing according to the present invention.  
     [0014]FIGS. 4A and 4B are high-level flow charts of scoring engine processing according to the present invention.  
     [0015]FIG. 5 is a pictorial representation of an email text composition window according to the present invention.  
     [0016]FIG. 6 is a pictorial representation of a tools drop down menu according to the present invention.  
     [0017]FIG. 7 is a pictorial representation of an email screening options dialog according to the present invention.  
     [0018]FIG. 8 is a pictorial representation of an email send warning dialog according to the present invention.  
     [0019]FIG. 9 is a pictorial representation of a mailbox window according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
     [0020] Referring now to the drawings, and first to FIG. 1, an electronic mail (email) system is designated generally by the numeral  11 . System  11  includes a plurality of client machines  13 , which are preferably implemented in personal computers, and at least one server machine  15 . Personal computer client machines  13  have installed thereon client software according to the present invention that operates preferably in a graphical operating environment, such as Windows 98. Client machines  13  and server machines  15  are interfaced to a network indicated generally at  17 . Network  17  may be a local area network, a wide area network, the Internet, or a combination of such networks. Client machines  13  and server machines  15  may be interfaced to network  17  through network interface cards, Internet service providers, or the like, as is well known to those skilled in the art.  
     [0021] The present invention provides a method of and system for identifying flaming e-mail content. The system of the present invention includes a flaming language model that is implemented in a set of language dictionaries. A regular dictionary contains less offensive words or phrases that are scored according to frequency. Typically, a single occurrence of such a word or phrase will not be sufficient to score the message as flaming. In order to be scored as a flame, words or phrases matching words or phrases in the regular dictionary will have to appear as a certain percentage of the entire text. Thus, the longer the text, the more occurrences of flaming matches will be needed in order to score the message as flaming. For very short or long texts, the frequencies of flaming matches may be skewed very high or very low. Accordingly, the present system of the invention may maintain both absolute count thresholds as well as frequency thresholds for the regular dictionary words and phrases. The regular dictionary may include, for example, mild epithets and vulgarities, phrases that would tend to insult or put a person of normal sensitivities on the defensive, and the like.  
     [0022] The other dictionary maintained according to the present invention is a high dictionary. The high dictionary contains words or phrases that are so shocking, threatening, insulting, vulgar, obscene, or otherwise offensive as to make the message flaming based on a single occurrence of such word or phrase, unless the message is very long.  
     [0023] Referring first to FIG. 4A, there is shown a high-level flow chart of scoring engine processing according to the present invention. Initially, the score is set equal to zero at block  21 . Then, the text is compared to the regular dictionary at block  23 . If, as determined at decision block  25 , there are any matches of words or phrases in the text to words or phrases in the regular dictionary, the system divides the number R of regular dictionary matches by the number of words in the text to determine the frequency of regular dictionary matches as a percentage R % of the entire text, at block  27 . The system then tests, at decision block  29 , if the percentage R % of regular dictionary matches is equal to or greater than a regular percentage threshold TR %. If so, the system adds a regular percentage incrementer to the score, at block  31 . If, as determined at decision block  33 , the percentage R % of regular dictionary matches is less than a regular percentage threshold TR %, the system subtracts a regular percentage decrementer from the score, as indicated at block  35 .  
     [0024] After regular dictionary processing, the scoring engine compares the text to the high dictionary, at block  37 . Referring to FIG. 4B, if, as determined at decision block  39 , there are any matches of words or phrases in the text to words or phrases in the high dictionary, the system divides the number H of high dictionary matches by the number of words in the text to determine the frequency of high dictionary matches as a percentage H % of the entire text, at block  41 . The system then tests, at decision block  43 , if the percentage H % of high dictionary matches is equal to or greater than a high percentage threshold TH %. If so, the system adds a high percentage incrementer to the score, at block  45 . If, as determined at decision block  47 , the percentage H % of high dictionary matches is less than a high percentage threshold TH %, the system subtracts a high percentage decrementer from the score, as indicated at block  49 . After the system has completed scoring engine processing according to FIGS. 4A and 4B, the system returns the score to text composition processing or mailbox processing, as described with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively.  
     [0025] Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a high-level flow chart of text composition processing according to the present invention. While in the preferred embodiment, the present invention is part of an electronic mail system, those skilled in the art, will recognize that the scoring engine of the present invention may be used to identify flaming or other linguistic content in other electronic text files. The system of the present invention waits for text input at block  51 . If, as determined at decision block  53 , screening is enabled, the system periodically performs scoring engine processing on the input text, as indicated generally at block  55  and discussed in detail with respect to FIGS. 4A and 4B. If screening is not enabled, the system performs other processing, as indicated generally at block  57 .  
     [0026] The system assigns a graphical representation to the text based upon the score returned from the scoring engine, at block  59 . In the preferred embodiment, and as shown with respect to FIGS.  5 - 9 , flaming content is indicated graphically by chili peppers. Low, medium, or high flaming content is indicated by one, two or three chili papers, respectively. Flaming content less than a predefined threshold value may be indicated either by the absence of an indicator or by a particular graphical representation, such as an ice cube.  
     [0027] The system displays a control with the graphical representation in the text window toolbar, preferably in association with a send button, at block  61 . The system may also highlight the matching text if the score returned from the scoring engine is greater than the threshold value, as indicated at block  63 . The highlighting may differentiate between high dictionary matches and low dictionary matches. For example, low dictionary matches may be underlined with a wavy green line and high dictionary matches may be underlined with a wavy combination red and green line.  
     [0028]FIG. 2 processing continues until the user closes the text window or selects a send button, as indicated at decision block  65 . If the user selects the send button, the system tests, at decision block  67 , if a warning feature is enabled. If so, as indicated at block  69  and as will be discussed in more detail with respect to FIG. 8, the system displays a dialog box warning the user that the message contains offensive or potentially offensive content and waits for user input. The warning dialog presents the user with a choice of canceling the send command or sending the message anyway. If, at decision block  71 , user elects to cancel the send, processing returns to block  51 . If the user elects to send the message anyway, the system tests, at decision block  73 , if a delay feature is enabled. If not, the system places the message in a queue to be sent substantially immediately, as indicated at block  75 . If the delay feature is enabled, the system places the message in a queue to be sent at a predefined later time, for example in ten minutes, as indicated at block  77 .  
     [0029] Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a high-level flow chart of mailbox processing according to the present invention. The system waits for a message at block  81 . If, as determined at decision block  83 , incoming message scanning is enabled, the system performs scoring engine processing on the received message, as indicated generally at block  85  and described in detail with respect to FIGS. 4A and 4B. If scanning is not enabled, the system performs other mailbox processing, as indicated generally at block  87 .  
     [0030] When a score is received from the scoring engine, the system assigns a graphical representation to the message based up on the score returned from the scoring engine, at block  89 . Again, the graphical representation may be represented with chili peppers. Then, the system lists the message in the mailbox with the graphical representation, at block  91 . Then, the system tests, at decision block  93 , if a filter is set with respect to the message. If so, the system processes the message according to the filter, at block  95 , and processing returns to block  81 . Examples of filtering include automatically deleting messages with a selected flaming level or forwarding the message to the sender&#39;s manager. If no filters are set, then and processing returns to block  81 .  
     [0031] Referring now to FIG. 5, a text input window according to the present invention is indicated generally by the numeral  101 . Window  101  is displayed within an electronic mail application window  102  and it depicts an e-mail message from a sender to a recipient. The system of the present invention has scored the text of the message as moderately flaming, as indicated by an icon  103 . The offensive text is highlighted by underlining  105 . The underlining allows the user to see the basis for the determination that the message as a whole is or may be offensive. Thus, the user can edit the message to make it less offensive.  
     [0032] As illustrated with respect to FIGS. 6 and 7, screening features according to the present invention may be set and enabled by selecting an options choice  107  from a drop down list under tools choice  109  in application window  102 . Selection of options  107  causes the system to display an options dialog  111 , as shown in FIG. 7. The screening function of the present invention is referred to in the illustrated examples as MoodWatch. Selection of a MoodWatch icon  113  presents the user with choices of enabling the screening, warning, send delaying, and mailbox scanning functions of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, a check box  115  is provided for enabling screening according to the present invention. A set  117  of radio button controls is provided for configuring the warning feature according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the warning feature may be configured to warn based upon the level of offensiveness. Similarly, a set  119  of radio button controls is provided to enable the user to configure the delay when sending or queuing feature of the present invention. Finally, a set  121  of check boxes is provided to enable the user to enable the mailbox scanning features of the present invention.  
     [0033] Referring now to FIG. 8, there is illustrated a warning dialog box  123  according to the present invention. As described with respect to FIG. 7 warning dialog box  123  is enabled and configured with options dialog box  111 . As described with respect to FIG. 2, warning dialog box, when enabled, is displayed when the user attempts to send an offensive or potentially offensive message. Dialog box  123  provides the user with the choice of either canceling the send command or sending the message anyway. Dialog box  123  also includes a check box to enable the user to disable the warning function.  
     [0034] Referring now to FIG. 9, an electronic mailbox window is designated generally by the numeral  125 . Mailbox window  125  includes a list of e-mail items contained in the user&#39;s electronic mailbox. According to the present invention, mailbox window  125  includes a column  127  that provides, for each item in the mailbox, information with respect to the flaming content of the item.  
     [0035] From the forgoing, it may be seen that the present invention provides a method and system for identifying and enabling a user to deal with flaming content. It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is applicable to identifying other linguistic content. For example other linguistic content, such as affection, Spam, condescending tone and the like may be modeled and identified according to the present invention. In addition to use within an electronic mail system, the method and system of the present invention find application in connection with the processing of other electronic text files, such as in word processing applications and the like.