Patent ID: 8892657

Claim:
A message reply motivation and de-motivation method comprising: composing a message in a messaging client of a messaging client computing platform; addressing the message to at least one addressee; associating a reply preference with the message, the reply preference including specifying the reply preference for the message, an individual addressee, and a group of addressees and also specifying whether or not a recipient is to reply to the message; forwarding the reply preference with the message to the at least one addressee from the messaging client over a computer communications network, the reply preference causing a visual presentation of the reply preference to the at least one addressee in a message viewer of a mail messaging client of the at least one addressee and also a prompting of the at least one addressee in the mail messaging client to reply to the message according to the reply preference; waiting a threshold period of time for the at least one addressee to reply to the message where the reply preference specifies that the at least one addressee is to reply to the message; and, subsequent to the threshold period of time, moving the message to a respond folder indicating to the at least one addressee to reply to the message.