US Patent 7895282 Internal electronic mail system and method for the same

Techniques for delivering internal mail over the Internet without relying upon a domain name in an email address commonly known to include an @ sign are disclosed. An embodiment of the techniques is for a collaborative communication system or platform, where each of users in the collaborative communication platform is assigned an identifier. The identifier is used for delivering the internal mail so authored similarly to an email, except that the internal mail is delivered without relying upon an email address or the domain name therein. The identifier of a recipient cannot be used as an email address for someone other than any of the registered users to send an email message to the recipient.