A technique for allowing a user to treat email addresses as objects both incoming and outgoing email messages is presented. A small icon is added to the text of each address which will vary depending on the pedigree of the address. The invention is not limited to single addresses. Rather, an entry denoting a mailing list could also be treated as an object and a unique icon could be employed to indicate the nature of the entry. For outgoing messages, the pedigree of the address or list is determined by monitoring where the user obtained the address. For incoming messages, the message header is parsed and searched to find addresses that match the receiving user's address book. If no match is found, a generic address icon is added before the text of the address, while the system checks the email header against other address sources such as server lists.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of a prior application entitled "ADDRESSES AS OBJECTS FOR EMAIL MESSAGES" which was assigned Ser. No. 09/690,426 and filed Oct. 17, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,895,426.
