Patent ID: 7349901

Claim:
A method of evaluating an electronic document in connection with a search, said method comprising: parsing an electronic document to identify a first and a second attribute of the electronic document, said electronic document being retrievable by a search engine in response to a search request from a user and a determination by the search engine that the electronic document is relevant to the requested search, said first attribute corresponding to an electronic mail message attribute, said second attribute characterizing a pattern for manipulating a relevance determination of the electronic document with respect to the search request; receiving information from a source external to the search engine, said received information including the electronic mail message attribute relating to an undesirable electronic mail message; determining a first confidence level of the electronic document based on the first attribute of said electronic document, said first confidence level indicating a likelihood that the electronic document is associated with the undesirable electronic mail message; determining a second confidence level of the electronic document based on the second attribute of said electronic document, said second confidence level indicating a likelihood that the electronic document is unsatisfactory with respect to the search request; generating a rating for the electronic document as a function of the determined first confidence level and the determined second confidence level; and designating the electronic document as unsatisfactory in connection with the search request based on the generated rating of the electronic document.