Method and apparatus for performing enterprise email management

DETAILED DESCRIPTION An enterprise email management system is disclosed.
The enterprise mail system is designed to quickly and efficiently handle large volumes of email that is responded to by enterprise email system users.
The enterprise email system processes incoming email using a set of configurable rules that examine each message for a specific attribute state condition and invoke a configurable action when the attribute satisfies the condition.
A number of actions may be invoked such as mailing list additions/deletions, routing to specific mail queue, routing to a specific enterprise mail system user, forwarding to an outside user, categorizing the message, and removing the message.
Once a message has been placed into a mail queue, a set of timers ensure that the message is handled in a timely manner.
The enterprise email system assigns a mail queue timer when a message is moved into a mail queue.
Each mail queue has a different mail queue timeout value that specifies the maximum amount of time that message may sit idle within a mail queue.
The enterprise email system may automatically move a message from a mail queue into a mailbox of an enterprise email system user that subscribed to the mail queue.
When the enterprise email system moves a message into the mailbox of an enterprise email system user, the enterprise email system assigns a mailbox timer to the message.
The mailbox timer is compared with a mailbox timeout value that specifies the amount of time that message may sit idle within a mailbox.
If the mailbox timer expires, the message is returned to the mail queue from where the message came.
If the mail queue timer expires, then the message is routed to another mail queue or enterprise email user.
Furthermore, additional actions may be invoked if the mail queue timer expires.
Enterprise email system users subscribe to variable mail queues.
When an enterprise email system user logs into the system, the enterprise email system delivers a set of messages from the mail queues that the user subscribes to into the enterprise email system user's mailbox