Patent ID: 7653695

Claim:
A method for managing information relating to electronic messages, comprising the steps of: receiving, from a plurality of message information collectors, message information that describes characteristics of a set of electronic messages received by the plurality of message information collectors, wherein the message information is separate and distinct from the set of electronic messages which it describes; processing, at a data processing unit, the message information to generate message volume information, wherein the message volume information describes characteristics of a set of message senders of electronic messages over a period of time, wherein each of the set of message senders sent one or more of the set of electronic messages identified in the message information, and wherein the message volume information includes a prediction metric that indicates a likelihood that a particular message sender, of the set of message senders, has been sending unsolicited commercial electronic messages; and providing, to an email gateway, the prediction metric and at least one other characteristic of the particular message sender described in the message volume information, wherein at least the prediction metric and the at least one other characteristic are used by the email gateway in determining whether to treat a particular electronic message, sent by the particular message sender, received by the email gateway, as an unsolicited commercial electronic message, wherein said particular message sender is a second email gateway; wherein the email gateway is separate from the data processing unit; wherein the step of processing, at the data processing unit, the message information to generate the message volume information comprises the step of: determining how many requests for information about the particular message sender were received during a particular period of time; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.