Patent ID: 7730137

Claim:
A method of approving an electronic message for sending, the method comprising: logging a client into a communication system configured to be used by a client to generate and send electronic messages; generating, at the communication system, a ticket that is configured to be used a limited number of times by the client when sending electronic messages; storing, at the communication system, an indication of the ticket; providing the ticket to the client; receiving, at the communication system, a request from the client to send an electronic message, the request being associated with the ticket and an electronic message composed at the client after the client receives the ticket; accessing, at the communication system, the indication of the ticket; determining, at the communication system and based on the accessed indication of the ticket, whether the ticket has already been used by the client the limited number of times when sending electronic messages; sending the electronic message from the communication system if the determination indicates that the ticket has not been used by the client the limited number of times; and preventing the electronic message from being sent from the communication system if the determination indicates that the ticket has been used by the client the limited number of times wherein the request from the client to send an electronic message is a request to send the electronic message to a recipient, and wherein sending the electronic message from the communication system includes sending the electronic message without the ticket to a second communication system associated with the recipient.