Soft Carbon Copy

Soft Carbon Copy

This disclosure gives the CC receiver the ability to stop the inbox from filling up with emails that will not be read, while allowing the sender and receiver the ability to control what information is important and should be read.

When the receiver who is marked as Carbon Copy gets an email, the users can review it and flag it. In the example picture below. The receiver can click the eye icon button (the "Soft-CC" button).

When clicked the receiver has the option to ignore the thread based on the "Soft-CC" options (these can be predefined). For example:
- Ignore all responses to that mail.
- Ignore all responses except those from sender / receivers / CC'ed. (all can be toggled).
- Ignore all responses except by those at equal hierarchical or higher standing.
- Ignore all responses except potential repeats for information. (Original sender re-sending email because no action has been taken by the recipients)
- Ignore responses or take particular actions until X number of responses are received (a temporary status that reverts to regular CC).
- Set if the users wish for this knowledge of selection to be available to others on subsequent responses.
- Reroute to a folder, delete bin thread, apply a label/color, etc. (improves on existing mail rules functionality)

Once set, further mails are not displayed to the user unless those further emails meet the specified criteria. The user can also view a saved email and change the "Soft-CC" settings to one of the other settings, or back to regular CC. This allows the user to focus only on the mails that are important to them.

Details:
1. Sender creates an email and specifies who is the receiver and who is the Carbon Copy User (referred to as CCU for CC User). User sends email.

2. CCU opens the email and reads it. CCU sees that the mail is not so important at this time and marks it as a soft-CC.

3. Clicking Soft-CC button the CCU is given a number of options to select from:
(a) All responses to that mail.

(b) All responses except those by the Sender/Receivers/CC'ed. Each of these can be toggled. If (a) is picked then (b) cannot be selected. The user can go granular down to names/groups within each area. The CCU can also work down to users contained within groups listed in the mail.

(c) All responses except repeats. This would be where the sender would send the

1

mail again with no response from other users on the mail thread. Or if the use

responds again wit...