JP2004140733A - Electronic mail server system, electronic mail delivery control method, and electronic mail delivery control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To deter delivery of junk electronic mails even if an electronic mail delivery subscriber does not perform an operation for deterring delivery of electronic mails explicitly. <P>SOLUTION: The electronic mail server system 2 counts the number of mails received by each electronic mail delivery subscriber, i.e. electronic mail receiver B, for each electronic mail transmitter A and manages the electronic mails on an electronic mail receive rejection data list data base 20. When the count exceeds a specified threshold value, an electronic mail is not delivered from that electronic mail transmitter A to the electronic mail receiver B. When the electronic mail receiver B replies to the electronic mail transmitter A before the count exceeds the threshold value, the counter for counting the number of electronic mail received from that electronic mail transmitter A is cleared. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an e-mail server system, an e-mail delivery control method, and an e-mail delivery control program. More specifically, the present invention relates to an e-mail delivery service subscriber who receives a large amount of e-mail from an unintended e-mail sender. The present invention relates to a computer technology for automatically suppressing the distribution of incoming junk e-mail.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a method of suppressing the delivery of electronic mail, a general method has been known in which an electronic mail receiving subscriber directly registers a sender address directly in an electronic mail server and rejects incoming mail. On the other hand, as a method of automatically suppressing the delivery of e-mail by the server system, if the e-mail delivered within a certain period of time exceeds the "same sender condition", the e-mail server sends the e-mail to the e-mail server. There is a technology in which the mail is discarded, and the date is updated, or the e-mail recipient cancels the delivery rejection setting by itself to cancel the discarding (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-163341
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the above-described prior art has the following problems. That is, in the case of the former general method, the e-mail recipient needs to register the sender address by himself in order to reject incoming unintended e-mails, which places a burden on the e-mail receiving user. Was. In the latter case, when canceling the automatic discarding of the e-mail by the e-mail server, the e-mail receiving user must release the incoming call rejection setting by himself / herself. There was an annoying burden.
[0005]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems in the prior art and to provide a subscriber of an e-mail delivery service with the delivery of unwanted e-mail. An object of the present invention is to provide a user with a method of automating an operation related to delivery suppression by a user without having to explicitly perform a suppression operation.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to an electronic mail server system provided in a network for electronic mail delivery from an electronic mail sender (A) to a specific electronic mail receiver (B). An "e-mail incoming rejection data list (List)" is held for the recipient (B), and an e-mail is returned from B to A even if the mail is transmitted from A to B a plurality of times (up to n times). That is, if there is no e-mail transmission from B to A, the e-mail address A is automatically registered in the list, and the e-mail transmission from A to B is performed after the registration, by the e-mail server in the network. , Or automatically store it in the server without delivering the mail to B.
[0007]
Here, the n times means a threshold value of the number of times of transmission permission, and if the e-mail is within the number of receptions up to this value, the e-mail is delivered. This value has a default value of the e-mail server system, and It is also possible to set a desired value.
[0008]
On the other hand, in the above case, if the number of received e-mails is n or less and an e-mail is transmitted from B to A, the e-mail server automatically returns from the e-mail rejection data list. It is characterized in that the e-mail address of the e-mail recipient A is deleted or the e-mail reception counter in the list is cleared to zero.
[0009]
Further, in the above, in the case of the e-mail magazine to which the e-mail recipient B himself subscribes, or in the case of a close e-mail companion, the e-mail is not always sent from B to A. It is preferable to provide a means for excluding e-mail from being rejected by registering the source e-mail address on the e-mail server by the recipient B himself / herself so as to exclude the e-mail.
[0010]
A means by which the e-mail recipient B can refer to the information registered in the e-mail reception rejection data list registered in the e-mail server to which the e-mail recipient B belongs, It is preferable to provide means for directly adding, changing, or deleting the mail rejection data list.
[0011]
Also, the number of e-mail receptions from A to B exceeds n, and the e-mail server system automatically deletes the e-mail or sends it to B when it is temporarily stored in the server without being sent to B. Only the e-mail header information such as the date and time of the undelivered e-mail, the sender and the e-mail title are stored in the server, and B refers to the undelivered e-mail list in a list format or It is preferable to provide a means for notifying B from the server by electronic mail.
[0012]
Further, in the above case, when e-mails are temporarily stored in the server, B who referred to the list information of the undelivered e-mails receives the e-mails temporarily stored in the server and receives the e-mail. It is preferable to provide a means for allowing the user to select the user later and receive an electronic mail.
[0013]
Also, a software program for causing a computer to execute the electronic mail delivery control method according to the present invention can be distributed as a product by itself or in a form recorded on a recording medium. It extends to many things.
[0014]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the drawings. It should be noted that the drawings shown below are for better understanding of the operation of the present invention, and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention.
[0015]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network in which a general electronic mail is delivered from a user to a user, including a case where an electronic mail server system proposed by the present invention is provided. In FIG. 1, 1 is a terminal of an e-mail sender A, 2 is an e-mail server system, 3 is a terminal of an e-mail receiver B, 4 is a network, 5 is an e-mail, and 20 is an incoming rejection data list relating to a subscribed user. It is an electronic mail reception rejection data list database to be held. The e-mail recipient B has subscribed to the e-mail delivery service of the e-mail server system 2.
[0016]
In the present embodiment, the electronic mail server system 2 performs, for example, the following processes (1) to (5).
(1) The e-mail server system 2 counts the number of receptions of e-mail addressed to each e-mail delivery service subscriber (for example, e-mail receiver B) for each e-mail sender according to the e-mail reception rejection data list. When the number of times of reception becomes equal to or greater than the threshold value n of the number of permitted transmissions, the electronic mail from the sender is not delivered.
(2) When a subscriber of the e-mail delivery service (for example, e-mail recipient B) replies to the e-mail sender, the reception counter of the e-mail sender in the e-mail reception rejection data list is set. clear.
(3) For the e-mail address registered by the e-mail delivery service subscriber (for example, the e-mail receiver B) (the e-mail address of the sender who wants to always deliver), the number of receptions in (1) is not counted. .
(4) When the number of received e-mails is equal to or greater than the transmission permitted number threshold n or when the subscriber (recipient) makes an inquiry, a list of senders in a state where mail is not delivered is provided to the subscriber. , Allow subscribers to make changes.
(5) Information about mail that is not delivered is provided to the subscriber (receiver), and is delivered according to the request of the subscriber (receiver).
[0017]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the electronic mail server system 2 according to the present invention. The electronic mail server system 2 is a device including a CPU, a memory, and the like, and includes the following units configured by a software program executed by the CPU. That is, the electronic mail server system 2 registers the electronic mail receiving means 21 for receiving the electronic mail 5 from the sender, the address of the sender of the electronic mail 5 for each receiver in the electronic mail rejection data list database 20, E-mail reception count means 22 for counting the number of receptions from the transmission source, E-mail reception rejection determination means 23 for determining rejection of e-mail 5 reception, E-mail delivery means for delivering E-mail 5 to recipients 24, an e-mail discarding means 25 for discarding the e-mail 5 is provided. Here, the distribution of the e-mail by the e-mail delivery means 24 refers to transmitting the e-mail directly to the recipient's terminal or storing the received e-mail 5 in the recipient's mailbox.
[0018]
In addition, the e-mail server system 2 rejects, for example, registration of a sender excluding automatic rejection of incoming calls, registration of a threshold value of the number of times of transmission permission, and reception of an incoming call according to a request from a service subscriber who is an e-mail recipient. E-mail delivery control information registration / reference means 26 for presenting a list of e-mail senders, for temporarily storing e-mails to be discarded, and for e-mail transmission date and time, sender name, e-mail title, etc. E-mail information storage means 27 for storing e-mail header information, e-mail information for notifying service subscribers of e-mail information stored in e-mail information storage means 27, presenting a list of e-mail header information, etc. A notification / reference unit 28 is provided.
[0019]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail based on specific examples. FIG. 3 is an example of a sequence diagram showing a mechanism for automatically suppressing the delivery of the electronic mail 5 proposed by the present invention.
[0020]
The e-mail sender A edits the e-mail 5 to be transmitted to the e-mail receiver B, and transmits it to the network 4. When the e-mail 5 is delivered to the e-mail server system 2 that propagates in the network 4 and directly accommodates the e-mail receiver B, the e-mail receiver B in the e-mail reception rejection data list database 20 It is checked whether or not the address of A, which is the transmission source of the electronic mail 5, is registered in the electronic mail reception rejection data list.
[0021]
If not registered, in step S10, the address of the sender A is registered, an e-mail reception counter Ak for the A is registered to Ak = 1, and the e-mail 5 is transmitted to the e-mail recipient B. Deliver to.
[0022]
Thereafter, as long as the number-of-receptions counter Ak does not exceed the threshold value n of the number of permitted transmissions registered by the e-mail receiver B, the e-mail sender A sends the e-mail to the e-mail receiver B in step S11. The mail is delivered to the mail 5 while updating the reception counter Ak one by one, that is, while setting the value of Ak = Ak + 1 to be newly updated to Ak, in the same manner as the conventional ordinary electronic mail delivery.
[0023]
Thereafter, if the reception number counter Ak satisfies the condition Ak> n, the e-mail server system 2 to which the e-mail 5 from the sender A to the receiver B has been delivered thereafter in step S12, The e-mail 5 is not delivered to the e-mail receiver B, and the e-mail sender B sends back the e-mail 5 to the e-mail receiver B to the effect that the e-mail receiver B has been rejected. Note that the example of FIG. 3 described above shows an example in which the electronic mail 5 has not been transmitted from the electronic mail receiver B to the electronic mail sender A at all.
[0024]
On the other hand, FIG. 4 shows a case where the e-mail recipient B sends (replies) the e-mail 5 from the e-mail receiver B to the e-mail sender A within a period in which the number-of-receptions counter Ak does not exceed the threshold value n of the number of permitted transmissions. FIG. That is, in steps S20 and S21 for updating the number-of-times-of-reception counter Ak relating to the e-mail sender A in the above description, the operations are the same as those in steps S10 and S11 in FIG. It is assumed that an e-mail 5 is transmitted from the receiver B to the e-mail sender A. In this case, in step S22, the e-mail sender registered in the e-mail reception rejection data list for the e-mail recipient B held in the e-mail reception rejection data list database 20 of the e-mail server system 2 The e-mail address of A is deleted from the list or the reception count counter Ak is cleared to 0, and then the e-mail server system 2 performs an operation of normally delivering the e-mail 5 to the e-mail sender A. repeat.
[0025]
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the e-mail incoming rejection data list held in the e-mail incoming rejection data list database 20. As shown in FIG. This list is composed of the number of times of reception indicating the number of times mail is currently delivered, for each address of the user who transmitted the e-mail 5 addressed to the e-mail recipient, that is, for each source address. Further, it may include an incoming call rejection exclusion list, which is a list in which e-mail sender addresses that the user does not explicitly reject incoming calls are listed.
[0026]
The e-mail server system 2 proposed in the present invention, based on this list, delivers the mail if the number of receptions does not exceed the threshold value n of the number of permitted transmissions, if not, does not deliver the e-mail 5, and The e-mail 5 from the sender user registered in the incoming call rejection exclusion list is always delivered to the receiving user regardless of the number of receptions.
[0027]
The method of automatically rejecting the e-mail 5 from a specific mail sender is as described above. However, the e-mail receiver does not want to automatically reject the e-mail by himself / herself. The following method can be used as a method of registering addition, deletion, change, etc. in the exclusion list. The e-mail server system 2 has a dedicated e-mail address for non-rejection designation for registering a sender e-mail address not to be rejected for the receiving user. Write an e-mail address not to be rejected to the address and send it. If there is an e-mail addressed to the e-mail address for non-reception rejection designation, the e-mail server system 2 registers the e-mail address specified by the e-mail as a non-reception rejection address. As another method, the e-mail server system 2 provides a dedicated Web page for non-rejection designation to the e-mail recipient, and the e-mail recipient accesses the e-mail server system 2 and provides the received incoming call. It is also possible to use a method of registering through access to the exclusive Web page for non-rejection designation.
[0028]
Further, the e-mail server system 2 provides the e-mail recipient with a list of rejected senders registered in the current e-mail server system 2 for the e-mail recipient in the same manner as described above. A list return request is sent to the dedicated e-mail address and the result is distributed by e-mail 5 or the current registration list is referred to through a dedicated Web page, that is, distributed by e-mail 5 or the Web page Provide a function to refer to as.
[0029]
In FIG. 3, only the e-mail header information such as the transmission date and time, the sender, and the e-mail title of the e-mail 5 delivered to the e-mail recipient B but rejected is stored in the e-mail server system 2. The digest information is held as digest information, and the digest information is periodically sent to the e-mail recipient B at regular intervals, for example, on a date basis, or a dedicated digest transmission request e-mail address is prepared as described above. If there is a transmission request from the e-mail recipient B by e-mail to the address, the digest information is sent by e-mail or the digest information of the mail rejected to the receiving user is referred to. Can be referred to through a dedicated Web page. If there are a plurality of rejected e-mails 5 in the digest information, all the information of the e-mails 5 is combined and provided to the e-mail recipient B.
[0030]
The features of the above embodiment of the present invention are as follows.
[0031]
The e-mail server system 2 converts a data list composed of an e-mail sender address for rejecting incoming e-mail concerning a subscriber to the e-mail delivery service and a sender address for which the incoming call is not rejected into an e-mail incoming rejection data list. It is stored in the database 20.
[0032]
Also, the electronic mail server system 2 is a means for counting the number of times of e-mail delivery from a particular sender to a particular recipient, particularly the delivery of an e-mail in a particular combination of a sender and a recipient to whom the e-mail is delivered. And a means for managing the reception count value.
[0033]
Further, the e-mail server system 2 has a means for automatically discarding an e-mail sent from a specific e-mail sender based on an e-mail reception rejection data list for e-mail recipients who subscribe to the e-mail delivery service. Have.
[0034]
In addition, the e-mail server system 2 increments the e-mail reception counter by +1 for each e-mail recipient who subscribes to the e-mail delivery service, every time an e-mail is sent from a specific e-mail sender. Means are provided for automatically registering the sender's e-mail address in the incoming call rejection data list when the number of times of reception exceeds the transmission permission number threshold.
[0035]
In addition, the e-mail server system 2 automatically sends a reply e-mail to the e-mail sender when an e-mail recipient who subscribes to the e-mail delivery service sends the received e-mail to the e-mail sender. Means are provided for automatically deleting the sender from the e-mail rejection data list or for resetting the reception counter to 0 again.
[0036]
Further, the electronic mail server system 2 enables a subscriber of the electronic mail delivery service to register or change the number of times that a specific electronic mail sender is allowed to receive an electronic mail unconditionally by himself / herself. have.
[0037]
The e-mail server system 2 also includes a list of senders registered in the e-mail server system 2 for rejecting incoming e-mail, ie, e-mail reception rejection data relating to the subscriber. A means for allowing the subscriber to refer to a list of e-mail addresses registered in the list and a means for directly adding, deleting, and changing the e-mail address to the call rejection data list are provided.
[0038]
In addition, in the electronic mail server system 2, the number of times of e-mail delivery from a specific sender to a specific receiver exceeds the transmission permission number threshold set for the receiver. When automatically discarding, only the e-mail header information such as the transmission date and time, sender, and e-mail title of the e-mail to be discarded are stored in the e-mail server system 2, and the stored information is merged. A means for automatically notifying the receiving subscriber by e-mail in the form of a list or providing a means for the receiving subscriber to directly refer to.
[0039]
Further, when automatically deleting an e-mail, the e-mail server system 2 not only immediately deletes the e-mail when delivering the e-mail, but also does not deliver the e-mail to the subscriber. The list information of the undelivered e-mails is presented to the subscriber by e-mail or a Web page, and the subscriber is provided with a means for confirming, and the subscriber later permits the incoming call by himself / herself. It is possible to select a mail and receive an e-mail.
[0040]
The means for realizing the above e-mail server system 2 can be constituted by a software program to be executed by a computer of the e-mail server system 2.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. That is, the subscriber of the e-mail delivery service, that is, the e-mail recipient, automatically removes a large amount of unintended and unwanted junk mails at the e-mail server in the network, so that the subscriber is conscious of rejection of incoming calls. Since there is no need and no operation is required, the burden on the subscriber is reduced. Note that this system is particularly effective for subscribers when charging for receiving e-mails.
[0042]
Also, for e-mail senders, if e-mails for a large amount of advertisements are continuously distributed to a large number of users, they will not be automatically sent to users who are not interested in them at all, so efficient e-mails will be sent. This has the effect of enabling the distribution of electronic mail.
[0043]
In addition, the network service provider deploying the e-mail server system according to the present invention is free from complaints from subscribers who receive a large amount of unsolicited e-mails, and provides services provided by the present system to subscribers. Can be provided as additional services. That is, user charging based on the size and the number of the e-mail incoming rejection data list and flat-rate charging can be performed. Needless to say, there is also an effect that traffic in the network due to useless mass advertising mail can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an electronic mail delivery network.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an electronic mail server system. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation of suppressing delivery of electronic mail.
FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation of releasing e-mail delivery suppression.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an electronic mail reception refusal data list.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 terminal of e-mail sender A 2 e-mail server system 3 terminal of e-mail receiver B 4 network 5 e-mail 20 e-mail rejection data list database 21 e-mail reception means 22 e-mail reception count means 23 e-mail reception Rejection determination means 24 E-mail delivery means 25 E-mail discarding means 26 E-mail delivery control information registration / reference means 27 E-mail information storage means 28 E-mail information notification / reference means

Claims (7)

In an email server system that delivers emails to subscribers of an email delivery service,
Means for counting the number of received mails for each e-mail sender for each of the subscribers;
Means for storing, for each subscriber, a count value of the number of received mails for each of the electronic mail senders;
Means for suppressing delivery of an email from the sender of the email to the subscriber when the count value of the number of received emails exceeds a predetermined threshold value;
Means for clearing a count value of the number of received e-mails from the e-mail sender when an e-mail is sent or returned from the subscriber to the e-mail sender. Server system. The electronic mail server system according to claim 1,
Means for registering or changing the threshold value to be compared with the number of received mails for determining whether or not to suppress delivery of mail from a specific e-mail sender in response to a request from the subscriber. E-mail server system. The electronic mail server system according to claim 1,
Means for registering address information of an e-mail sender who does not reject e-mails in response to a request from the subscriber;
For an e-mail from an e-mail sender who does not reject incoming pre-registered e-mails, the e-mail includes means for delivering the e-mail regardless of the number of received e-mails of the e-mail sender. Server system. The electronic mail server system according to claim 1,
Means for storing e-mail header information including a transmission date and time, a sender name or an e-mail title of the e-mail whose delivery has been suppressed;
Means for merging the stored information into a list format, notifying the subscriber by e-mail, or directly referencing the subscriber to the electronic mail server system. The electronic mail server system according to claim 1,
Means for temporarily storing the electronic mail whose delivery has been suppressed in an electronic mail server system;
Means for presenting list information of undelivered e-mails to the subscriber and confirming the subscriber;
Means for delivering an e-mail selected by the subscriber from the list information and permitted to receive a call in response to a request from the subscriber. In an electronic mail delivery control method by an electronic mail server system for delivering electronic mail to a subscriber to an electronic mail delivery service,
Counting and storing the number of received mails for each e-mail sender for each subscriber;
When the count value of the number of received mails exceeds a predetermined threshold value, suppressing delivery of mail from the e-mail sender to the subscriber;
Clearing a count value of the number of received mails from the e-mail sender when an e-mail is sent or returned from the subscriber to the e-mail sender. Delivery control method. An electronic mail delivery control program for delivering electronic mail to a subscriber to an electronic mail delivery service,
A process of counting and storing the number of received mails for each e-mail sender for each subscriber;
When the count value of the number of received mails exceeds a predetermined threshold value, a process of suppressing delivery of mail from the e-mail sender to the subscriber;
Clearing the count value of the number of received emails from the email sender when the subscriber sends or replies to the email sender;
An e-mail delivery control program to be executed by a computer.

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