CAFE: a conceptual model for managing information in electronic mail

The design and implementation of a conceptual model, CAFE (Categorization Assistant For E-mail), is described. The model supports the organization, searching and retrieval of information in e-mail. Three modes are available for satisfying the users' needs in various situations: the busy mode for intermittent use at times of high stress; the cool mode for continuous use at the computer; and the curious mode for sporadic use when exploring and (re-)organizing messages when more time is at hand. The design of the model is motivated partly by the results of a case study of categorization on the computer screen, and partly by a survey of e-mail clients. The case study was inspired by cognitive science theories. The model is related to information seeking theories in electronic environments. In the implementation each mode required using a different technique. The busy mode uses the text-based Naive Bayesian algorithm, the cool mode uses e-mail filtering rules, and the curious mode uses a combination of clustering techniques known as scatter/gather.