TMails are the heart of the TMail21 system. At their simplest they are analogous to discussion threads. However, they have some key features (Sections) that allow them to be used for Goal-oriented discussions and Lightweight Processes. (Please see TMail21 Overview for more details.)
Each TMail has a unique TTN (TMail Tracking Number) to track it for easy reference. This TTN is part of the TMail header and this header information also includes the associated Writers, the Subject, and the unique URL of the TMail. (Please see TMail Header for more details).
A TMail is an object shared by all the Writers on the TMail. It needs to be distinguished from related private objects such as Messages, TMail Pins, Drafts etc. These private objects are covered in another chapter.
Broadly speaking there are three categories of operations operations you can perform on a TMail.
- Create a TMail from scratch
- Add a Changeset to a TMail (Inline Operations)
- Create a TMail by forking an existing TMail.
The TMail operations are:
- Create a TMail from scratch
- Create New TMail (Basic)
- Create New TMail (Template)
- Instantiate a Template (Instance)
- Add a Changeset to a TMail (Inline Operations)
- Quick Response to a TMail
- Respond to a TMail
- Read Acknowledgement
- Receipt Acknowledgement
- Create a TMail by forking an existing TMail
- Reply at specific Comment
- Forward a TMail
- Clone a TMail
- Certified Clone of a TMail
Whenever a new TMail is created (either from scratch or by forking an existing TMail), Changeset#1 is also created. Every operation listed above results in a new Changeset).
Every Changeset can have
- A single comment (This is always present even if empty)
- Zero or more added writers
- Zero or more Section changes (New, Updated or Deleted)
- Zero or more attachments
Whenever a TMail is created, a corresponding TMail Pin and Message is created for every writer. Whenever a subsequent Changeset is added, only a corresponding Message is sent to every writer present at that time.
