Patent ID: 8037512

Claim:
A tangible computer-readable memory medium having stored thereon instructions that, in response to execution by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform operations comprising: storing an actual identifier associated with a first user; storing one or more rules indicating whether at least one other user is permitted to communicate with the first user using a virtual identifier, wherein the virtual identifier is not usable to send communications other than by receiving communications addressed to the virtual identifier and forwarding the received communications to the first user via the actual identifier; receiving an attempted communication addressed to the virtual identifier; determining whether to forward the attempted communication to the first user as a communication addressed to the actual identifier, wherein said determining comprises using at least one of the one or more rules, and wherein the at least one of the one or more rules is based at least in part on an identity of a user that initiated the attempted communication; and in response to determining that the attempted communication fails to comply with at least one of the one or more rules, blocking the attempted communication from being delivered to the first user, wherein said determining that the first attempted communication fails to comply is based at least in part on a time at which the attempted communication was initiated.