Patent ID: 8909718

Claim:
A method for forwarding an instant message (IM), comprising: receiving, by an IM server executing on a computing device, a first IM from a first user directed toward a second user; making a determination, by the IM server, that the second user is not available to respond to the first IM based on at least one of configuration parameters indicating that the second user is not available and a determination that the second user does not have a client IM application running; and in response to the determination: identifying, by the IM server, a third user to whom the first IM is to be forwarded, wherein the third user is different from the second user; and wherein identifying the third user comprises: identifying the first user; accessing configuration data associated with the second user; and determining that the third user is identified in the configuration data as a user to whom the first IM is to be forwarded; automatically initiating, by the IM server, an IM session between the first user and the third user; and automatically forwarding, by the IM server, the first IM to the third user.