Patent ID: 8166121

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of managing presence messages, the computer-implemented method comprising: a presence notification server receiving, from a presence instruction requesting computer, a presence instruction request; in response to the receiving the presence instruction request, the presence notification server transmitting a notice to a receiving e-mail user that an unavailability control instruction will be sent, in the future, to an e-mail receiving computer that is used by the receiving e-mail user, wherein the unavailability control instruction will automatically cause the receiving e-mail computer to auto-reply to incoming e-mail messages with a pre-defined unavailability message during an unavailability time period, and wherein the presence instruction requesting computer and the e-mail receiving computer are separate computers that have different users; the presence notification server receiving an acceptance signal identifying the receiving e-mail user, wherein the acceptance signal is an agreement to permit the unavailability control instruction to be received and implemented in the future on the e-mail receiving computer; and the presence notification server transmitting the unavailability control instruction to the e-mail receiving computer at an initiation of the unavailability time period, wherein the unavailability control instruction causes the e-mail receiving computer to auto-generate the pre-defined unavailability message in response to receiving an e-mail message from an e-mail transmitting computer; transmitting the notice to a pre-defined group of e-mail users; and receiving the acceptance signal from participating members of the pre-defined group of e-mail users, wherein the pre-defined group of e-mail users includes the receiving e-mail user, wherein the participating members agree to permit the unavailability control instruction to be received and implemented in the future to generate a group unavailability message on their respective e-mail receiving computers, wherein the e-mail message is sent to only a first member of the participating members, and wherein the group unavailability message describes an unavailability presence status of all of the participating members in response to the e-mail message being received by the first member of the participating members.