Patent ID: 8055716

Claim:
A method of dynamically creating mail aliases usable in electronic communications in a communications environment, said method comprising: receiving a response to an electronic mail sent via a mail alias to a plurality of recipients, said receiving comprising receiving one or more responses from one or more recipients of the plurality of recipients, the mail alias being different than respective electronic mail addresses of the plurality of recipients; determining, in response to the receiving, that one electronic mail with one message is to be sent to one group of one or more members meeting a first criterion and another electronic mail with another message is to be sent to another group of one or more members meeting a second criterion different than the first criterion, wherein the first criterion comprises non-responding to the electronic email sent via the mail alias to the plurality of recipients, and wherein the second criterion comprises responding to the electronic email sent via the mail alias to the plurality of recipients; subsequently, upon a predefined occurrence, automatically creating, by a communications unit of the communications environment, one or more additional mail aliases, in response and with reference to receiving of the one or more responses, the one or more additional mail aliases being distinct from the mail alias, wherein the automatically creating comprises automatically generating for each additional mail alias of the one or more additional mail aliases a new name for the additional mail alias and automatically associating an electronic mail address of each member of a group of members to the automatically generated new name of the additional mail alias to enable the group of members to be specified via the additional mail alias, the additional mail alias being distinct from the respective electronic mail addresses of the group of members, and wherein the additional mail alias is subsequently selected and inserted into a TO section of the electronic, mail header of a subsequent electronic mail to be sent to the group of members via an electronic mail program and wherein the group of members is selected, at least in part, responsive to the receiving of the one or more responses from the one or more recipients; and wherein the automatically creating further comprises creating a mail alias for the one group, wherein the mail alias for the one group includes an electronic mail address for each member of the one or more members meeting the first criterion, and wherein the automatically creating further creates a mail alias for the another group that includes an electronic mail address for each member of the one or more members meeting the second criterion, wherein the automatically creating further includes adding an electronic mail address for a responder to the mail alias for the another group, in response to the responder responding.