Patent ID: 7945954

Claim:
A computing system for access by at least one potential sender in order for the potential sender to become acceptable to a receiver and thus be allowed to send one or more electronic messages to the receiver, the potential sender not having yet been determined to be acceptable to the receiver before the potential sender accesses the computing system, the computing system for executing a filter defined by the receiver, the filter including a communication for the potential sender and also including a criterion for applying to at least one fact whose value is to be provided in response to the communication, the computing system comprising: a processor; and at least one computer readable medium for storing one or more software programs which are executed by the processor to cause the computing system to execute the filter and thereby: present the communication to the potential sender to elicit the value of the fact from the potential sender; receive the value of the fact from the potential sender; provide the value of the fact to the filter; make the filter apply the filter's criterion to the value of the fact to determine whether or not the potential sender is acceptable to the receiver; receive from the filter the determination about whether the potential sender is acceptable to the receiver; and send at least one electronic message from the determined-acceptable potential sender to the receiver, all the while keeping the filter's criterion inaccessible to the potential sender and also keeping the value of the fact confidential and undisclosed to anyone by preventing the value of the fact from leaving the computing system in a form which would enable anyone besides the potential sender, including the receiver and any third party, to learn the value of the fact.