Patent ID: 8132250

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for operation upon one or more data processors to classify communications from messaging entities, comprising: receiving a communication from a messaging entity via a communication network interface; storing the communication in computer memory; using a plurality of message classification techniques executed by a data processor to classify the stored communication; and combining the outputs of the message classification techniques using the data processor to generate a message profile score; wherein the message profile score is used by a communication filter in deciding what action is to be taken with respect to the communication associated with the messaging entity; wherein a tuner is used to adjust confidence values associated with the message classification outputs, the tuner operating upon the data processor using a genetic algorithm including a fitness function modeling the fitness of candidate solutions to a problem domain associated with the message classification techniques, the fitness function comprising the equation: Fitness = ∑  S CAT ⁢ 1 ⁢ _MISTAKES ⁢ ⁢ i - T  N CAT ⁢ 1 + C × ∑  S CAT ⁢ 2 ⁢ _MIKSTAKES ⁢ ⁢ i - T + 1  N CAT ⁢ 2 wherein N CAT1 comprises number of message vectors from the overall data set that belong to a first category, N CAT2 is number of message vectors from the overall data set that belong to a second category, C comprises a constant multiplier for misclassified messages from the second category, S CAT1 — MIKSTAKESi comprises a message profile score of message vector i from the first message category that has been misclassified to belong in the other category, S CAT2 — MIKSTAKESi comprises a message profile score of message vector i from the second message category that has been misclassified to belong in the other category, and T comprises a message profile numeric threshold above which a message is considered to belong to the first category.