Patent ID: 8254888

Claim:
A system to manage data messages exchanged between normally un-connected message clients, the data message management system including a participating message handling server and one or more participating message originating clients, which, in use, are configured to transmit one or more data messages to addressee clients, the addressee clients being one of participants in the system and non-participants in the system: each participating message originating client of the one or more participating message originating clients being programmed with: an outgoing message management program including a message routing program; and one or more user-selected message handling rules to be associated with outgoing data messages; and the participating message handling server being programmed with: a server message management program including the message routing program; and a rules management program, which is adapted to interpret the one or more user-selected message handling rules associated with outgoing data messages routed to the participating message handling server and to route the outgoing data messages, using the message routing program, in accordance with the one or more user-selected message handling rules associated with each outgoing data message; the outgoing message management program being adapted: to operate in conjunction with the data messaging system in use on the participating message originating client of the one or more participating message originating clients; to permit the selection, by one or more participating users of the one or more participating message originating clients prior to transmission of an outgoing data message, of the one or more user-selected message handling rules to be associated with that outgoing data message; to associate the one or more user-selected message handling rules with the outgoing data message on transmission thereof to the one or more addressee message clients; and to associate the message routing program with each outgoing data message that has a message handling rule associated therewith, on transmission of that outgoing data message to the one or more addressee message clients; and the message routing program being adapted to remain associated with the outgoing data message and all data messages linked thereto and to direct all such linked data messages to a the participating message handling server such that the outgoing data messages with their associated message handling rules and all said linked data messages, including data messages transmitted by the addressee clients in response to the outgoing data message, are routed through the participating message handling server; and the rules management program in the participating message handling server being programmed to control the transmission of reply data messages to the participating message originating message client of the one or more participating message originating clients in accordance with the message handling rules associated with the outgoing data message.